Actually, the character in front with the megaphone is Harry Thobe. Megaphone Lolly is the figure to the right. Behind her, partially hidden, is Pearl Sandow. The vendor in the background is unidentified. At the entrance to Sacred Ground, an exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame dedicated to the history and beauty of ballparks past and present. Cooperstown. Saturday. August 27, 2011.
The statues are caricatures of real people.
“Harry Thobe was an Oxford, Ohio stonemason and ballroom dancer who was a fixture at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field for over 50 years. He could be seen dancing a jig in the aisles while sporting his white suit, megaphone, and red parasol.”
“For 27 years, Boston baseball fan Lolly Hopkins took the train from her Providence, RI home to attend Braves and Red Sox games. Hopkins earned the nickname ‘Megaphone Lolly’ for being ‘Boston’s most vociferous feminine fan.’”
“Pearl Sandow attended every Atlanta Crackers game from 1934 through 1965, and then continued her streak when the Braves arrived from Milwaukee. At last count, she had seen more than 5000 games. In 2002, for her 100th birthday, the Braves honored her by bringing this statue to Turner Field to appear with Pearl before the game.”
Is Hilda Chester honored too? She was the Brooklyn fan with the cowbells.
Posted by: Linkmeister | Saturday, September 03, 2011 at 03:48 PM
Link, Hilda's there, and holds pride of place, but she's standing a little off by herself and set at angle where I couldn't get a good picture of her with any of the others. Here she is, cowbell and all.
Posted by: Lance Mannion | Saturday, September 03, 2011 at 04:14 PM
Lovely.
Remember when Jacobs Field opened in Cleveland and they had that guy pounding the drum all game long? He's a fan I'm sure his neighbors in that section could have done without.
Posted by: Linkmeister | Saturday, September 03, 2011 at 06:11 PM
I love these "location" entries you do. Have been thinking you should do more of them. So I smiled when I saw this.
Posted by: Victoria | Wednesday, September 07, 2011 at 05:23 PM