At the age of 90, Marvin Parshall is still hard at work at his Worcester law firm in Otsego County. But beyond the manila folders and legal briefs, there’s actually quite a bit of baseball history there.
“In those days, there were eight teams in the National League,” said Parshall, showing off his baseball collections.
In his office, you’ll find baseballs with autographs from every player in the National League from the 1950 season.
“I told him if he ever had an opportunity for me to come down, I would do anything,” said Parshall, telling his uncle who was working for the Brooklyn Dodgers at the time.
Parshall was 17 then and had just graduated from high school. Shortly after that conversation, his uncle reached out with an offer: Come be an MLB ball boy for a season.
“So one day he called, and says, ‘Can you be down in Brooklyn tonight?’ I said, ‘Of course, I can,’” Parshall said.
He hopped on a bus from his home in Cooperstown and headed to Ebbets Field, home of the Dodgers, which also happened to be his favorite team.
Within a few hours of getting that call, Parshall was put to work, getting baseballs ready and delivering them to the home plate umpire.
“I was in awe; the fascination because of the bright lights of Ebbets Field,” he said. “I was out there in uniform doing the job I had to do.”
Not to mention, also standing next to players like Roy Campanella, Gil Hodges, Pee Wee Reese and of course, Jackie Robinson, three years after breaking the color barrier.
“After I was there a day or two, (Jackie Robinson) yelled and said, ‘Whitey,’ because I had really blonde hair in those days, ‘Whitey, come over here and we’ll warm up together.’ So I did,” Parshall said.
The two warming up together became a routine, just a day's worth of work for Parshall that summer, and all for $2 a day.
“But there would be some tips coming in,” he said. “But dollars were dollars in those days.”
The Dodgers lost out on the pennant to the Philadelphia Phillies by two games that year. But Parshall was still able to walk away with a lot of memories - and souvenirs.
“I remember all the players and the games,” Parshall said.
He went on to graduate from Albany Law School, and has since been practicing law for more than six decades. It’s something he very passionate about and truly loves, just like the 1950 season with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
“It was very interesting,” Parshall said. “I got the memories still in my mind.”