The Dugout
{{Short description|1948 painting by Norman Rockwell}}
{{About|the painting|for other uses|Dugout (disambiguation){{!}}Dugout}}
{{Infobox artwork
| title = The Dugout
(Bottom of the Ninth)
| image_file = File:The Dugout (Bottom of the Ninth) -- Norman Rockwell, 1948.jpg
| artist = Norman Rockwell
| year = 1948
| medium = Oil on canvas
| museum = Norman Rockwell Museum
}}
The Dugout (Bottom of the Ninth) is a 1948 painting by American artist Norman Rockwell, painted for the September 4, 1948, cover of The Saturday Evening Post magazine. The painting depicts the Chicago Cubs bench dejected during a game against the Boston Braves at Braves Field.
The painting became one of Rockwell's most iconic baseball-themed works and came to symbolize the Cubs' "lovable loser" image, throughout.{{cite news |title=Scott Simon on baseball and the power of art |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/scott-simon-on-baseball-and-the-power-of-art/ |access-date=September 14, 2024 |work=CBS News |date=April 23, 2017}}
Composition
The painting features four members of the 1948 Chicago Cubs. From left to right:
- Bob Rush, pitcher
- Charlie Grimm, manager of the Cubs
- Rube Walker, seated behind the batboy, catcher
- Johnny Schmitz, standing behind the batboy, pitcher
Amongst the subjects in the crowd are two women with connection to personnel of the 1948 Boston Braves: Helen Fitzsimmons, daughter of Braves' coach Freddie Fitzsimmons, and Terese Prendergast, wife of Braves' pitcher Jim Prendergast.{{cite web |url=https://sabr.org/journal/article/braves-field-inspires-a-masterpiece-norman-rockwell-visits-the-wigwam/ |title=Braves Field Inspires A Masterpiece: Norman Rockwell Visits The Wigwam |first=Bob |last=Brady |website=SABR.org |publisher=Society for American Baseball Research |accessdate=February 12, 2025}}
Background
Before a doubleheader at Braves Field between the Boston Braves and the Chicago Cubs on May 23, 1948, Rockwell approached both teams with the intention of creating a portrait of a visiting team's dejection in contrast elation of hometown fans.{{cite news |title=Rockwell Files: The 1948 Chicago Cubs in Boston |url=https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2018/10/rockwell-files-the-1948-chicago-cubs-in-boston/ |work=Saturday Evening Post |date=December 2018}}
A number of Cubs players and manager Charlie Grimm agreed to pose in the dugout to be photographed. As spectators filled the stands, Rockwell handpicked a number of them and instructed them to mimic expressions of delight or scorn. Additionally, a batboy for the Braves, Frank McNulty, had to be convinced to pose in a Cubs jersey in front of the dugout. Rockwell paid McNulty $5 {{USDCY|5|1948}}.
The Cubs went on to lose both games of the doubleheader.{{cite web |title=Chicago Cubs vs Boston Braves Box Score: May 23, 1948 (Game 1) |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BSN/BSN194805231.shtml |website=Baseball-Reference.com}}{{cite web |title=Chicago Cubs vs Boston Braves Box Score: May 23, 1948 (Game 2) |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BSN/BSN194805232.shtml |website=Baseball-Reference.com}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://collection.nrm.org/#view=list&id=6221&modules=ecatalogue&TitMainTitle=dugout Reference photos for The Dugout] via Norman Rockwell Museum
{{Norman Rockwell}}
{{Chicago Cubs}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dugout, The}}
Category:Paintings by Norman Rockwell
Category:Works originally published in The Saturday Evening Post