The Orioles' Opening Day is Monday, April 6 when they host the New York Yankees. It makes me think about a Baltimore Sun photographer named LeRoy B. Merriken who covered 70 Opening Days, including a half dozen after his retirement.

He was a photographer for The Sun from 1924 until his retirement in 1980. Merriken started as a copy boy at the old Baltimore American in 1912 and became a photographer for the American two years later. It was that year, in 1914 that LeRoy Merriken took his first photo of George Herman Ruth, better known as the "Babe," in a team photo of the International League Orioles.

Merriken is better known for a photo he took of Babe Ruth on May 1, 1930 at an exhibition game shot at old Orioles Park. That famous shot shows Ruth looking up from a twisted stance at the end of a full swing. You can see that photo and others by and of Merriken in this gallery.

Merriken loved baseball and the Orioles, both the old minor league team and new American League franchise. He looked forward to every Opening Day. He spent many years covering the Orioles at spring training and took thousands of photographs. But he also covered other major events, photographing kings (George VI), presidents (starting with Calvin Coolidge) and heroes (such as Charles Lindbergh) .

A writer once asked Merriken what his secret was for making great baseball photographs.

"I told him there was no secret, it was pretty much a matter of common sense," Merriken said. "The most important thing is to know the rules and think about how the game works and then be ready for the action when it happens.

"A sports photographer, if he's any good has got to try to figure out what's going to happen in any given situation, and if he knows the game and is paying attention then he should be able to think ahead and plan for all the possibilities. After that, it's strictly instinct, and I think one thing the best photographers all have is great instinct."

Merriken used many cameras during his career, starting with a Graflexe and then Speed Graphics and then the more lightweight 35-mm. I remember one camera that he used, a large Graflexe, which was named " Big Bertha." I have good memories of LeRoy Merriken and Opening Day. He would help the rest of the staff get excited about the start of another baseball season.

Posted by Paul McCardell at 5:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

I'm starting this post with a video clip from the documentary, "Citizen Schaefer," which airs on Maryland Public Television on Monday, March 30 at 9 p.m. The program, about William Donald Schaefer, uses lots of the thousands of photographs Sun photographers took of Schaefer during his many years of public service.

To me, William Donald Schaefer will always be the Mayor of Baltimore, a position he held from 1971-1986. He was also Governor of Maryland from 1987-1995 and Comptoller of Maryland from 1999-2007.

Schaefer spent more than 50 years in Maryland politics and public service. He was one of the most photogenic politicians this city and state have ever had. He was very unpredictable and a man of a thousand faces and hats. The library has amassed a huge amount of photos documenting his career and life.

Schaefer was great at getting your attention. And he was great at getting things done for the city and state he loved so much. You might not have always agreed with him, but it's hard to argue that he wasn't effective at getting things done.

I haven't seen the documentary yet, but I am looking forward to watching and maybe gaining a better understanding of the puzzle of a man named Schaefer. I hope you enjoy this photo gallery, which includes the photo of Schaefer in the seal pool taken by April Saul, one of the first women photographers on The Sun's photo staff .

Here's a link to the Maryland State Archives' biography of William Donald Schaefer.

Posted by Paul McCardell at 4:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

A sad anniversary is upon us. On March 29, it will have been 25 years since the night the Baltimore Colts moved out of town under the cover of darkness.

The moving vans arrived on March 28th at the Colts Owings Mills complex and in the early hours of March 29th our Colts were gone. I remember it well. I was walking near Johns Hopkins University when I spotted an Evening Sun dated March 29,1984 in a newspaper box with the headline, "Law lets city sue to keep Colts: Team sneaks off to Indianapolis; Schaefer bitter."

My eyes were drawn to the photo of the Mayflower moving truck leaving the Colts' complex. The photo was taken by longtime Sun staff photographer Lloyd Pearson, who captured the theft on film after spending a long, snowy night at the Owings Mills complex. I have to note that the Mayflower truck wasn't from Baltimore. It was operated by a company from another state.

Here's a link to more photos and editorial cartoons about the move.

Baltimore went through a painful period of 12 years until the Ravens arrived in 1996. Many feel that the Baltimore Colts never really left Baltimore but live on in the Baltimore Ravens.

The old Colts' training facility now is part of the athletic facilities used by the Stevenson University Mustangs.

