Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

DODGERS JERSEY "19"

Date Range From

1970

Date Range To

1976

Materials

COTTON, POLYESTER

No. Pieces

1

Length

79

Width

90.1

Description

GREY SHORT-SLEEVED SHIRT WITH SIX GREY OPAQUE PLASTIC BUTTONS DOWN FRONT; FRONT OF SHIRT HAS BLUE TEXT WITH WHTE EDGES EMBROIDERED ON, “DODGERS” AND UNDERLINED; FRONT HAS RED TEXT STITCHED ON “19”; SHIRT SLEEVED HAVE BLUE BAND WITH WHITE EDGES SEWN ON. FRONT OPENS WITH BUTTONS; INSIDE COLLAR HAS WHITE TAG WITH RED TEXT, “W.A. GOODMAN & SONS, LOS ANGELES, 44, WASH IN 120OF WATER, WITH MILD SOAP, DO NOT USE DETERGENTS, DO NOT BLEACH, DO NOT TUMBLE DRY”. BACK OF SHIRT HAS RESIDUE FROM REMOVED TEXT IN SHAPE OF TEXT “GILLIAM”; BACK HAS BLUE TEXT WITH WHITE EDGES SEWN ON “19”. SHIRT HAS STAINING ON FRONT AND INSIDE; FRONT HAS LOOSE THREAD FROM TOP BUTTON; SHIRT IS FADED WITH MINOR LIGHT DAMAGE; OVERALL VERY GOOD CONDITION.

