The collection consists of newslettersDodgers Line Drives, Brooklyn Dodgers Fan Club Newsletter, and Gabe-o-gram, albums of trading cards and Hall of Fame postcards, many of which have been autographed. There are also photographs of teams, individual players, and a photograph of Ronald Gabriel with Babe Ruth. There is a large scrapbook containing over 1000 autographs and several items of baseball ephemera, including placemats, magnets, scorecards, team schedules, programs, and posters.
Scope and Contents:
The collection includes baseball memorabilia acquired over Ronald Gabriel's lifetime as a fan, especially of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Series 1, Newsletters, 1944-2008, includes newsletters for the Dodgers Line Drives which Gabriel published, as well as the Brooklyn Dodgers Fan Club, which he founded in 1975. He also authored a newsletter called the Gabe-o-gram.The Brooklyn Bums was a newsletter to which Gabriel subscribed.
Series 2, Photographs, circa 1947-2006, consists of one oversize photo of Babe Ruth, a folder containing collectible photographs, and five packs of team photographs of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers. Notably in this series is the photograph of Ronald Gabriel as a child standing with the "Great Bambino," Babe Ruth.
Series 3, Baseball Ephemera, 1912-1990, contains five subseries: Subseries 1, Trading Cards; Subseries 2, Postcards; Subseries 3, Scrapbook; Subseries 4, Posters; and Subseries 5, Ephemera. There are two albums of baseball trading cards dating from 1912 to 1973 and two albums of autographed Hall of Fame postcards. The scrapbook contains 144 pages and over 1000 autographs acquired by Gabriel as a boy. There are oversize posters documenting Duke Snider Restaurant & Bar (autographed by Duke Snider), 1989 and "Catch Baseball Fever," undated. The ephemera includes game tickets, a letter from Dodgers' long timeradio broadcaster Vin Scully, advertising, product packaging, baseball placemats, programs, team schedules, programs, scorecards, magnets, and several other small items.
Ronald Gabriel (1941-2009) grew up in Brooklyn, just two miles from Ebbets Field, home of the Dodgers. He quickly became engrossed in the baseball atmosphere around his home and developed a passion for the sport that would shape his entire life. He regularly wrote letters to baseball teams asking for player autographs. As a result he compiled a massive collection of signatures, including those from Joe DiMaggio, Warren Spahn, Mickey Mantle, Leo Durocher, Bob Feller, and hundreds more. He continued collecting baseball memorabilia for the rest of his life. The Dodgers were his team. He was born in 1941, just in time to watch the Dodgers become one of the greatest franchises in baseball history, winning pennants in 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, and 1953. Finally, after losing to the New York Yankees in their previous five World Series, Ronald Gabriel witnessed the Brooklyn Dodgers win the 1955 World Series.
Even after his team moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958 Gabriel remained passionately devoted to the Brooklyn Dodgers. He published a newsletter called Dodgers Line Drives that lasted until 2009 and started the "Worldwide" Brooklyn Dodgers Fan Club in 1975 in honor of the twentieth anniversary of their World Series victory. He was also a guest speaker at George Washington University for a class called Race, Sports, and the American Dream, where he talked about Jackie Robinson. His baseball knowledge extended far beyond the Dodgers. He became a widely known baseball historian, acted as vice-president of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), and established the Washington Metro Chapter of the SABR. Later in his life Gabriel was honored by the Dodgers when they inducted him into the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame, an honor not usually given to fans. Gabriel was an important part of the Dodger community. He became close friends with a number of widows of former players and visited them often. Ronald Gabriel died in July, 2009 at the age of 68.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Archives Center Sports Memorabilia Collection, circa 1970 to present, #796
Ronald S. Korda Collection of Sports and Trading Cards, 1952-1996, AC0545
Lebanon Valley Baseball League Collection, 1936-1963, AC0067
Lou Newman Collection of Baseball Memorabilia, 1895-1999, AC0696
Sioux City Ghosts Collection, 1920s-1983, AC0634
Stall and Dean Company Records, 1898-1998, AC0669
Provenance:
Collection bequeathed to the National Museum of American History by Ronald Gabriel through Tom Cholis, October 15, 2008.
Restrictions:
Copyright held by the Smithsonian Institution. Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Reproduction permission from the Archives Center: reproduction fees may apply.
Rights:
Collections items available for reproduction but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Reproudction permission from the the Archives Center: reproduction fees may apply.
Unrestricted research use on site by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Collection Rights:
Collections items available for reproduction but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Reproudction permission from the the Archives Center: reproduction fees may apply.
