The HBO 3 disc series, "When It Was A Game" is a favorite around here. They use homemade movies to tell a story of the major leagues from the Great Depression era into the late 50's and early 60's. I like to watch some of this during spring training to get geared up for the season. (By the way, spring training officially ended just last night. Now the real season can begin.)
Yesterday on the motownsports.com site a link to an extraordinary clip on youtube was posted.
This clip is a homemade film running 7-8 minutes. It uses 8mm footage shot by three Yankee fans who traveled to Briggs Stadium in Detroit to watch the Yankees v. Tigers game of August 4, 1956. It's been edited, titled, and set to music from "The Natural." Pre-game warm ups are shown, close-ups of Mickey Mantle, and then actual game footage-- primarily Mantle and a 21 year old phenom right fielder for Detroit, Al Kaline. It's truly amazing to watch if you love the Tigers, Yankees, baseball in general, and especially vintage 50's baseball. Well done.