The links below let you relive memories of the Baltimore Colts. And be sure to read our story on the anniversary of the move in Sunday's Sun .

The Colts Heritage Website

The Baltimore Colts page on the Sports Encyclopedia

History.com's article on the move

Baltimore Colts Mania Website

Posted by Paul McCardell at 4:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
        

Maryland Day commemorates the landing of the first English settlers on St. Clement's Island on March 25,1634. This year is the 375th anniversary of that event.

Approximately 140 settlers arrived on two small sailing boats, the Ark and the Dove. They came here seeking religious freedom and riches. These original settlers endured many hardships, just as the Pilgrims in New England did. But through their perseverance, Maryland grew and prospered.

I have provided a photo gallery of past Maryland Days including the Tercentenary Celebration in 1934 where an old schooner named the May Brown was converted into a replica of the Ark and a navy large lifeboat was converted into the Dove . The Dove II replica was built and launched in 1978 and is docked in St.Mary's City.

I have provided links to read more about Maryland Day and our heritage and St. Mary's County where Maryland began and where you can travel back in time to Marylands beginnings.


Maryland Day at a Glance

The Voyages of the Ark and Dove

The Story of the Ark and Dove

Historic St. Mary's City Website

St. Clements Island State Park Website

Maryland 375

Posted by Paul McCardell at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus' 138th edition, "Over The Top," starts Wednesday, March 25 at the 1st Mariner Arena. I thought it would be a good time to showcase photographic memories of "The Greatest Show on Earth's" visits to Baltimore.

The circus has been coming to Baltimore for a long time, providing laughter and thrills for "children of all ages." We love the clowns and animals and other circus acts.

I hope you enjoy the photos and please feel free to send your comments and ideas for future photo blog posts you'd like to see.

Posted by Paul McCardell at 1:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Spring starts this Friday, March 20th. Every year at this time my thoughts turn to new blooms and budding trees. The daffodils, the trumpets of spring, are already showing their color, blossoming more and more each day.

The photo above was taken by A. Aubrey Bodine, regarded as one of the finest pictorialists of the Twentieth Century and an iconic member of The Baltimore Sun, who for more than 50 years was to photography what Mencken was to the written word.

The photo, published in The Sun on May 1, 1949, was taken at Sherwood Gardens in the Guilford Community on what was once part of the estate of A. S. Abell, this newspaper's founder. Sherwood Gardens is Baltimore's most famous garden. It was a gift of John W. Sherwood, who opened up his gardens to the public. Today the Gardens are in the care of the Guilford Association with help from Baltimore City.

Here's a link to a gallery of Sun photos from Sherwood Gardens through the years. You can also read more about the history of the gardens, whose famous tulips usually peak the last week in April or the first week of May, in this column by Frederick Rasmussen. The Guilford Community Website has even more information about Sherwood Gardens. And, if you want to read more about A. Aubrey Bodine, I have linked to his daughter, Jennifer Bodine's Website.

Thanks for reading, but remember to get outside and enjoy spring. Maryland has so many beautiful places to enjoy the season.

Posted by Paul McCardell at 3:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

I have fond memories of St. Patrick's Day in Baltimore, watching the parade down Charles Street and then gathering with my aunts and uncles at my grandparents' house. Sometimes my father would March with the Friendly Sons of St.Patrick with his shillelagh walking stick when he wasn't photographing the parade. When my Uncle Joe marched with the Ancient Order of Hibernians' Society, he would wear a kilt.

The St. Patrick's Day parade returned to Baltimore on March 16, 1956 after a 46-year absence and has been continuous ever since. This year's parade is Sunday, March 15th at 2 p.m., starting at the Washington Monument. It goes south on Charles Street and continues east on Pratt Street.

Here is a link to past St. Patrick's Day Parades in Baltimore.

St. Patrick's Day is a great day for the wearin' o' the green. On this day everybody is Irish, so have a happy Saint Patrick's Day and enjoy the photographs!

Posted by Paul McCardell at 4:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

This is a beautiful photograph of the steamboat City of Norfolk. The caption from December 2, 1950 Sun read:

"HARD TO STARBOARD --- In the gray dawn yesterday, the Norfolk boat departed from the straight course to the Light Street Pier it has been using since 1898. With its running lights still burning, the City of Norfolk swung sharp right and eased into its new berth, Pier 3 on Pratt Street. The new dock is the fourth the Old Bay Line has used since Capt.Jim Coffee, in his high silk hat and black coat, brought its first steam packet into port in 1840. In those days, the line operated out of Spear's Wharf in Canton."

