Directly from the family estate collection of Barney Stein comes this large-format 11" by 14" original photograph of Pee Wee Reese's 37th birthday celebration on July 22, 1955 (one day before his actual b-day). For the climactic lights-out moment, the Ebbets Field lights were shut off and fans lit matches while singing Happy Birthday" to their beloved Hall of Fame shortstop. This marked the Dodgers' first "lights-out" effect before doing so again on 'Roy Campanella Night' in 1959 to honor Campy after a tragic car accident ended his baseball career and left him paralyzed.
The lovely black and white image was printed off the original negative from the famous Dodgers photographer's camera many years later. It has been professionally framed with a lovely white matting inside a thick wooden border (made of ash like most baseball bats). This exact framed photo was on display as part of the Barney Stein Photo Collection exhibit in 2001 at the Frick Art and Historical Museum in Pittsburgh, PA. (Certificate from this exhibit included on reverse side.)
DATE/YEAR: 7/22/1955
GENERATION: First (printed from original negative)
*Guaranteed to receive PSA/DNA Type II designation if removed from frame and authenticated.
PHOTOGRAPHER: Barney Stein
PHOTO DIMS: 11” x 14"
FRAMED DIMS: 17" x 20"
CONDITION: Mint
PROVENANCE: Family letter from Barney Stein's daughter Bonnie (Stein) Crosby
This same image is featured on page 69 of Through a Blue Lens, a 2007 book by Bonnie Crosby and Dennis D'Agostino (forewords by Peter O'Malley and Carl Erskine) that chronicled Barney Stein's 1937-1957 Brooklyn Dodgers photography.