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Charlie “The Brow” DiGiovanna

Many don’t recognize the name.  Others remember him as the greatest baseball forger of all time.  Those with connections to the Dodger Organization from years past know he was a tireless worker, and enthusiastic personality and true friend.  His family has reached out in the last few years and shared some of the memories of this interesting and extraordinary man in Dodger history.

Dodger bat boy, Charlie DiGiovanna and his son Greg

Charlie was a bat boy.  Many probably considered him the luckiest kid in Brooklyn.  Who wouldn’t?  He was fortunate to be a witness to the Boys of Summer during a magical period in baseball.  The 1950s in the hotbed of the Brooklyn borough.

But that wasn’t an easy job to get.  It was a job that he earned by paying his dues as a loyal Dodger employee as a turnstyle ticket taker, clubhouse boy and aide in the locker room.  Those dues were paid mopping floors, doing laundry, preparing the locker room and dugout, sorting mail, and serving as a clubhouse boy in the visiting dugout.

Charlie was a popular kid.  The players enjoyed his outgoing style.  This came from both home and visiting players.  A keeper of the players property, guardian of their tools of trade.  Never a complaint was made about the short and stocky kid who was limited physically by a heart condition he developed through a bout with rheumatic fever in his youth.  While recovering in the hospital, during a four year recovery period, Charlie wrote his idol, Leo Durocher.  Eventually Leo offered Charlie a job with the ballclub.  With some time, he made it to the clubhouse, and the rest they say is history.

1953 New York World Telegram article on Charlie.  He said "I have the greatest job in the world."

It took several years for DiGiovanna to become the full time Dodger dugout bat boy, but by age 22, he was there.  He is proudly seated in the bottom row of every team photograph from 1952-56.  Nicknamed “The Brow” for his obvious physical feature, Charlie was promoted to the position of Assistant Clubhouse manager in 1957, a position he earned through hard work, dedication and perseverance.

The forgeries

One of the bat boy duties was to ensure that dozens of baseballs were signed by the  entire team in full.  This was to be compeleed every day.  We are talking hundreds of baseballs.  It was a chore that was difficult to fulfill.  I can only image how hard it would be to get 25 signatures from ballplayers that were constantly coming and going.  So Charlie did the next best thing.  He became a skilled forger.  So good that Duke Snider would later say, “He could sign my name better than me.”

DiGiovanna forgeries

This, of course, has raised questions in the memorabilia industry today about what are legitimate Brooklyn Dodger signed baseballs.  One thing that DiGiovanna did was sign all the autographs in the same panel and same order on the balls in order to avoid duplication.  As a result,  spotting his forgeries isn't that difficult.


Almost as much a part of the Brooklyn Dodgers as the players, Charlie became as well known as Hilda Chester, the Sym"phony" band and Happy Felton.  He is part of Dodger lore and was a true member of the family.  It is reported that even Vin Scully would mention DiGiovanni by name, announcing in 1957 that he just retireived a foul tip behind the plate and congratulating him on his new promotion as "Charlie D. is now the new Clubhouse Assistant."

It is impossible to see here, but in this photo scanned by DiGiovanna's grand-daughter, Angela, Duke Snider has autographed this photo.  The inscription says "To the Brow, always my buddy, Duke Snider"

With the Dodger move to Los Angeles, Dodger historian Mark Langill reported that Ed Roebuck and Charlie made the trip west to Los Angeles together.  Apparently DiGiovanna's dog swallowed a ball when they were visiting the Grand Canyon, costing them about $200 to a veterinarian.

When the duo arrived to Los Angeles following their cross-country trek, Charlie was sought out by a panicked Red Patterson, team Publicity Director.  “Boy, Am I glad to see you,” he said.  They needed his talent as a skilled forger for the cover of the yearbook.”  Sure enough, the 1958 Dodger yearbook cover is of an illustration of an enlarged baseball, signed by all the players.  The reality is that the signatures were all done by one person, Charlie DiGiovanna.

The forged autographs on display on the cover of the 1958 Dodger Yearbook

Link to Mark Langill's Ed Roebuck article

Charlie with Jackie Robinson, celebrating the '55 World Championship

His children and grandchildren speak and provide rare photographs of Dodger history

The baseball blog -  baseball-fever.com,  had some interesting visitors a few years back.  It is well worth registering to see the amazing baseball history posted on this blog.  Charlie DiGiovanna’s son Greg and his grandaughter who was born long after his death, Angela, both have contributed interesting stories about their famous father and grandfather. And forum contributors have shared stories of Charlie too.