That photo, along with the one below of the docked steamer, were taken by Hans Marx, an award-winning photojournalist who came to The Sun in 1937 and left in 1955. Marx, who was in the Merchant Marine during World War II, was a devoted fan of steamships and railroads and spent his life collecting memorabilia.

Hans Marx died in January 1999 at the age of 83. In his obituary, Marx's son told The Sun's Frederick N. Rassmussen, "He grew up in the steam era and it fasinated him. Anything that was propelled by steam, such as trains and ships. They were labor-intensive and he loved the noises, clouds of steam and smoke. He lamented the invention of the diesel engine."

The City of Norfolk took its final voyage on April 12, 1962, and that ended the storied history of the Old Bay Line. While being scrapped in 1966, she was struck by lightning and burned to the waterline. If you look at the Baltimore Harbor today, just imagine the days when it was filled with steamboats.

Note to readers: I am always looking for ideas for this photo blog. If there are photos you remember and would like to see again, leave a comment or send me an e-mail and I will do my best to try to accommodate your request .

Posted by Paul McCardell at 9:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Sonja Henie, a popular three-time Olympic gold medalist figure skater and movie star, came to Baltimore's Armory with a 125-performer cast for her 1952 Ice Revue.

The sold-out March 6 show, with 7,000 in attendance, was scheduled to open at 8:30 p.m. Temporary bleachers had been constructed and workmen were still finishing up minutes before the start of the show. My father Walter McCardell Jr. was assigned to cover the ice show and was in a balcony above the bleachers, waiting for the show to start. He had brought plenty of film and flashbulbs.

At 8:25 there was a cracking sound and then what witnesses said sounded like a freight train. People began falling in their chairs, one on top of another, with sounds of gasping and screaming combined with the din of splitting wood.

From the photo above you can imagine what a horrific scene it was. My father was above the part of the bleachers that collapsed and after a few flashbulbs misfired, he ended up shooting all his film. He requested more film so he could continue covering the heroic efforts of police officers, fire fighters and National Guardsmen, as well as fellow citizens who came to aid of victims.

As word of the accident spread, more photographers joined my father on the scene. Ralph Dohme and Clarence Garrett covered the hospitals and the aftermath at the Armory. My father was expecting to cover an ice show, but ended up covering a totally different type of news event. Luckily nobody was killed in the accident but more than 300 people were injured, 30 of them seriously.

You can see more photos from the collapse and rescue in this gallery.

My father's photo of the collapse appeared in Life Magazine and other publications across the country. I often wondered how my father or any photographer can work when disastrous events are happening around them. The answer I continually come up with is that it is their job to record events, be they tragic or joyful.

Posted by Paul McCardell at 5:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

The so-called "Storm of the Century" slammed into the Atlantic Coast from North Carolina to New England on March 5-9,1962.

Also known as the "Ash Wednesday Storm," it devastated many communities along the Eastern Shore, especially Ocean City, Rehoboth, Bethany, Fenwick, Dewey Beach and Chincoteague. Ocean City alone suffered almost $7 million in damage, experiencing more wreckage than from the Great Storm of 1933, which cut the inlet.

The Baltimore Sun did an excellent job documenting the destruction and rebuilding along the Delmarva coast. The photographic team was led by A. Aubrey Bodine, who spent much of his time after the storm on the Eastern Shore capturing images of the storm's aftermath and the subsequent recovery. This work was published in a Sunday Sun Magazine special issue on April 15, 1962, as well as a 52-page booklet that contained many previously unpublished photos. Other photographers from the Sun's photo staff who covered the storm were Clarence Garrett (who took the shot above), William Mortimer, Ralph Robinson and William Burton.

You can find a gallery of their work at this link.

My colleague Frank Roylance also has more information about the storm on his weather blog.

Last year during Maryland Public Television's Chesapeake Bay Week, The Sun co-produced a vignette about the Storm of the Century. MPT's Maryland Milestones video about the storm is below.

Posted by Paul McCardell at 9:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)