The Smithsonian Channel has picked up a new series called The Sports Detectives, which will focus on searching for some of 
sports’ lost holy grails.
The creator is Brian Biegel, who wrote Miracle Ball, the book about his quest to uncover what happened to Bobby Thomson’s famous 1951 playoff home run, ‘The Shot Heard ‘Round the World’ (you can now buy a DVD, too).
Look for it this fall but segments for the program are already in production, including one focused on Kirk Gibson’s 1988 World Series homer. Crews are scheduled to begin shooting some interviews this week in Los Angeles with those who claim to have a connection to the ball.
Biegel has also finished a documentary for the ESPN “30 for 30” series called “The Counterfeiter,” which should air in later this summer and includes a story that involved some big league ball players secretly working with the FBI during the turn of the millennium in an effort to nab those who were faking memorabilia.
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We introduced you to Graig Kriendler a few years ago when we first saw his incredible paintings of well-known scenes from baseball’s past. A huge fan, Graig’s work gives realistic color to some photographs of the past that we’d previously only seen in black and white.
As well known as he’s since become, millions more were introduced to him last week through features in the Wall Street Journal and Fox News.
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Charles Conlon is a legend in the world of photography, capturing images of virtually every player in baseball during the first part of the 20th century.
Writing in the Saratogian, writer Steve Amedio says it’s time to put Conlon in the Hall of Fame and his column includes a very interesting quote from an interview Conlon did in 1937.
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An Indianapolis man’s amazing collection of auto racing memorabilia was the subject of a local TV station’s feature during Indy 500 week. If you think your house is full of stuff, you need to check out Kirby Smock’s abode. He’s seen every race for the last 61 years, often as a track photographer.
Take a tour of his collection below. If you can’t see the video, click here.
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If you’re a fan of police sets, those sports cards many law enforcement agencies handed out mostly during the 1980s, this will warm your heart. The LAPD and LA County Sheriff’s Department are bringing them back. A donation from the LA Police Foundation has covered the cost of printing one million Dodgers baseball cards.
The program will be announced at a game this week.
The Dodgers embraced police sets like no other team, producing them continuously from 1980-2002. Officers will be handing the specially designed cards out again this summer and it’s likely we’ll see some sets in the marketplace. Back in the day, it was no trouble to acquire them in quantity. Hopefully, they’ll include cards of manager Don Mattingly and owner Magic Johnson while they’re at it.
