Francis Joseph "Lefty" O'Doul

Lefty began his career in the minor leagues as a pitcher for the San Francisco Seals and from 1919-1923 played for both the Boston Red Sox and New York Giants. His arm began to give him problems so he was returned to the minor leagues where he converted himself to a power hitting outfielder. He was resigned to the New York Giants as a Platoon Player where he went on to bat .319. O'Doul was traded in 1929 to the Philadelphia Phillies where he won a batting title for hitting .398 with 254 hits, 32 home runs, 122 runs batted in, and 152 runs scored. In 1932 he won another title while playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Lefty ended his playing career where it started with the New York Giants in 1934. Then in 1937 Lefty signed to be the manager of the San Francisco Seals minor league team. He stayed there from 1937 to 1951 before going on to manage several other minor league teams. Although Lefty wouldn't take credit for it he was involved with the development of another famous baseball player by the name of Joe DiMaggio . Lefty simply said "I was just smart enough to leave him alone." Lefty was also instrumental in making baseball popular in Japan and even named the Tokyo Giants after his old team back home. He was the ambassador for baseball before and after WWII. Although Lefty is gone the restaurant and bar he founded is not. It can still be found on Geary St. in San Francisco serving Lefty's original Bloody Mary recipe. It is said that the original bartender from 1960 is still employed there. I had been by the place a million times but never actually went in. I guess I'll have to save it for my next trip. Lefty now rests at Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, CA. A great addition to my collection of baseball greats. And a great piece of San Francisco history.

Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929

Wyatt Earp is buried with his common law wife Josephine Sarah Marcus in Hills of Eternity Cemetery Colma, CA. Originally I had planned this post to be a writeup on the life of Wyatt but as I was doing research I realized that Wikipedia has a very extensive and well done semi biography. (Click to read). So what you will have here instead is just my general observations. Sometimes when I hear someone famous is buried somewhere I get to the grave and say "That's it?" Expecting something on a monumental scale and then you get just a normal stone that anyone else would have just walked past. This happened to be one of them. Not that Wyatt was rich or anything. I guess it just seems that famous people are put on this pedestal no matter the extent of their fame so you think you're going to see something magnificent when you get there. What you see here is just what Wyatt was. A normal person that did extraordinary things. That lived a hard life in the Old West with gunfights, bars, saloons and the occasional arrest for being into prostitution. There have been several accounts of Wyatt's life in biographies and even Hollywood movies. Probably the best known and coincidentally sold in the office of Hills of Eternity is the Wyatt Earp starring Kevin Costner and Dennis Quaid. They also made Tombstone starring Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer in 1993. This list goes on and on but both were decent movies and worth watching some weekend when you have nothing better to do...

Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999)

Most of the time when I profile a specific person it's necessary to spend a ton of time researching what they did to make them sound important. Well still some may not know Joe DiMaggio or even care who he his because they think baseball is stupid. But come on people it's Joe freakin DiMaggio. One of the greatest players to ever play the game. I've known where he was buried for the longest time but was never in the area to swing by and take the pictures. So a couple weeks ago I just decided to take the two hour drive out to Colma, CA and get the pics.

Joe had a huge resume of baseball accomplishments. He was a 3 time MVP and 13 time All-Star. He is best known for his 56 game hitting streak and at one time was voted Sport's Greatest Living Player. Joe was born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, Jr in Martinez, CA. The 8th of 9 children born to Italian immigrants Giuseppe (1872–1949) and Rosalia (Mercurio) DiMaggio. Joe's father Giuseppe was a fisherman by trade and managed to work his way from Ellis Island to where he eventually settled. A town some of my friends may know Pittsburg, CA. Giuseppe worked hard and after 4 years he sent for his wife and oldest daughter. Giuseppe hoped that his 4 sons would become fisherman like himself and generations of DiMaggios before them. Joe would have nothing to do with it as the smell of rotten fish nauseated him. Joe would rather be p
be playing baseball. And really who could blame him? Joe's father couldn't see any reason why playing a game could lead to a successful life. These were old times and if you weren't working hard you weren't going to survive.

Joe was playing semi pro baseball when his brother Vince was playing for the San Francisco Seals. The seals were down a shortstop and Vince talked the manager into allowing Joe to fill in. Joe made his professional debut October 1, 1932 however his major league debut came May 3, 1936 with the Yankees. He led them to 9 titles over his 13 year career. He was also the first player to be signed to a contract worth more than $100,00. Quite a contrast to today's contracts which offer several million for basically doing nothing. The league minimum was $400,000 in 2009. A ridiculous amount for sitting on the bench.

