The Following Letter Was Written To Tommy Lasorda And Read By Ken At His Father's Memorial Service:

My first real memory of Baseball and TV, was sitting on my Fathers lap asking, " Dad, why do they call him "The Duke"?"  The world has lost a Dodger fan unlike any other. As a Photographer, my Father was happiest during the spring. That's when he got to see his beloved Dodgers in person. Spring Training was a very special time of year to him, even though it was the height of the Social Season in Palm Beach, all my Father wanted to do was go to a few games, get on the field, and talk to his favorite players. Sandy, Brett Butler, Ron Perranoski, Mike Piazza, and you Tommy. It's a very special feeling when your a fan and you can be there right on the field. Those were some of the best times of his life.
     At my first Spring Training Game that my father took me to, he brought me onto the field with him and I sat in the dugout with some my heroes. Walter Alston, Gil Hodges, "The Duke", and "Campy", plus many many more over the years to follow. For me to grow up and be a professional photographer just like my dad, and to be able to return the favor, taking pictures of him with you Tommy. He was in heaven, just as he is now.
     I still have his 1941 Brooklyn Eagle Scrapbook. There is a photograph of you looking at that scrapbook  just before a spring training game. You had a comment or story for every page that you turned. A crowd gathered around you in the dugout, and finally an umpire came over to us and asked,
"Is it  OK for him to start the game"?  
              You're a very special person to us Tommy, we once had dinner together at an Italian Restaurant called "Brooklyns". it was after a game between The Dodgers and The Braves in West Palm Beach. You were a great story teller that night. I've enclosed some photo's to jog your memory a little, I know you've met so many Dodger Fan's in your lifetime it hard to remember everyone.  
       My Father was cremated wearing a Brooklyn Dodger hat, and holding a picture of me and "The Duke". I hope to see you next spring at Dodgertown.

                                           Your Friend, Always,
                                                                           Ken Davidoff