Expert: Tom Schott - 8/20/2009

Question
I submitted a question that appeared to be within your field, but got back a "not in my field" response.
Any idea where I might turn?
I am trying to establish provenance of an autographed baseball that I obtained
at n exhibition game between the Brooklyn Dodges and Cleveland Indians in the
summer of 1951. The game was played at Ebbetts Field in mid-summer. I cannot
find the game listed in any schedules, etc. I would like to know when the game
was played. Could it have been in 1950?  

Answer
Skip,

Sorry I could not help with this. I could certainly help you if we were talking about regular season games, but I don't have resources to nail down exhibition games. Here's what I would do if I were trying to find this information. Check the newspapers of the period. The NY Times might have mentioned it, or a Brooklyn paper, another NY City paper, or a Cleveland paper. And/or write to front offices of the teams themselves. Write a letter, not an email. Sometimes you could strike gold right there or the office might be able to suggest another resource for you. Good luck.