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Picture from the Past
Local baseball buff showed his art at Candlestick Park
By John S. Baggerly
In the late 1970s, Los Gatos artist Tommy Rodrigues rented the former Candlestick Park to display his paintings of great major league players from the annals of baseball. He called his stadium show "Legends of the Stick," decorated it in an old-time setting and paid $60,000 rent for one day's worth of time. Admission fee was $10 per person; visitors entered by the wide entrance behind center field from where field equipment came and went.
A baseball catcher while at Los Gatos High School, Rodrigues' personal field of dreams came when he attended the 1987 and 1988 Giants' Fantasy Camp. He was twice voted outstanding player at the camps, and a homer he hit drew praise from Willie Mays.
Rodrigues' artistic inspiration came in kindergarten, when his drawing of a chicken prompted praise from his teacher, Shirley Ryan. He began his art career at age 14 in Los Gatos, apprenticing in the respected Hogan stained-glass studios. While he was still in high school, one of his designs was adopted as the logo for the Los Gatos Art and Wine Festival and was used for many years.
Before he graduated in 1972, his design for a 16-sided lamp was well on its way to becoming a standard of the stained-glass artist's repertoire. By 1984, Rodrigues' stained glass drew fees of $2,500 per square foot.
Rodrigues' paintings at Candlestick stood in the positions where the famous stars played--these included 30 originals and ranged in size from 2 feet by 3 feet to 4 feet by 6 feet. Casting agencies supplied the actors and the selection of Babe Ruth was an exceptional look-alike--far more accurate than a Hollywood performer who played the Babe in a movie.
Also at Candlestick, the "players" were accompanied by two pretty girls, and except for Babe Ruth positioned at first base for its proximity to the spectators, all were located at the positions they played. Ruth, the home-run-hitting outfielder of the New York Yankees, was positioned at first base with two tall beauties wearing "seamed" hose.
There was a free snack bar just outside the home dugout, while "comfort facilities" were in the tunnel behind center field. Some lazy males prevailed on uniformed police for permission to use the urinal just out of view in the home dugout.
For many the event was a family affair. This writer's son, John, was amazed at the perfection of the infield grass as it joined the "skin." Daughters Carolyn and Gayle positioned themselves to hear what Mays and a friend were talking about--their golf games. This writer mentioned to pitcher Vida Blue of the Oakland A's, "I saw you pick off two runners in one game." His reply: "I must have had a bad day to have that many runners on base."
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
Los Gatan Tommy Rodrigues has a great love of both playing and portraying baseball.
