Danny Goodman was a pioneer in the truest sense. The man who spearheaded the promotion of the Dodgers when they moved out west, Goodman is credited with inventing the sports souvenir marketing industry. Spending his adolescence and entire adult life in the concessions business, Goodman was a natural to run the Dodgers marketing staff since he worked for several major league teams before joining the Dodgers staff exclusively. His official title was Vice President and Director of Advertising and Promotion. It was Goodman who developed the Dodgers' bobble head giveaway promotion. The executive was also one of Walter O'Malley's first hires when he moved the team to Los Angeles.
Because he was a marketing dynamo, Goodman rubbed elbows with many sports icons. Offered for the first time are a number of Goodman's treasured keepsakes from his long career with the Dodgers. AMI has the honor of offering some of Goodman's personal mementos such as a Ty Cobb hand written letter, autographed bats signed to Goodman or his son Joe, game used bats from Dodger greats and other assorted photos.
Away from the field, Goodman also organized almost 200 roasts of celebrities. Even Goodman was roasted a few times.
Although he preferred a low-key approach, Goodman developed key connections through his years of service to the Dodgers. Permanently enshrined in the Southern California Jewish Hall of Fame, Goodman was a fixture in the Dodgers and left an indelible mark on the franchise.
This portrait image of the great Ty Cobb dates to his final two seasons in the Big Leagues (1927 or '28, with the Athletics). It is a public relations reproduction (from the early 1950s) that's in strong Excellent condition - qualified only by a small crease in the upper left corner. Special about this one, of course, is that it's autographed. Specifically, it's dated & "2/16/53" and personalized, "To Danny Goodman From His Friend" and then signed,via full name. This is a splendid writing in its entirety - enough so to warrant PSA/DNA's assessment of MINT 9. Impressive!