I could go on all day listing his accomplishments but like I said before. Do I really need to say any of this? Doesn't everyone know who Joe was? The DiMaggio descendants and relatives are still scattered throughout my hometown of Pittsburg, CA and I can't help but think of Joltin' Joe every time I see the DiMaggio name. Sadly Joe succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 85 March 8, 1999.

Yet Another Mystery

Inside Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, CA there is what I refer to as "The Big Tree Thing" I have only been able to find one reference to it on the internet. It appears in a book called Alive in Necropolis and is referred to as "The Fern Grotto". There is definitely a stone structure underneath it all. Peering around the side I can see what looks to have been a walkway with a handrail made of tree branches. There is also an old bench that I could see looking over the edge. I know it's somebody's last resting place but who's? I talked to another person that visits here regularly and she said that not even staff can tell her who is buried here. I'd estimate the structure somewhere between 40 and 60ft tall. Around the side it has a gate with a sign that of course says "Caution Keep Out". It looks like one of these days when nobody is looking I'll have to risk life and limb to jump the fence and see what's in there.

This is a picture of the foliage that has crept up over the side of the structure over many years. I love this structure but I'd still like to know the story that goes with it. I'm hoping someone out there can tell me a little something about it.

Tombstone Tuesday

From what I understand. This picture was taken roughly6 or 7 years ago at a Jewish cemetery in Colma California. I'm not sure exactly what the light streaks are in the picture. It just seems awfully spooky that they'd show up in a picture taken in a graveyard. The girl in the picture is my girlfriend and this is back when she just hung out in graveyards for the fun of it. She really wasn't doing any exploration. More likely it was just a nice quiet time. In any event this picture has fascinated me since the first time she showed me. The scanned image doesn't really do it justice but it's the only thing I can show to the masses. I can't logically explain what this could be. The strange thing to me is that it has depth. It seems to come from the back where she's sitting toward the front where the camera is. I guess we'll never know for sure what it was but it's definitely an interesting picture...

Wordless Wednesday

Cypress Lawn Memorial Park Colma, CA

Cypress Lawn Memorial Park was established in 1892 by Hamden Holmes Noble in Colma California. Colma became a necropolis of sorts when in 1900 the city of San Francisco passed an ordinance prohibiting the construction of any more cemeteries due to increasing property values. Then in 1912 San Francisco passed yet another ordinance evicting all existing cemeteries from city limits. Only two cemeteries were allowed to remain. One at Mission Dolores and the National Cemetery at The Presidio. The remaining bodies in other cemeteries were then relocated to Colma which has since been given the name "City of the Silent". Colma is now home to 17 cemeteries which take up approximately 73% of the land. As of 2006 Colma had approximately 1500 above ground residents and 1.5 million underground. I guess there's a saying in Colma that goes "It's great to be alive in Colma". To date Cypress Lawn is the only cemetery I have visited in Colma.It boasts some of the most beautiful statues and bronze work that I've seen yet. I can't say enough how it always amazes me the amount of money that people spend on death. This monument is the burial site of lawyer LLoyd Tevis (March 20, 1824 – July 24, 1899) an American business man. Together with his brother in law and George Hearst he also shared stakes in copper and gold mines, headed the Wells Fargo Banking and Pony Express lines for more than 20 years. A third of a million acres was owned by the Kern County Land Company which he also owned with his brother-in-law. He was also the brother-in-law of John Breckinridge the 14th vice president of the United States. The "Tevis Cup" is named for him and is the prize for the annual Tevis Cup ride which is an equestrian endurance ride held annually and requires the riders to make the 100 mile Pony Express journey from Tahoe to Auburn in one day. (Click for info)Another impressive piece I found here was the Larkin Angel. Buried here is Thomas Oliver Larkin (September 16, 1802 - October 27, 1858). He was one of the original signers of the California Constitution and the first and only consul to California. Discouraged by the opportunities in New England he quickly moved to North Carolina and South Carolina where he operated stores and sawmills. By 1831 he saw that he would never become wealthy in the Carolinas and decided to set sail for California which was still under Mexican control to be a clerk for his half brother John Cooper, a ship captain living in Monterey. He soon began operating his own flour mill and began trading with Mexico and Hawaii, dealing in flour, lumber, potatoes, horses, and furs. It was soon after that Larkin decided that California should become American. In 1844 he was appointed consul at Monterey and held that position for 4 years. In 1846 he began convincing Californians to think of independence and by July they had declared the Bear Flag Republic. After serving as part of the constitutional convention of 1849 he retired from the public eye to pursue business. He died in San Francisco In October of 1858, of typhoid fever, having lived to see California admitted to the Union.