Saturday Salon on Sunday: Baseball is Winding Down to the Wire and Football Is Heating Up.

This may be an early Norman Rockwell, can't find any info. Google has it under Rockwell, but you know how that goes. Still, it's such a wonderful painting, I had to include it. If you know the artist, please let me know.

James Ormsbee Chapin

Norman Rockwell for The Saturday Evening Post

Norman Rockwell for The Saturday Evening Post

Norman Rockwell for The Saturday Evening Post

J.C. Leyendecker

Gorgeous portrait of Ted Williams by Graig Kreindler

Portrait of George Van Haltren (never heard of him, but it sure is a terrific painting). Graig Kreindler

Pat Collins, 1927 Yankees. Another wonderful piece by Graig Kreindler.

Stan Musial by Graig Kreindler. I'm loving this artist's work.

Can't quite make out the artist's name. No info on the website either. If you know who the artist is, please let me know. I love the painting.

Norman Rockwell for The Saturday Evening Post

And now for some favorite football images:

J.C. Leyendecker's legendary (and rather handsome) football player

J.C. Leyendecker

J.C. Leyendecker

J.C. Leyendecker

J.C. Leyendecker - studies

Fun paintings on this BIG sports day. 

When I think of Norman Rockwell, J.C. Leyendecker's name automatically pops up. Leyendecker was a great influence on Rockwell. You can see this especially in Rockwell's early work. They were friends and fellow illustrators during the golden age of iconic illustration. 

During my research for this post, I happily discovered the work of Graig Kreindler and reacquainted myself with James Ormsbee Chapin's.

MANY undecided baseball races still going on with only four days to go. It's the most exciting race to the finish in years. Who will make it to the post-season? My team (the NY Mets) is out of it, but I would love to see the Baltimore Orioles make it to the World Series. Of course they'd have to get through the Yankees for that and let's face it, a World Series without the Yankees always seems kind of flat. I'm not a Yankee fan, but I understand the luster they bring to a championship series - damn their hides.

I'm not forgetting pro- football which is also being played today all over the country. My team is the NY Giants (even if they play in New Jersey).

But admittedly, my focus today is on baseball.