Brooklyn fans have come forward and told them how charming and welcoming Charlie was to the fans at Ebbets Field.   Some even said they were present at his funeral over 50 years ago.

Charlie DiGiovanna's 1955 World Series Ring is in the possession of his son, Greg DiGiovanna

Greg stated that he wanted to clear up some misinformation that had been written about his father.  Mainly that he remained with the Dodgers and moved west.  And the date of his death, which was December 28, 1958 of a heart attack.  (Greg was 8 years old at the time).  It was a tragic story.  A young family with three young children, all under the age of eight, left fatherless on the West Coast, less than a year after the Dodgers move.  I haven't been successful at researching what became of the family and how they were cared for after Charlie's death, but based on the postings by Greg DiGiovanna, the family did remain west and an award named after Charlie was instituted in 1964.

Greg posted the following on the baseball fever website on Dec. 27, 2007: "'...he was always giving his all at whatever he attempted and he always lived life to the fullest, sharing himself unselfishly with everyone who crossed his path.  I still struggle with this time of year, having lost my dad just three days after Christmas, when I was only eight years old, but the wonderful memories he left us with have always kept me above the water line in life.  God Bless all you "Dodger Blues" who have helped keep his memory alive after all these years. "  

The Countdown Continues

Football season is over, and we’re in the home stretch.  5 days until the Dodger Blogger Softball Tournament. 

Okay, seriously now...15 days until pitchers and catchers report.  28 days until the first Spring Training matchup and 59 days until opening day against San Diego at Petco Park.  Additionally, I calculate that it’ll be 84 days when a new oner is in place.  That latter number is based on my estimation that the new ownership takes the reigns of the club on May 1st.

This has been a long haul for us this off-season, with so much at stake in the ownership process.  And here we are on the verge of the start of the new season and still, there remains so many unanswered questions with regard to the future of the Dodgers.

Dee Gordon and Justin Sellers, the DP combination of the future?

Nevertheless, I’m approaching this season with optimism.  Not because I believe that the Dodgers will be contenders for the National League Pennant.  It is mainly because I am hoping to see further development from such players as Gordon, Sands, AJ Ellis, Lindblom, Jansen, Guerra, Eovaldi, Sellers and Federowitz.  The kids will hopefully get a chance to show what they can do.

A.J. Ellis and Kenley Jansen

It is sort of like 2007, when we already had glimpses of Loney, Kemp, Billingsley and Ethier, from the previous year, but finally we’d get to see them perform more frequently as they developed as players.  1973 was similar too, with the arrival of the Garvey, Lopes, Russell and Cey infield and additional key players like Ferguson, Joshua, Paciorek, Rau, Zahn and others that aren’t coming to me at the moment.

The kids seem to arrive in waves and hopefully they develop well enough to hold up until the next surge of prospects develop.  Baseball America is telling us that the Dodger farm system is barren now.  The cupboard is not as quite as full as in years past, so this current crop of arriving prospects will have to perform, or the Dodgers are doomed for a season or two.

What will we be looking at next year as the 2013 season approaches?  Will new ownership have signed us a Cole Hamels for the rotation?  Will they go out and get us another big stick in the lineup to protect Kemp?  I drove long distances over Friday and Saturday on a work assignment, with only the Giants flagship station to keep me somewhat informed on the sporting events.  Saturday happened to be the San Francisco Giants Fanfest.  I must say that their followers are extremely optimistic on Giants hopes this off season.

It was the general consensus of the average Giant fan that if they don’t make it to the post season, especially now, with 5 teams qualifying, then their season will be considered a failure.  Not much talk was made about the Dodgers, only poking fun at us for the most part.  Giant fans consider the Diamondbacks and Rockies as tougher opponents int he NL West this coming season.

That is good news.  Extremely good news.  I see a youthful Dodger team being one that can sneak up and surprise many.  I see a Dodger club with veteran leadership in Kemp and Kershaw that are hungry to get some national exposure and get to the World Series.  This is a Dodger team that has players that seek to redeem themselves, with Ethier playing for the big payday and Chad Billingsley pitching to re-earn that respect he had two years ago when he made the All Satr team.  I see a starting pitching staff that is not fantastic, but is definitely to be respected and a back end of a bullpen that has the makeup to be the best in the National League with Jansen and Guerra.  This is a team that has a coaching staff that keeps the players loose, comfortable and in a positive mode.  This is a group that can succeed and if everything clicks just right, they’ll contend.

