the bird is back.

it's been many years since the cartoonists at the baltimore sun have allowed the team's mascot to grace the newspaper's front page every morning. once upon a time, readers could tell what had happened in the previous night's baseball game simply by looking at the bird's expression. this tradition was started by jim hartzell . . . . the very man who originally designed the oriole bird when it was announced that the franchise was moving from st. louis in late september of 1953.
hartzell's bird was a mainstay in the sun's layout from its introduction in june of 1966 through the end of 1991. seventeen years, he slept dormant in the attic of the collective minds of baltimore. but 2009 is a season of change . . . . it's the year that we all finally decided to pick up our storied past and dust it off for all to see. with all that we've endured, we're proud of our origins . . . . proud of where we've been . . . . proud of what we have. mike ricigliano, a cartoonist who has been penning his thoughts in ink some twenty plus years for the sun (and the evening sun for that matter), has taken it upon himself to resurrect this storied tradition. it's an ode to our youth. even for those who weren't alive for it the first time around . . . . or not old enough to remember. somewhere, we all have a little oriole bird inside of us. one that soars in the skies after an exciting win . . . . one that limps back to his nest in the agony of defeat. it's time to let that bird show. it's time to set him free. and that's exactly what they're doing . . . . the bird is back folks. and hopefully this time, it's for good. as you can tell from the examples above, he's come a long way from his start. his humble black and white beginnings have evolved into a glorious mix of color and pride. each successive artist who has taken the torch since hartzell's retirement from the paper in 1979 has brought his own distinct flavor. though not quite like the first, in time we will grow to love the current one just as much as we did the original. the beauty of this little cartoon, is that no matter what happens, we always have something to look forward to. we have something to join us in elation after a series sweep, and something to cheer us up after a heartbreaking loss. even though the orioles faltered in their final game of this opening series, there's another series that starts tomorrow. another game to look forward to! we love our bird . . . . he shares in our eternal optimism . . . . he shares in our hope.
i was actually lucky enough to know jim hartzell, who lived not far from me in towson. many times, i attended a towson university baseball game and saw him in the stands. he was truly quite a character . . . . a classy human being . . . . one that brought laughter and light to everyone's life that he touched. it was fascinating to hear him talk about seeing walter johnson pitch in the first baseball game that he ever went to . . . . and even more fascinating to hear him talk about life. the one thing i always admired about the man, was that he kept out of the public eye.

long after his retirement, he simply faded into oblivion. around the towson baseball games he was simply known as "jimmy" . . . . nobody called him mr. hartzell. few if anyone even knew who he was. when my father and i found out that he was in fact the man who designed the oriole bird, we rejoiced in being one of the chosen few. we were privileged enough to know his true identity . . . . one that he was not eager to flash.

one day, at a towson game, i saw him sitting in a lawn chair next to billy hunter on the hill beside the field. hunter, a shortstop who played for the world champion 1956 new york yankees (and more notably to baltimore fans, the orioles, in their inaugural campaign of 1954), sat in his chair with a little line of youngsters propped into position by their fathers. each child promptly asked for an autograph (per their father's advice), and let good ol' jim hartzell, a living baltimore legend in his own right, sit there watching quietly.

i broke free from the line of kids, after getting hunter's signature of course . . . . and politely asked mr. hartzell if he would sign my ball. he looked quite surprised, and staring through his time wrinkled grin, he simply said "how did you know?". the wink that he gave me and the subsequent glimmer of light that reflected off of his eye sent shivers down my spine that have been reverberating ever since. he gently took my ball and sharpie letting his old withered hands brush over the ball with utter ease. when it was done . . . . i had an invariable treasure. he drew his famous oriole bird on my baseball! and if that wasn't cool enough, he simply signed it as "jim h." . . . . keeping his secret identity hidden within the confines of the past . . . . something that he would do until his death.

hartzell begrudgingly passed away in 2003, as youthful as ever, even after living past the ripe old age of ninety. when his death came upon us, he drifted away fairly quietly with little to no fanfare, taking his bird with him. the baseball that he signed is one of my dearest possessions . . . . but the memories that he gave me are what really left the deepest impression. i'm sure hartzell would be happy to know that his bird has returned, in an air of vibrance no less. after all, it was his gift to the world . . . . his gift to baltimore . . . . his gift to us.

until next time,

eleven hath passed.

p.s. - if i get a chance to, i'll post a photo of the baseball.

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04.12.2009

my father was gracious enough to take some photos and email them to me.

here's the billy hunter side:

and here's the masterpiece:

farewell jim . . . . you did us proud.