Baseball team photo. Some guys you might recognize.

[trof]

Back in the late 60s I had a lot of New York layovers (airline pilot). We stayed at the Commodore Hotel which as I remember was kind of down and across the street from Toots Shor's bar/restaurant. Toots' was a famous hangout of celebs, especially sports figures.
Every time we were in town we'd stop by for a drink or two to scope out which big names were in.

Never ate there. The food was nondescript American fare. But I sure got a kick out of seeing Jackie Gleason, Joe Namath, Mickey Mantle, and others in their 'natural habitat'.

Like many other famous New York clubs, Shor's had their own baseball team. See if you recognize any of these guys before you scroll down and read the names.


Help... Above is a photo taken late 40's early 50's of a baseball team sponsored by TOOTS SHOR. Starting with the top row, left person will be # 1. Starting with the bottom row, left person will be # 11. Who are these guys?
1 - Rocky Graziano
2 - Nat Fleischer (Ring Magazine)?
3 - Rod Steiger
4 - Joe Louis
5 - Toots Shor
6 - Rock Marciano
7 - Peter Donald?
8 - Sid Caesar ??
9 - Frank Morgan?
10 - Willie Pep ??
11 - Frank Sinatra
12 - Alan Dale (Ricardo Montalban?)
13 - Ernie Kovaks
14 - Phil Silvers
Do you agree or not? Please look very closely!
Shelly

Update: Steve writes " he photo was taken in 1948 in Central Park.
The gentleman who was the 2nd from the left was Nat Fletcher who was the owner/publisher of "Ring Magazine"
http://www.bigbandsandbignames.com/Who1.html

[trof]

1. One night Toots introduced Yogi Berra to Ernest Hemingway.

"He's a famous writer, Yogi."
"Hiya Ernie. What paper you write for?"
To Yogi, all famous writers were sports writers.

[LeftinOH]

2. Sinatra and Kovacs are hard to miss...it took some effort with the rest...n/t

[trof]

3. The menu. Roast Prime Rib - $5.75

[trof]

4. "So what , when you're through eating, you're still in Omaha!"

One night a couple had come in from Omaha and complained to him bitterly about their steaks. They said, "We have much better steaks than this in Omaha." Toots, ever the genial host, said, "So what , when you're through eating, you're still in Omaha!"

[trof]

5. The Gleason - Shor Marathon

Possibly inspired by the ranks of New York professional athletes sharing the festive board one night, Jackie suggested that Toots and he have a race around the block for double or nothing on the bill. A race between two men of such girth that the tying of their shoes required planning and stamina, had the patrons loud in their comments, none of which will be repeated here.

Jackie had only one stipulation. If they both ran the same direction, a cop might take out the two of them, thinking he had felons fleeing the scene. Jackie would run west on 52nd, north on 56th Avenue, east on 53rd, south on 5th, and west on 52nd to the restaurant. Toots would do the same course in reverse.

There is no record of any bets being laid by the gambling crowd at the bar, as the "sprinters" took their marks and then hurled themselves down the sidewalks. Pedestrians leapt for cover rarely having seen fat, middle-aged men charging down the street either running from or to cardiac arrest.

Glider Gleason flagged a taxi on 6th, sank into the back seat as they covered 53rd and pulled up halfway down the block at 5th. Five bucks for one-block ride was aces with the hackie. Swifty Shor panted to his own door only to find Jackie toasting him with his own Scotch.

When Toots finally could breathe again and the blood returned to his brain, he recalled that he had not passed or been passed by Jackie at any time in the race. Toots never used foul language but he came close that night. Jackie paid. He never said whether it was doubled or not.

[Westegg]

6. James Joyce. Seventh left, top row....

...He was dead at the time, but could hardly be expected to miss a gathering such as this!

Great photo, trof. Them were the days. I think that IS Montalban, but "Sid Caesar" looks too old to be THE Sid Caesar.

Hey, how's come Joe Louis isn't in uniform? Didn't Jackie join the Dodgers in '47? Ah, man! Forget what I said about "them were the days."

Obama '08