Most importantly, I see potential new ownership that will step up and make some moves if the Dodgers remain in the race at the trading deadline.  If that occurs, 2012 can be a real fun year.

Billingsley has something to prove in 2012.  Here's hoping he is succeeds.

That is a lot of “ifs.”  I am aware of that.  This club could have the injury bug hit them and be decimated.  Then again, an injury to Kennedy and Ellis at second base could open up an opportunity to a youngster like Sellers or a starter could be hit by injury and Eovaldi can step in.  Injuries sometimes have a way of creating positives (i.e. Furcal went down last year and Gordon emerged).   The way I see things, Uribe can’t get worse, Ethier will improve, so will Billingsley.  Those three changes will certainly add a few wins by seasons end.  

Yes, 2012 can be a very positive year.  But by 2013, I have to believe that the Los Angeles Dodgers will be the National League force that all will fear with an ownership group that will raise payroll by upwards of $50 million.  By next years 2013 Giant Fanfest, the off-season talk will be of what it should be: “How are we going to beat those $&%ing Dodgers?”  That’ll restore order to the universe again.  We’ll be the feared ones, and for years to come.

Super Bowl Sunday...One Day Closer to the Start of Spring Training

I must be one of the odd ones but Super Bowl Sunday never has meant a lot to me.  What I love about it the most is that it means that we are one more day closer to baseball season and the media frenzy over that game will finally stop.

As a sports fan, football has always been a part of my life, but never with the passion and overall enjoyment as the national pastime.  Over the years, with the Rams and Raiders departure from Southern California, I lost interest.  That really shouldn’t make sense because I left the region at about the same time.  But it goes to show you that my mindset ties my team to my home town.  Once the Rams were out of SoCal, so was my loyalty to them.  When they went to the Super Bowl as the St. Louis Rams, I wanted to root for them, but I simply couldn’t.

All-Pro Offensive Lineman, Tom Mack

Football has changed so much since I was a kid.  I believe that the game really changed in 1977 when they outlawed allowing offensive lineman to partially use their hands.  This forced teams to make their linemen  bulk up.  The finesse on the O-Line was gone.  You needed size and enormous weight up there.  With those great Rams teams in the 70s, players like Tom Mack were an institution.  Mack was a constant pro-bowl offensive linemen at a little over 200 lbs.  Nowadays, a player like Mack couldn’t crack into the lineup of a NCAA program at that weight.

Football, aside from being dominated with overweight linemen that they bulk up to astronomic weights is now made up of incredibly fast receivers and defensive backs, running backs that seem to be getting shorter and quicker and pampered quarterbacks that cannot be touched at all or a myriad of penalties will be assessed against the defender.

Stats are practically meaningless to me in football.  What's an 1,000 rushing season these days?  Did the player accomplish the feat in a 14 or 16 game schedule?  How can a player like Bruce Smith be labeled as the all-time “sack” leader when the inventor of the “sack,” Deacon Jones, can provide documented evidence via game footage that he had more in his career.  Give Deacon his sacks!

It’s a game with constant rules changes.  Lets see, do they kick off from the 40?  No, they determined that was too close, too many touchbacks.  Take it back to the 35, nope, still too close.  Move it back to the 30.  The play clock, they put it at 30 seconds, but that wasn’t long enough...change it to 45 seconds.  Two point conversions, disallowed then allowed.  Overtime rules- ridiculous.  Overtime rules in the playoffs-confusing and ridiculous.  Replay rules-you can check this, but you can’t check that.  Oh, and by the way, add another 10 minutes to the game as we decide whether we can check it or not.  And then when they do check it, so often they fail to rule on what we obviously saw on the tape, which results in more controversy. 

Then there are the “No fun” penalties.  No excessive celebrations, no removing your helmet in celebration while on the field. A spike after a touchdown is alright, but no scripted dancing, jumping in the stands, (with exception of the Lambaugh leap, which was grandfathered into the rules), etc., etc.  

Football has its rabid fan base that turn the events known as games into drunken parking lot festivals.  My experience attending a Monday Night 49ers-Eagles game several years ago was not a positive one.  It was the one time in my life that I actually felt that I was not safe at a sporting event.  The place was full of drunk, profane, angry fans.  And that was before the 49ers lost.  After that, it became a place full of REALLY drunk, REALLY profane and REALLY angry fans.  It was not an enjoyable evening and while leaving following the end of the game, walking through the sea of empty beer bottles in the parking lot, I told myself that I would never attend an NFL game in my life again.

