That salutation goes out to whoever stole the Hartford Dark Blues plaque from the grounds of the Church of the Good Shepherd in the Coltsville section, where the team played baseball in the 1870s. Donors had contributed about $1,500 to commemorate the Blues' role as one of the National League's original eight teams.The Hartford Courant reports that the plaque was stolen sometime over the weekend, barely six months after it was installed. "The plaque, post, and even the concrete were lifted out of the ground and carried off," Ron Bolin of Wethersfield, chief organizer of the plaque's installation, told the newspaper.
So, nice going, thief or thieves. What exactly are you planning to do with this item? Fence it? Good luck with that. Keep it in your basement for your own viewing pleasure? That sounds likely to get pretty old pretty quickly. Your best option is to make some kind of arrangement for its safe return, preferrably to Bolin, even if it's anonymously. Here's his e-mail address.
Angering the baseball gods is very, very bad for your karma.
The Karen O'Maxfield photo of the plaque, above, can be enlarged by clicking on it.