Subjects

PERSONAL SYMBOL

Historical Association

SPORTS

PERSONAL CARE

LEISURE

History

ON SEPTEMBER 12, 2019, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED LEE PRINDLE REGARDING HIS DONATION OF LETHBRIDGE BASEBALL MEMORABILIA. ON THE ‘DODGERS’ BASEBALL JERSEY, PRINDLE RECALLED, “[I GOT THE JERSEY IN] 1976…THE MAJOR LEAGUE CLUBS HAND DOWN UNIFORMS AFTER THEY’VE BEEN USED A SEASON OR TWO…THIS ONE GOT HANDED ON DOWN TO THE ROOKIE FARM CLUB OF THE LOS ANGELES DODGERS, WHICH IS THE LETHBRIDGE DODGERS AND IT WAS WITH US…FOR A FEW YEARS MAYBE AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN, IN 1976, THE DODGERS DECIDED THAT THEY SHOULD RETIRE THAT NUMBER OUT OF DEFERENCE TO JIM GILLIAM…THIS WAS HIS NUMBER, HE WORE IT ALL HIS CAREER, AND THEY DECIDED TO RETIRE IT.” “WHEN THEY RETIRE THE NUMBER, NOBODY ELSE CAN WHERE THAT, AT LEAST NOBODY IN THE DODGER ORGANIZATION CAN WEAR THAT…THE FIELD MANAGER THEN, GAIL HENLEY, SAID I COULD DO WHATEVER I WANTED WITH THEM…WE GOT TWO SHIRTS. ONE WAS A WHITE AND THIS ONE…IS A GREY…THERE WAS SOMEBODY LOOKING FOR SOME DONATION FOR A CHARITY AUCTION AND I GAVE THE [WHITE] ONE TO THAT. IT WAS A SILENT AUCTION AND THAT WAS…SHORTLY AFTER I GOT ‘EM…I’VE HAD IT SINCE THEN AND NOW, BECAUSE TIME PASSES AND I THINK IT SHOULD BE LEFT SOMEWHERE WHERE IT CAN BE LOOKED AFTER.” “THEY HAND DOWN ALL THEIR OLD UNIFORMS…WE KNOW [IT] WAS HIS BECAUSE IT HAD HIS NAME…WE DIDN’T PUT NAMES ON THE BACKS [OF THE JERSEYS] AT THAT TIME…SOMEBODY PROBABLY WORE IT, MAYBE FOR A YEAR OR [HALF A YEAR]…” “[I HUNG ONTO THE JERSEY] BECAUSE IT’S RETIRED, BECAUSE HE WAS A GOOD BASEBALL PLAYER…I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH IT…IT’S AS MUCH ABOUT HIM [GILLIAM]…THE TEAM, HERE, WERE ALL DIFFERENT NUMBERS. THE TEAM WOULD BE INSIGNIFICANT TO THEM BUT IT WAS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE THE DODGERS THOUGHT IT WAS SIGNIFICANT. THEY THOUGHT IT WAS SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH TO RETIRE THE NUMBER…IT’S A MEMORABILIA TO ME OF BEING ON THE TEAM. IT’S LIKE THE BASEBALL…SIGNED BASEBALL; THEY MEAN SOMETHING TO ME ‘CAUSE I KNEW ALL THOSE KIDS…” “[I KEPT THE JERSEY] IN THE CLOSET. FOR SOME REASON, I’M TRYING TO PROTECT IT, YOU KNOW? I’M TRYING TO KEEP IT IN AS GOOD A CONDITION AS I CAN…I USED THIS TWICE…I’VE BEEN IN THE THEATRE A LOT, IN LETHBRIDGE. [I] WAS IN A PLAY ONCE CALLED ‘THE ODD COUPLE’…IT WAS THE FEMALE VERSION. SANDRA MACFARLANE WAS ONE OF THE LADIES AND NINA MEEKS WAS THE OTHER ONE; THEY WERE THE ODD COUPLE, PARALLEL TO THE MALE VERSION OF ‘THE ODD COUPLE’…I HAD SANDRA [WEAR] THIS IN THE PLAY THAT WE DID [IN THE ‘90S] BECAUSE SHE WAS THE SPORTS ONE AND SUPPOSED TO WEAR IT…LATER ON [IN THE 2000S], WHEN WE DID THE MALE VERSION, I WAS ‘OSCAR ROBERTSON’—‘OSCAR MADISON’ AND I WORE IT IN ONE SCENE…IT HAS SOME EXPOSURE…BOTH OF THOSE WERE DONE FOR LETHBRIDGE PLAYGOERS. PRINDLE ELABORATED ON THE TIES OF JAMES “JIM” GILLIAM TO LETHBRIDGE, NOTING, “GILLIAM NEVER DID PLAY FOR THE DODGERS IN LETHBRIDGE…HE PLAYED FROM 1953 TO 1966…IN BROOKLYN, FOR THE BROOKLYN DODGERS, AND THEN THE BROOKLYN DODGERS MOVED TO LOS ANGELES SO HE PLAYED FOR BOTH [DODGERS TEAMS]. ALL HIS CAREER, HIS MAJOR LEAGUE CAREER...HE ACTUALLY STARTED OUT IN MONTREAL WITH