1946 PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE
Plus:
1948 Chicago White Sox
“Down On The Farm”
Two rare vintage and beautiful COLOR films are now available on this 52-minute DVD from Rare Sportsfilms, Inc! In fact, the 1946 Pacific Coast League film is baseball’s oldest known professionally made sound and color film! Equally fascinating is the 1948 Chicago White Sox film titled Down On The Farm, which is a film promoting the post-war Sox minor league farm system and young up-and-coming White Sox stars.
To promote its vision of becoming “Major League’ in 1946, the Pacific Coast League commissioned the production of Baseball In The Pacific Coast League, a Technicolor film introduced by league president Clarence “Pants” Rowland. The film is sponsored by Wilson Sporting Goods, maker of the official PCL baseball in 1946. Field managers of all eight clubs are introduced near the beginning of the film and shown in their respective spring training camps, including Lefty O’Doul of the San Francisco Seals at Honolulu, Casey Stengel of the Oakland Oaks, Marv Owen of the Portland Beavers, Bill Sweeney of the Los Angeles Angels, Pepper Martin of the San Diego Padres, Bill Skiff of the Seattle Raniers, Earl Sheely of the Sacramento Solons and Buck Fausett of the Hollywood Stars. Here’s a list of the players you’ll see in nice, close-up shots: Portland – Burt Pulford, Jake Mooty, Roy Helser and Frank Shone. Oakland – Charlie Gassaway, Bill Raimondi, Les Scarsella, Hersh Martin and Ed Kearse. Sacramento – Jo Jo White, Gene Corbett, Gene Lillard, Jess Landrum, Tony Freitas, Al Smith, Hal Turpin and Guy Fletcher. San Diego – Charlie Eisenmann, Carl Dumler, Al Olsen and Johnny Jenson. Seattle – Hal Sueme, Bob Finley, Ira Hutchinson and Bill Ramsey. Hollywood - Xavier Rescigno, Butch Moran, Manny Perez, John Dickshot, Culley Rikard and Tommy O’Brien. Coast League ballparks shown include Edmonds Field in Sacramento, Oaks Park in Oakland, Gilmore Field, Hollywood and Wrigley Field, Los Angeles.
Narrated by voice of the White Sox Bob Elson, Down On The Farm shows how Sox minor leaguers work their way up the ladder to the majors in Chicago. Starting at Class D Wisconsin Rapids (manager Johnny Kerr), Gene Thomas, Jerome Dahlke, Ted Shandor and young Bill Fischer are shown at Witter Field. George Sobek is manager at Class C Hot Springs in the Cotton States League and here you’ll see Art Hamilton, Andy Baud, Ed McGhee, Dick Strahs and Herb Adams. With Pete Fox’s Class B Waterloo, Iowa club, Marv Rotblatt, Jim Busby, Earl Beesley and Don Pinciotti are shown. Bennie Huffman is manager at Class A Muskegon Michigan, and here you’ll see Jim Hughes, George Yankowski, Bill Evans, Dick Lane, Leon Cato and Frank Whitman. The Class AA Southern League Memphis Chicks are shown playing Nashville in packed Russwood Park. You’ll see manager Jack Onslow, Gordon Goldsberry, pitcher Johnny Perkovich, Jim Goodwin, Grover Bowers and Gerry Scala. The Sox’ AAA club is Hollywood of the PCL, and you’ll see action from a game vs Portland, with players Pete Gebrian, Gus Zernial and Jim Delsing shown. Finally, after being called up to the major leagues in September, 1948, some of these top prospects, including Howie Judson, are shown at Comiskey Park, Chicago!
To get your own DVD of both of these rare films, send $29.95 plus $5.00 for shipping. (Illinois residents must add $2.00 tax.)
“RARE SPORTSFILMS N”
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