Inside Baseball Clubhouses with Some of the Greats

Sandy Amoros (with cap), Pee Wee Reese (on trunk), and Duke Snider (with beer) of the Brooklyn Dodgers joked around after a game, May 1955.

John Dominis/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Written By: Ben Cosgrove

,LIFE photographers have made memorable and intimate images from the clubhouses of America’s National past-time. The Mick, Jackie, Yaz, and many more: Here are some candid inside moments from some great players over the years.

Don Larsen, of the New York Yankees, talks to the press after Game 5 of the 1956 World Series, against the Brooklyn Dodgers, Oct. 8, 1956. Larsen, who had an otherwise nondescript career, pitched the only perfect game in World Series history.

New York’s Don Larsen spoke to the press after hurling a perfect game against the Dodgers in the 1956 World Series, Yankee Stadium, Oct. 8, 1956.

George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Milwaukee Braves' Lew Burdette shares a moment with his son, Lewis, after a game. Lewis is excitedly reenacting one of the pitches his dad threw during his stint on the mound, Aug. 1, 1956.

The Milwaukee Braves’ Lew Burdette shared a moment with his son, Lewis, after a game. Lewis was excitedly reenacting one of his dad’s pitches, August 1956.

George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Willie Mays, October 1954.

Willie Mays, October 1954

John Dominis/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Jerry Coleman takes a long drag from a cigarette in the locker room of Yankee Stadium, New York, New York, April 1952, after learning that he has been called to active military duty for the Korean War. Coleman was a Marine pilot who had previously served in World War II.

New York Yankee Jerry Coleman took a drag from a cigarette in the locker room of Yankee Stadium, April 1952, after learning that he has been called to active duty for the Korean War. Coleman was a Marine pilot who previously served in World War II.

Allan Grant/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Jackie Robinson looks exhausted and dejected in the locker room after a game, May 12, 1955.

Jackie Robinson after a game, May 12, 1955.

Francis Miller/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Carl Yastrzemski, left, and Joe Foy horse around in the Red Sox locker room, May 1, 1968.

Carl Yastrzemski, left, and Joe Foy horsed around in the Red Sox locker room, May 1968.

Art Rickerby/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Sandy Amoros (with cap), Pee Wee Reese (on trunk), and Duke Snider (with beer) joke around after a game, May 13, 1955.

Sandy Amoros (with cap), Pee Wee Reese (on trunk), and Duke Snider (with beer) of the Brooklyn Dodgers joked around after a game, May 1955.

John Dominis/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox, left, talks with teammate Gordon Windhorn about batting in the locker room during spring training, Sarasota, Florida, 1956.

Boston’s Ted Williams, left, talked with teammate Gordon Windhorn about (what else?) the finer points of hitting in the clubhouse during spring training, Sarasota, Florida, 1956.

George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Yogi Berra (l.), who caught Don Larsen's Oct. 8, 1956, perfect game and the Dodgers' losing pitcher, Sal Maglie, chat afterward in the Yankee Stadium locker room. Between Berra and Maglie, clutching a can of beer, is the Yankees' long-time public relations man, Jack Farrell.

Yogi Berra (l.), who caught Don Larsen’s Oct. 8, 1956, perfect game and the Dodgers’ losing pitcher, Sal Maglie, chatted afterward in the Yankee Stadium clubhouse. Between Berra and Maglie, clutching a can of beer, is Yankees’ public relations man, Jack Farrell.

George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Dale Long, of the Pittsburgh Pirates, eats a sandwich in the locker room at Forbes Field in between two games of a double header against the New York Giants, Pittsburgh, Penn., May 30, 1956

Pittsburgh’s Dale Long ate a sandwich in the clubhouse at Forbes Field between games of a double-header against the New York Giants, May 1956.

Hank Walker/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Cincinnati Reds manager Birdie Tebbetts, the Baseball Writers Association Manager of the Year, talks on the phone in the locker room during a Labor Day doubleheader against the Milwaukee Braves in 1956.

Cincinnati Reds manager Birdie Tebbetts talked on the phone during a Labor Day doubleheader against the Milwaukee Braves in 1956.

Francis Miller/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Brooklyn's Gil Hodges smokes and talks to the press in the locker room after a World Series game, October 1956.

Brooklyn’s Gil Hodges smoked and talked to the press after a World Series game, October 1956.

George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Cleveland's Larry Doby -- the second black player in the major leagues and the first in the American League -- gets a rubdown in July 1955.

Cleveland’s Larry Doby— the first African-American player in the American League, and the second in the majors—received a rubdown in July 1955.

Francis Miller/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Yankees manager Casey Stengel reads in the locker room, September 1953..

Yankees manager Casey Stengel, September 1953.

Howard Sochurek/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Mickey Mantle grins in the locker room after a World Series game, October 1952.

Mickey Mantle after a World Series game, October 1952.

Mark Kauffman/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Brookyln Dodgers Property Manager John Griffin sitting in the locker room, 1955.

Brookyln Dodgers property manager John Griffin, 1955.

John Dominis Time & Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Orlando Cepeda gets dressed in the locker room in June, 1958.

Orlando Cepeda dressed in the San Fransisco Giants’ clubhouse in June 1958.

George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Sal Maglie wipes his brow, Sept. 1951.

Sal Maglie, New York Giants, 1951.

George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Baseball player Frank Howard, center, sits in the locker room during the winter league season, December, 1959.

Frank Howard sat in the locker room during the winter league season, December 1959.

Hank Walker/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Roger Maris smokes a cigarette in the locker room at the 1960 All-Star Game in Kansas City.

Roger Maris at the 1960 All-Star Game in Kansas City.

Stan Wayman/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Minnie Minoso, of the Chicago White Sox, in the locker room, August, 1955. Minoso played in major league games in five different decades and single minor league games in a sixth and a seventh decade, overshadowing his seven All-Star appearances.

Minnie Minoso, Chicago White Sox, August 1955.

Francis Miller/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Elroy Face, Pittsburgh Pirates, celebrates a win against the Yankees, October, 1960.

Pittsburgh’s Elroy Face celebrated his team’s win against the Yankees in the World Series, October 1960.

Art Rickerby/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Dodger Don Newcombe enjoys a beer in the locker room after Dem Bums won their first (and only) World Series in Brooklyn, October 1955.

Dodger Don Newcombe enjoyed a beer in the locker room Brooklyn won the World Series, October 1955.

Grey Villet/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

More Like This

arts & entertainment

David Bowie: Speaking of Heroes…

arts & entertainment

Meet the Real-Life Gidget

arts & entertainment

LIFE’s Vintage Lacrosse Images

arts & entertainment

The Uplifting Magic of “The Karate Kid”

arts & entertainment

There’s Cool, and Then There’s Keith

arts & entertainment

Madonna (and Friends) Striking Poses