Then you have the ego-maniac players that have been pampered, coddled and treated as celebrities all their lives.  This probably is no fault of their own, but more that of  a sports loving society.  Players that emerge as extremely talented at a young age, have been getting special treatment since they were children.  Getting a pass on rules, grades, often receiving gifts, preferential treatment, something that they come to accept throughout their lives.

NFL teams these days have actually hired retired cops and lured away law enforcement officials in the prime of their careers with big dollars in order to babysit these primadonnas that have a history of criminal activity.   The NFL will never claim that these “security” guys are glorified babysitters.  They will say that they are a necessary security requirement, that each team to needs to protect their players. I don’t want to stereotype these athletes into one pool of criminal thugs but the statistics are out there.  A book was even written on the subject, Pros and Cons: The Criminals Who Play in the NFL, by Jeff Benedeict and Don Yaeger, who determined that in 1998, a full 21% of NFL players have been charged with a serious crime.  We are talking rape and sexual assault, murder, hard drug possession, drug possession with intent to sell, assault, disorderly conduct, battery, trespassing, stalking, and more.  Yes, the book was written in ’98, but few changes have taken place since then.   Off the top of my head I can think of serious legal incidents involving Ray Lewis, Plaxico Burress, Ben Roethlisberger, Michael Vick, Braylon Edwards, Pacman Jomes.  Those are the stars, there are many more incidents with NFL players and the law over the years.

So anyway, that’s my assessment on the NFL.  I’m not much of a fan.  Perhaps my view is too harsh.  Certainly the other sports have their share of problems and bad apples, but I doubt that it has reached the levels of the NFL.  My comments are by no means scientific and backed by empirical evidence.  Just the way I see things from a distance.

So enjoy the game folks.  After the Patriots and Giants sort things out on the field, Spring training will be just around the corner.

Tommy Lasorda Youtube Day.

A look back at video clips of the man that inspired the title of this blog.

Here is Tommy the movie star.  In 1982's Police Squad.

Tommy's spanish is BAD! I'll give him this, he isn't afraid to try it.   '86 Interview with Ruben Amaro.

 

The 1982 Emmy Awards, speaking parts with Russell, Forster, Monday, Yeager, Valenzuela, Neidenfuer.  Really bad TV, but for some reason, I can't stop watching it even beyond the Dodgers participation after 2 minutes.

Countless times Tommy has been a pitchman.  Is there anything he does better?  Sega, Slimfast, MLB of Fox.  You name it, he did it.

I know Tommy can be a grumpy old guy now.  I have seen him angry and cantankerous and even profane at times.  I believe that a combination of old age, the rigors of being in the public eye and the demands from numerous fans.  It all has taken its toll on the man.  But I'll give him this.  He's still out there.   He'll be at the caravans and he'll fly across the world if asked to pitch a message for the Dodgers.  He'll be out there pushing their message until the day he dies.  The day, that happens...it'll be a sad day.  Meanwhile, I'll forever be grateful to the man for the time he took with my wife and I and his overall loyalty and devotion to the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Long Live Tommy! 

Why Ned?

Really Ned?  This team needs Todd Coffey?  Why sign a guy that can only get right handers out (a genuine roogie) for $1.3 million when he has a bullpen already well stocked.  Look at the names: Guerra, Hawksworth, Guerrier, Jansen, Elbert, Lindblom, Belisario, Ely, Eovaldi, and others.

Not exactly the poster child for the svelte physique, Todd Coffey joins the Dodger bullpen

There was no need to shell out another $1.3 million on a guy that arguably shouldn’t even make the team and if he does, will hinder the growth of a kid, (like Lindblom), that belongs in the big leagues.  Colletti is so blinded with the illusion that signing mediocre talent with some major league experience that he has failed to see the big picture and develop legitimate major league prospects that deserve a shot at the big leagues.  Remember when 67 year old Luis Gonzales was signed to play left field?  You do realize that Ned released Jayson Werth that off-season?

Frankly, I’m done.  I’m sure there are those that are asking me why I’m done with this move.  Shouldn’t I have been done when he signed Harang and Capuano instead for shelling out a few more million for Kuroda?  Shouldn’t I have been done when Adam Kennedy was signed when the Dodgers could have picked up Wilson Betemit for a similar 2 year contract like the Orioles did?  Or when he dealt Trayvon Robinson for a double A catcher that has never hit well and is projected to be, at best, a possible major league backup? 

