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 “Norman Rockwell and Baseball” Photo Gallery
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Norman Rockwell and Baseball, Part Three:

“The Rookie”

Today, I’ll continue my series of great Norman Rockwell paintings depicting baseball-themed scenes. The Rookie, shown above, appeared on the March 2, 1957 cover of the Saturday Evening Post. With the typical Rockwell genius for capturing unique slices of “Americana,” along with his usual attention to detail, he created another classic. As baseball fans, it’s one we can all appreciate.

Norman Rockwell was a New Englander who loved baseball, so it’s not surprising that the Red Sox were his team. This light-hearted setting features several crusty Red Sox veterans, including the great Ted Williams, in their spring training Sarasota, Florida clubhouse.

Rockwell had been looking to paint a scene from spring training; and so in August of 1956, he persuaded three Red Sox players: Frank Sullivan, Jackie Jensen, and Sammy White to drive to his Stockbridge, Massachusetts studio to pose for reference photos. The final composition actually featured five Red Sox players. All were still on the team when the artwork graced the cover of the March 2, 1957 Post. With the death of Frank Sullivan in January 2016, none of the featured Red Sox players are still alive.

…In Walks the Rookie!

The Red Sox players are apparently dressing for the day’s game. In saunters a tall, lanky, rather awkward-looking hayseed, too young to shave, dressed in a rumpled white suit with sleeves two inches too small. It’s undoubtedly the only suit he owns. He’s wearing a frumpy-looking brimmed hat, white sox and penny loafers, looking for all the world like he just got off a long bus ride from some small Iowa farm town and has arrived in the big city for the first time in his life. The “rook” is carrying your basic cardboard suitcase, which probably holds all his worldly belongings, along with his glove and bat.  The seasoned veterans are looking him over with an air of disdain combined with disbelief: “Where on earth did this rube come from? What haystack did he crawl out of?”

Interesting Information About the Painting:

• Ted Williams is standing in the center of the painting in front of his locker, although he did not make the trip to Rockwell’s studio. Other images of Ted Williams were used instead in the painting.
• Outfielder Jackie Jensen is tying his shoe and seated in front of Williams.
• Pitcher Frank Sullivan is seated to the left of Jensen (the ‘8’ of Sullivan’s uniform number 18 can be clearly seen).
• Catcher Sammy White is seated at far left, shown with his catcher’s mitt.
• Infielder Billy Goodman is standing at far right, with his hand covering his mouth. 
• High school student Sherman Stafford from nearby Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is the rookie depicted in the painting. Rockwell’s actual inspiration for the rookie may have been Red Sox player, Mickey McDermott.
• The player standing at far left is not a ballplayer. He’s actually Rockwell’s studio assistant Louie Lamone.
• Rockwell had visited Sarasota, Florida, and took photographs of the actual Red Sox spring training locker room at Payne Park so as to capture the actual detail. 
• In 1986, the painting sold for $600,00; but in 2014 it sold at auction for $22,565,000, after being on display at Boston’sMuseum of Fine Arts. 

Let’s Have Some Fun!

As we view this wonderful painting, let’s use our imagination to fill in the details that might have accompanied this fictional scene.

Here’s my read of it. Feel free to add your own!

Let’s assume the kid was from Iowa. He was undoubtedly a high-school star in a small, rural town – maybe even Sioux City or Fort Dodge – and got noticed by a midwest Red Sox scout who persuaded General Manager Joe Cronin to offer him a contract. Maybe he had an impressive year or two playing for a Red Sox minor league team, say, in Keokuk. The next thing you know, he’s invited to the Red Sox spring training camp in Sarasota. He’s probably never even seen a major league game in his life, much less ever traveled more than 100 miles from home.

You also get the feeling his parents put ten dollars in his pocket and drove him to the Iowa City bus depot. With his mother waving and wiping away her tears, the parents called out, “Good Luck, Sonny!” as the bus pulled out and started on its long journey to Florida. After the long, arduous trip, he arrived in Sarasota and asked a local patron, “Which way to the ball field?” With no money for a cab, he hoofs it. The next thing you know, the kid’s standing in the Red Sox clubhouse in front of the great Ted Williams!

Looking over the Red Sox roster from 1957, I wonder if any of the Red Sox veterans took him under their wing. Ted Williams? Jimmy Piersall? Frank Malzone? Fat chance of that, especially Piersall…notorious for his degrading mistreatment of his rookie roommates (just ask Jay Johnstone!).

Anyway…getting a shot to fulfill his dreams and the dreams of every other boy his age of actually playing in the major leagues, let’s hope he made the team! 

Thank You Norman Rockwell!

As baseball history fans, we are forever indebted to Norman Rockwell, a true American original, for capturing for us these memorable scenes from days gone by in the game we all love. 

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Gary Livacari 

Photo Credits: All from Google search

Information: Excerpts edited from Norman Rockwell Wikipedia page

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