Govinda Gallery

It was an extraordinary pleasure for me to first feature the baseball photographs of Walter Iooss at Govinda Gallery in April of 2003. That exhibition was also a launch for Iooss’s wonderful book Classic Baseball. Walter Iooss and his photographs are a national treasure.

Mickey Mantle (at Bat) and Roger Maris.

Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, N.Y. 1962. Photo by Walter Iooss.

I was born in the Bronx and my father would take myself and my four brothers and sister regularly to Yankee Stadium to see the New York Yankees, as well as having season tickets for decades to the New York Football Giants. My nephew, Vincent Murray, and his brother Michael, still keep those seats. I continue to make an annual pilgrimage to Yankee Stadium to see the Yankees and I am delighted that they are in the World Series this year.

Roger Maris hits his 61st Home Run. Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, N.Y.

September 1961. Photo by Walter Iooss.

My favorite Yankee team is from 1961, when Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth‘s home run record. My sports hero growing up was Mickey Mantle. Now Aaron Judge continues the great tradition of the Bronx Bombers. This year’s team is my favorite Yankee team since the Mantle/Maris days!

The Dodgers, who are playing the Yankees in the World Series, used to be in Brooklyn! Walter Iooss took some great photographs of the Brooklyn Dodgers as well.

Roy Campanella, Duke Snider, Jake Pitler, Gil Hodges, & Walt Alston.

Old Timers Day – The Polo Grounds, The Bronx, N.Y. 1962. Photo by Walter Iooss.

I also featured Walter Iooss’s baseball photographs in a remarkable exhibition in Havana, Cuba at their national photo gallery, Fototeca de Cuba. So many current and past Cuban baseball players attended the exhibition opening. Cuban baseball fans are the most passionate in the world. They appreciated my bringing Walter Iooss’s photographs more than one can imagine. I was so moved by the love of the Cuban people.

Carnaval 1998. Havana, Cuba. 1999. Photo by Walter Iooss.

Jackie Robinson, 1955. Photo by Osvaldo Salas.

This last photo of the Brooklyn Dodgers’s Jackie Robinson is taken by the Cuban photographer Osvaldo Salas. Osvaldo and his son, Roberto Salas, were living in New York City in the mid-50s. When the Cuban Revolution began, both Osvaldo and Roberto returned to Havana and documented the Cuban Revolution. Roberto had a brilliant exhibition at Govinda Gallery in 2003 and his photographs are available through Govinda Gallery. Enjoy this blog on my friend and legendary photographer Roberto Salas, posted on April 15th, 2013.