Ned has been General Manager now for six years.  In that tenure he’s made 1 or 2 brilliant moves (e.g.Ethier, ), a lucky move or two that fell in his lap (Manny, Saito), and numerous disasters (Andrew Jones, Jason Schmidt, Juan Pierre, Juan Uribe, Theriot for Dewitt).  Though he was five years removed from the Giants, he still  admitted that he shed tears of joy when they won the series.  Are you kidding me?  That statement alone should have warranted letting him go.

I am about 90% sure that when the new ownership comes in and Ned is released from his duties as the Dodger G.M., that he’ll return to black and orange land.  Tell me, would you be surprised if that happened?  Ned signed Jack Taschner for heaven’s sake!  He’s still a Giant!

Colletti got his chance and he lucked into some success in ’08 and ’09.  He had the sense to let Logan White do his job.  But I have to say that I give the man very little credit for Dodger success over the years.  They have been successful despite his horrendous moves.  James McDonald and Andrew Lambo for 5 weeks of Octavio Dotel?  Come on!  Throwing in Carlos Santana in exchange for Cleveland paying Blake's salary for a few months?  Ughh!!!

Blogger Softball Tournament Adventures-The Difficulties of Keeping a Team Together

It’s a day in which the Dodgers formally launch the 50th Anniversary Logo of Dodger Stadium will be displayed through this entire 51st year of Dodger Stadium’s existence.  A day when it is announced that James Loney won’t face charges for using his luxury vehicle as a bumper car on the Ventura Freeway.  The day after the very cool looking Drysdale/Wills bobbleheads are displayed for the first time and some lucky slug pulled out a 14 carat gold Topps Jackie Robinson card out of a pack.

Some cool Dodger stuff is going on and what am I doing?  (Play the fanfare, cue the drum roll) I’m ironing on stencils to create the first official “Opinion of Kingman’s Performance Softball jersey.”  Yes, on this day, a mere 9 days before the arrival off Softball Nirvana, I’m using all my creative juices to complete jerseys for my team for the Dodger Blogger Tournament to be held on Feb. 11th and West Covina’s Big League Dreams facility.

A successful logo ironed on the first jersey.  I only botched a couple of them.

Yesterday, the schedule came out and my club in our first game goes up against Roberto Baly’s “Vin Scully Is My Homeboy 2,”  a mighty blogging powerhouse that is so good that they field TWO TEAMS. We then face two other teams, both representing the organizer of the event, The Left Field Pavilion Forum, teams One and Two.  For those multitudes of followers of this blog that intend of attending the event, the OKP team will play at  9:00am, 12:00 noon and 2:00 pm.

As I scrap together my team, that started out with 18 on a roster that has now dwindled down to 12, I am almost to the point of groveling and begging my players to not abandon ship.  So many variables I face with my contingent of ballplayers made up of 5 law enforcement officers, an optometrist, a writer, real estate agent, 2 college students, and possibly two homeless guys we pick up on the way to the ballpark by promising them a pitcher of soda and a pizza if they play.  

Four players are coming from long distance that may be hindered from arriving on time if inclement weather drops snow in mountain passes.  Another has a Saturday morning clinic to conduct at his medical practice forcing him to miss the early game, another has committed but admits “I haven’t played in 22 years.”  And then there is my wife, who’s cute and all, but when it comes to athletic ability...well...she’s cute and all.

Yes, the OKP team is a ragtag bunch of guys (and gals) that will be a force to be reckoned with.  Meanwhile, I just keep ironing on stencils onto shirts,  Uniform numbers, logos, Letters, piece by piece.  We’ll at least be presentable.




Additional note
Two of the guys on my roster are old friends dating back to High School (and earlier).  The guys will want to kill me for showing this but In the photo below the three of us are singing in a Men's Choir at Los Altos High School, newspaper clipping from 1976.  After all these years, we're back together again, this time on the diamond.  The little kid in the front row far left  is me (I always was the smallest).  The tallest kid in the back row furthest to the right is Rob, our 6'9"  first baseman and current L.A. County Deputy Sheriff.  Participant number three (Jim), is in the second row, his back to the photographer, far right.  Jim is a CHP officer today.  I haven't seen Jim in 20 years, so it'll be a great reunion (if I survive the beating for posting this photo).  All three of us in law enforcement today, 35 years later.  Canaries in a previous life.