THE DODGERS’ FARM CLUB, JUST LIKE JACKIE ROBINSON DID. HE WAS ONE OF THE EARLIER [BLACK PLAYERS] IN BASEBALL, JUST LIKE JACKIE ROBINSON WAS. JACKIE ROBINSON WAS THERE FIRST BUT ‘JUNIOR’ GILLIAM CAME A COUPLE OF YEARS LATER.” “…HE WAS AN M.V.P A NUMBER OF TIMES; GOT A LARGE NUMBER OF VOTES. HE WAS AN ALL-STAR A NUMBER OF TIMES, HE GOT ROOKIE OF THE YEAR HIS FIRST YEAR WITH THE DODGERS, I THINK, IN 1953…EVERY YEAR, TOWARDS THE END OF HIS CAREER, THEY DECIDED, ‘WELL WE’RE GONNA REPLACE HIM WITH SOMEBODY ELSE,’ AND THAT SOMEBODY ELSE NEVER WORKED OUT. EVEN IN HIS LAST YEAR OR SO, HE WAS FIRST-BASE COACH FOR A WHILE AND THEN THEY BROUGHT HIM BACK IN AGAIN.” “WHEN HE FIRST MADE THE DODGERS, THE DODGERS HAD A VERY GOOD IN-FIELD. THEY HAD JACKIE ROBINSON AT SECOND BASE…BUT THEY DIDN’T HAVE A GOOD LEAD-OFF HITTER. YOU NEED A GOOD LEAD-OFF HITTER AND THEY KNEW “JUNIOR” GILLIAM WAS A SWITCH-HITTER; HE COULD BAT LEFT OR RIGHT SO THEY COULD PUT HIM ON AND HE COULD FACE ANY…PITCHER AND HE’D GET ON BASE. AND HE DID. THE FIRST TEN GAMES HE PLAYED, HE WAS ON BASE EVERY ONE OF THEM SO THAT WAS THE KIND OF GUY HE WAS. HE WENT TO PLAY SECOND BASE AND JACKIE ROBINSON WENT TO PLAY THIRD BASE…THEN A NUMBER OF YEARS LATER…THEY GOT MAURY WILLS [WHO] WAS A GREAT BASE STEALER BUT MAURY WILLS NEEDED SOMEBODY TO BAT AFTER HIM TO MAKE SURE HE COULD GET TO THE BASE…MAURY WILLS THEN WAS THE LEAD-OFF HITTER, 'JUNIOR' GILLIAM BATTED SECOND AND 'JUNIOR' COULD ALMOST SEE WHEN HE WAS GOING TO TAKE OFF AND RUN…AND STILL HIT THE BALL SO MAURY WILLS STOLE A LOT OF BASES BUT A LOT OF IT IS CREDITED TO 'JUNIOR' GILLIAM.” “[THE] DODGERS DECIDED, AFTER LOOKING OVER HIS CAREER AND EVERYTHING HE CONTRIBUTED TO THEM…HE WASN’T A BIG HITTER BUT HE HAD TWO HOME RUNS IN THE WORLD SERIES AND HELPED THEM BEAT THE YANKEES, THE FIRST TIME THE DODGERS EVER DID THAT IN THE LONG TIME. HE WAS A BIG CONTRIBUTOR, NOT FAMOUS, BUT A BIG CONTRIBUTOR AND THAT’S WHY THEY THOUGHT IT’D BE WORTHWHILE TO RETIRE HIS UNIFORM.” ON HIS CONNECTIONS TO BASEBALL AND THE DODGERS, PRINDLE SHARED, “…I HAD WATCHED A LOT OF BASEBALL GAMES…I’M A BASEBALL FAN AND I HAD ALWAYS BEEN A DODGERS FAN…[I WAS WATCHING LOCAL GAMES] AT HENDERSON.” “I GREW UP IN SUNBURST, MONTANA. I CAME TO LETHBRIDGE IN 1967 TO TEACH AT THE COLLEGE…[I] TAUGHT THERE ‘TIL I RETIRED…I WAS WATCHING BASEBALL AND THE [DODGERS] OR THE BASEBALL ORGANIZATION HERE, WHICH WAS WITH THE EXPOS AND THE DODGERS, HAD ABOUT TWENTY GUYS THAT PUT IN A THOUSAND DOLLARS EACH TO START THE TEAM, HEADED BY RENO LIZZI, OF COURSE…THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN 1975, I THINK, WHEN THEY STARTED…THEY GOT INTO THE LEAGUE, AND THE EXPOS WERE JUST STARTING. THEY NEEDED [A] PLACE FOR THEIR FARM CLUBS…SO THE EXPOS CAME HERE FIRST AND I CAN REMEMBER WALT HRINIAK WAS THE FIELD MANAGER WHEN I CAME IN…THE EXPOS CAME UNDER THIS ORGANIZATION…ONE OF THE TWENTY GUYS THAT SEEN ME AT…A NUMBER OF BALLGAMES…SAID, ‘WE’RE LOOKING FOR A GENERAL MANAGER,’ AND BECAUSE I WAS A COLLEGE TEACHER, I HAD SOME TIME OFF IN THE SUMMER SO THAT KIND OF FIT IN WITH MY SCHEDULE…I APPLIED FOR THE JOB, INTERVIEWED, AND THEN I TALKED TO THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS [AT THE COLLEGE] ‘CAUSE I FIGURED THEY NEEDED SOME PERMISSION