Papers related to Dr. John C. Boyd's career as a U.S. Navy surgeon, including his commission, names recommended for awards, his casebook for 1874-1877, his correspondence, including two letterpress books, 1895-1902; photographs. Also photographs, especially those by his son, Dr. Walter Willard Boyd, of Dr. Harvey Cushing performing neurosurgical and other operations; two films (1931) of an operation; two scrapbooks, including one outlining an accident and eventual amputation of the leg of Walter Jones Willard (includes letters and sympathy cards).
Scope and Contents note:
This collection is divided into six series.
Series 1: Awards and Commissions, 1917-1920
Series 2: Casebook, 1874-1877
Series 3: CORRESPONDENCE, January 1895-February 1902
Series 4: PHOTOGRAPHS,1928 - 1939
Series 5: POSTERS, early 1900's- mid 1940's
Series 6: SCRAPBOOKS, 1888-1945
Series 7: FILM, 1931
Arrangement:
Divided into 7 series.
Biographical / Historical:
The Boyd Family Collection consists primarily of correspondence, recruitment and other posters, personal papers, and photographs of a naval surgeon, John C. Boyd, and his son Walter Willard Boyd.
Dr. John C. Boyd was a surgeon and medical inspector for the United States Navy. Included in the collection is Boyd's Naval Commission, December 19, 1873, his Patient Case Book 1874-1877, and a Letterpress book of his correspondence with other professionals and military officials. As a naval inspector, he not only examined patients' conditions, but he also inspected the sanitation of the soldier's quarters and other areas aboard naval ships.
His son, Dr. Walter Willard Boyd, was a photographer of medical surgeries performed by Dr. Harvey Cushing (1869 1939). Cushing was widely known as the greatest neurosurgeon of the 20th century and his school of neuro surgery was world famous. His contributions to neuroscience were numerous and he was also known as a medical historian. Cushing's biography of Sir William Osler won a Pulitzer Prize in 1926. Boyd interned under Cushing and put together an exhibit at the Bent Brigham Hospital's 30th Anniversary Celebration in honor of Dr. Harvey Cushing's contributions to neuroscience. This collection contains photographs taken by Walter Boyd that were displayed at this exhibit. Dr. Richard U. Light (one of Cushing's last residents and also an avid photographer) and Dr. Boyd filmed Dr. Cushing's 2000th verified brain tumor operation on April 15th, 1931. Two films of this operation are included in the collection. In addition, Scrapbook #3 contains photographs of Dr. Cushing performing operations.
Also contained in this collection is a scrapbook outlining the details of a leg accident of Walter Jones Willard. Walter Jones Willard is the son of C.C. Willard, former owner and proprietor of the Ebbitt Hotel and the Willard Hotel, both in Washington, D.C. Walter Jones Willard and his brother Edward were both graduates of Yale University class of 1892 and were members of the prominent Willard family of D.C.
Related Materials:
Some materials from the donor were distributed to other NMAH divisions or to other archival repositories.
Princeton University Posters Collection. The Princeton University Library donated this extensive collection of WWI, and WWII materials to the Smithsonian in 1963 and 1967.
Photographic scrapbook #4 of Dr. Cushing's operations can be found at the Cyber Museum of Neurosurgery. It was donated to the American Association of Neurosurgery Archives by Dr. Richard U. Light. http://www.neurosurgery.org/cybermuseum/journal/
Provenance:
Donated by Ms. Josephine Carpenter, daughter of Dr. Walter Willard Boyd, Nov. 19, 1999.
Restrictions:
Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Ruth is seated on a stool, with his wife standing behind him, with medical equipment in the background..
Local Numbers:
02070709.tif (AC Scan)
General:
In Box 1, Folder 6.
Exhibitions Note:
Peter Bent Brigham Hospital 50th Anniversary Photographic Exhibit by Walter Boyd, May, 1963.
Restrictions:
Unrestricted research use on site by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
4 pp. Cover illustration: reproduction of photograph of Babe Ruth holding bat, framed in orange on blue, with drawings of fans.
Local Numbers:
04030035.tif (AC Scan No.)
General:
Subseries 7.1, box 2, folder N.
Series Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Series Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Baseball -- Songs and music -- 1920-1930 Search this
Genre/Form:
Sheet music -- 1920-1930
Series Citation:
The Sam DeVincent Collection of Illustrated American Sheet Music, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
A century of Babe Ruth : an exhibition commemorating the 100th birthday of the Sultan of Swat / Michael Solomowitz, curator ; sponsored by Edward Arrigoni ; featuring the Barry Halper Collection
