From The Vault Of Art Shay: I Believe In The Church Of Baseball

By Art Shay in News on Jul 25, 2012 7:00PM

\<em\>Genesis 27:3\<\/em\> - \"Now then, please take your gear... and go out to the field.\"

\<em\>Matthew 22:2\<\/em\> - \"For we have seen his star in the east.\"\r\n

\<em\>Psalms 104:11\<\/em\> - \"The wild asses quench their thirst.\"\r\n

\<em\>Daniel 10:10\<\/em\> - \"And behold a hand touched me which set me tottering upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands...\"\r\n

The fateful rejection letter, green-lighted over a half-century later by Chicagoist Editor-in-Chief Chuck Sudo.

(Legendary Chicago-based photographer Art Shay has taken photos of kings, queens, celebrities and the common man in a 60-year career. In this week's look at his archives, Art revisits a pitch rejected for over a half-century.)

I have just come across one of my story suggestions that Sports Illustrated rejected. The year was 1955 and the magazine had been out a year, but was still protective of their audience. The editor wrote, "I find it fairly amusing but I do think there is a question of taste involved in it and we might offend a number of our readers if we used it...Thanks very much for letting us see it."

Fifty-seven years later, the ball is now in your infield!

If you can't wait until this time every Wednesday to get your Art Shay fix, please check out the photographer's blog, which is updated regularly. Art Shay's book, Chicago's Nelson Algren, is also available at Amazon.