TO GET OFF BECAUSE IN THE SPRING…IT TAKES A LITTLE BIT AWAY FROM YOUR JOB. THEY SAID, ‘YEAH, GO FOR IT,’ SO THEY GAVE ME THE JOB [OF] GENERAL MANAGER.” “THE GENERAL MANAGER HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BRINGING IN THE TEAM TO THE ROOKIE LEAGUES. THE MAIN ORGANIZATION, THE VICE PRESIDENT…AND THE GENERAL MANAGER OF THE…DODGERS BRING THEM IN. SO THEY BRING IN THE TEAMS BUT I HAD TO LOOK AFTER EVERYTHING, LIKE BALL BOYS AND LAUNDRY AND TICKETS AND BUS TRIPS AND HOTELS…SO THAT’S WHAT I DID. BUT I HIRED ALL THE STAFF THAT WORKED AT THE BALLPARK, AT HENDERSON; WE WERE ALWAYS AT HENDERSON…I TOOK CARE OF THE MONEY. PAID THE GUYS THEIR MEAL MONEY. WHEN THEY WENT ON THE ROAD THEY GET THEIR MEAL MONEY ALLOWANCE…I DID IT FOR—FIRST YEAR WERE [WITH] THE EXPOS, THE NEXT YEAR WAS WITH THE DODGERS AND THEN I WAS OUT A YEAR AND SOMEBODY ELSE DID IT. THEY WANTED ME BACK SO I CAME BACK FOR ANOTHER YEAR. BOTH YEARS THAT I WAS GENERAL MANAGER, WE WON THE PENNANT. HENLEY WAS A REALLY, REALLY GOOD FIELD MANAGER. HE WAS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE CHIEF SCOUTS FOR THE DODGERS BUT HE WAS A GOOD FIELD MANAGER AND SO I WON IT…I GOT TWO, NICE, REAL PENNANT RINGS FROM THE DODGERS BUT, UNFORTUNATELY, WHEN MY HOUSE WAS BROKEN IN, THEY WERE STOLEN…” “I WORKED—I ENJOYED IT, REALLY. I MET A LOT OF BALL PLAYERS. I MET BALL PLAYERS THAT WENT ON AND PLAYED IN THE MAJORS…LIKE GREG BROCK…I [USED TO] GO TO SPRING TRAINING IN ARIZONA ALL THE TIME AND I’D SEE SOMEBODY DOWN—LIKE GREG BROCK [WHO] WAS PLAYING THEN FOR MILWAUKEE, I THINK, AND I’D…GO TALK TO HIM.” “…THERE WAS BASEBALL UP HERE [IN LETHBRIDGE] BEFORE [THE DODGERS]…I ONLY CAME HERE IN ’67 BUT I KNOW THERE WAS BASEBALL HERE BEFORE AND THE CULTURE OF BASEBALL IS STILL HERE…WE HAVE THE BULLS HERE…THEY BELONG TO THE SOUTHWESTERN BASEBALL LEAGUE [WESTERN CANADIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE] THEY GET GOOD ATTENDANCE…” “I THINK [BASEBALL] HAS [DONE WELL IN LETHBRIDGE] AND ONE OF THE REASONS IS WE HAVE THIS [LEAGUE]…WHERE THE COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY STUDENTS COME [PRAIRIE BASEBALL LEAGUE]…THERE’S A LOT OF INTEREST HERE. OUR LITTLE LEAGUE TEAMS HAVE ALWAYS DONE WELL…[THE KIDS IN THE LITTLE LEAGUE] HAVE HOCKEY AND SOCCER AND A LOT OF STUFF BUT [OUR LITTLE LEAGUE TEAMS HAVE] ALWAYS DONE [WELL]…MY GRANDSON WAS ON A JUNIOR LITTLE LEAGUE TEAM THAT WENT ALL THE WAY TO THE CANADIAN NATIONALS…THERE’S A PRETTY GOOD BASEBALL CULTURE HERE, I THINK. I THINK IT HOLDS ITS WEIGHT…I THINK THE SIZE OF THE COMMUNITY IS GOOD FOR BASEBALL…AFTER WE GOT INTO PIONEER LEAGUE THEN CALGARY DECIDED TO GET INTO IT, TOO…” “RENO LIZZI WAS A HUGE BASEBALL FAN AND A DODGER. IF YOU CUT IN, LIKE TOMMY LASORDA WOULD SAY, HE ‘BLED BLUE’, DODGER BLUE…THE DODGERS AT ONE TIME HAD A FARM CLUB IN SPOKANE. AND [LIZZI] WOULD GO DOWN THERE AND HE’D MEET THESE GUYS. HE MET 'BUZZIE' BAVASI, ONE OF THE EARLIER GENERAL MANAGERS…HE JUST TALKED TO ‘EM…[LIZZI] WOULD INVITE THOSE PEOPLE UP HERE TO SPORTSMEN CENTRES…WE COULDN’T GET THE DODGERS AT THAT TIME. I BELIEVE THEY WERE IN GREAT FALLS AT THAT TIME BUT WHEN HE PUT UP THE MONEY, THEN HE JUST PUT OUT SOME FEELERS AND [THE] EXPOS WERE LOOKING FOR A PLACE, THEY GOT IN TOUCH WITH