BOOZE AND CHEERS-- A signature elemnet of the Brooklyn Didgers' Ebbets Field was a large Schaefer beer sign on which an "E' or "H" lit up to indicate error or hit. The official scorer got a free case of Schaefer each week for hitting the controls in the press box to activate the letters.
HISTORICAL SIGNPOSTS-- Ads have been part of baseball's big moments. A memorable Jimmy Foxx home run sailed over the Lux Soap sign at Cleveland's League Park in 1936. Cardinals outfielder Curt Flood slammed into an Alpo Dog Food sign as he made one of the greatest catches at Philadelphia's Connie Mack Stadium in 1964. Mark McGwire smashed a 485-foot home run at Cleveland's Jacobs Field in 1997 that hit the Budweiser sign between the E and I.
DIRTY TRICK-- At Philadelphia's Baker Bowl in the early 1900s, a soap company's billboard read, "The Phillies use Lifebuoy." A graffiti artist once added, "But they still stink."
HUMAN BILLBOARD?-- In the 1970s, Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner wanted to give pitcher Andy Messersmith the number 17, nickname him "Channel" and put that name on his uniform. Strangely, Turner's cable superstation was Channel 17. National League President Chub Feeney nixed it.
It Was a Number Oops. --Cooter
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