LIZZI, THE BOARD, THEY THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE A GOOD PLACE TO START, AND THEY CAME…AFTER THAT, FINALLY, RENO GOT HIS BELOVED DODGERS TO COME TO LETHBRIDGE…ALTHOUGH THEY HAD BASEBALL HERE BEFORE, IN SOME OTHER KIND OF MIXED LEAGUES…I THINK LIZZI WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF IT. I GIVE HIM CREDIT FOR THAT.” “ONE OF THE VICE PRESIDENTS…HAD TROUBLE SENDING STUFF ACROSS THE LINE. HE DIDN’T WANT TO PAY ANY DUTY ON IT AND STUFF WOULD COME—[ON] BUSES—THEY WOULD TRY TO ACTUALLY…GO TO GREAT FALLS TO [AN] AWAY GAME AND PUT [A] BUNCH OF NEW BASEBALLS IN AND COME ACROSS THE LINE AND THE CUSTOMS PEOPLE DON’T LIKE THAT AND SO HE WAS HAVING TROUBLE PAYING THAT…THEY HAD PROBLEM WITH THE CROSSING OF THE LINE, THE DIFFERENCE IN DOLLAR…YOU’RE PAYING THESE KIDS LESS…THEY EVENTUALLY LEFT AND THEN OF COURSE, EVENTUALLY…WHEN ARIZONA STARTED…WE HAD A FARM CLUB HERE WITH THE ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS.” “WE’RE PART OF THE SOUTHWEST SASKATCHEWAN LEAGUE…WITH THE LETHBRIDGE BULLS AND THEY GET GOOD ATTENDANCE AND THEY HAVE DECIDED, WITH HELP WITH SOME SPONSORS, LIKE SPITZ…THEY MAKE A NICE BASEBALL STADIUM OUT OF IT, OVER THERE. IT’S JUST A NICE THING TO DO; TO GO OVER AND SIT THERE BY THE LAKE IN THE EVENING IN THE SUMMERTIME AND WATCH A BASEBALL GAME.” “FOR ME [THE GOLDEN ERA FOR BASEBALL IN LETHBRIDGE], OF COURSE, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE TWO YEARS WE WON THE PENNANT…WE HAD A GOOD AVERAGE…GAIL HENLEY HAD A…AFTER THE GAME, WE’D GET TOGETHER WITH THE COACHES, WE’D GO DOWN FOR A PIZZA SOMEWHERE…AND TALK ABOUT THE GAME AND...I’D SAY, ‘GEEZ, YOU KNOW THAT FIRST BASEMAN FUMBLED A LOT.’ AND THEY’D SAY, ‘NO, NO, HE’S REALLY GOOD.’ I JUST LIKED THE WAY THAT THEY COULD ANALYZE BALL PLAYERS BECAUSE THEY’RE LOOKING—THESE BALL PLAYERS THAT CAME HERE, THEIR FUTURE, HOPEFULLY, IS IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES; THAT’S WHERE THEY WANNA BE…SOME OF THEM THEY COULD SUMMARIZE RIGHT AWAY AND SOME OF THEM, THEY DIDN’T, BUT THERE’S GUYS LIKE RON KITTLE THAT PLAYED HERE. I NEVER THOUGHT HE’D MAKE IT BUT HE HAD SEVENTEEN HOME RUNS IN HIS CAREER AGAINST BOSTON…IT WAS NICE TO MEET THOSE KIDS…ANDRE DAWSON PLAYED HERE. THAT WAS 1975 SO I DIDN’T KNOW HIM BUT I WATCHED HIM PLAY A LOT…SOME OF THE GUYS THAT PLAYED HERE, WENT ON AND BECAME FAMOUS. ANDRE DAWSON, OF COURSE, IS IN THE HALL OF FAME, SO, I THINK THAT’S GOOD.” AN APRIL 22, 1976 LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLE REFERENCES RENO LIZZI AS THE PRESIDENT OF THE LETHBRIDGE EXPOS MONTREAL’S PIONEER LEAGUE FRANCHISE, WITH PRINDLE REFERENCED AS THE GENERAL MANAGER OF THE LETHBRIDGE EXPOS. ACCORDING TO A MARCH 14, 1979 LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLE, PRINDLE BEGIN AS GENERAL MANAGER FOR THE LETHBRIDGE EXPOS IN 1976, AND REMAINED GENERAL MANAGER WHEN THE LETHBRIDGE DODGERS WERE FORMED IN 1977. FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION, LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLES, AND INFORMATION ON JIM GILLIAM, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE P20190023001-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20190023001

Acquisition Date

2019-09

Collection

Museum

Less detail