Where the Bullpen Meets the Pigpen

A few days ago, Matt Rothenberg, an "alum" of the Steele Internship Program at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, kindly alerted me to an interesting map available at the Library of Congress's web site. Take a look:


Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-pga-03942

The map was a promotion of H.W. Hill & Company of Decatur, Illinois, "sole manufacturers of Hill's Hog Ringers, Hill's Triangular Rings, Calf and Cow Weaners, Stock Markers, etc." What's a hog ring, you ask? Well, in the good ol' days, one would affix a metal ring to a hog's snout to help deter the animal from its natural instinct of rooting in the ground. Apparently, Hugh W. Hill was the inventor of the startling practice. According to the Centennial History of Decatur and Macon County:

H. W. Hill was so disgusted with the rooting done by one of his hogs one day that he picked up a piece of wire and jabbed it through the nose of the big porker. It worked. With that wire in his nose the hog had to retire from the rooting business. Mr. Hill put the idea to work. He made the hog ringer and rings which bore his name, and the manufacture of which was a leading industry in Decatur for years and built him a fortune.

Indeed, Hill held quite a few hog-ringing patents, including ones for hog-ringing implements, hog ring pinchers, hog tongs, and improvements in snout-rings. Here's U.S. patent number 130,853, Mr. Hill's improvement in instruments for ringing hogs, granted on August 27, 1872:



Of course, all of this has absolutely nothing to do with baseball … until you take a look at the promotional map above and focus in on Maryland. Here's a detail from the map:



Just above North Carolina's hog stirring a pot of tar and to the left of New Jersey's clam-catching hog, there is Maryland's hog, with a bat in hand and a baseball heading his way. The nickname given for Maryland on the map is "Craw Thumper," a somewhat obscure and derogatory term for a Roman Catholic. As early Maryland was predominantly Catholic, the term was used to refer to anyone hailing from the state.

Just what Catholics or craw-thumping have to do with baseball is a mystery. Quite frankly, I have no idea why the illustrator chose a baseball motif for Maryland at all. Sure, baseball was a popular sport in the state in 1884, but not any more so than in numerous other locales around the country. The Baltimore entry in the short-lived Union Association of 1884 was an average contingent that finished with a 58-47 record, miles behind the class of the league, the St. Louis Maroons at 94-19. And the American Association Baltimore Orioles of 1884 finished in sixth place and would not rise to their peak until in the mid-1890s, by which time they were in the National League. The Orioles of the following season were nothing to write home about, either, but at least a nice photo of the club has survived:



Anyone have a thought as to why Maryland was singled out as the state to feature a ball-playing hog?

Who is Ray Lankford Mourning?

I recently bumped into this picture of the Cardinals' Ray Lankford as published in The Sporting News of August 4, 1997:



The caption reads: "Homecoming dance: For most of his career, Cardinals center fielder Ray Lankford appeared to be on a collision course with greatness. Now that potential finally is translating into success."

I was interested in the image because Lankford is clearly wearing a mourning band on his left arm and I have long kept track of such memorial markings. But this armband had me stumped.

Ray Lankford played with the Cards from 1990 to 2001, but only once during his tenure with St. Louis did the club wear black armbands. That was during Spring Training of 1990 when the club mourned the passing of owner August A. Busch Jr., who died during the last road trip of the 1989 season. But as far as I am aware, those armbands were worn only on the special all-red Spring Training shirts. This 1990 Bowman baseball card of Bryn Smith shows that armband/jersey combo:



Clearly the Lankford photo does not show the Busch armband, so I was left wondering: Who was Ray Lankford (and presumably the rest of the Cardinals) mourning?

My first step in answering this question was to determine as much about the photo as possible. Beyond identifying Ray Lankford with the Cardinals, we can quickly see that St. Louis is wearing road grays, while the catcher is wearing home pinstripes.

A closer look at the picture reveals that the catcher's mask is one of the hockey-style variety. Here's a closer look:



Toronto Blue Jays catcher Charlie O'Brien was the first to wear the innovative mask, introducing it to the big leagues on September 13, 1996. Given this earliest limit for the date and combining it with the fact that the photo was published in the August 4, 1997, issue of The Sporting News, I was able to whittle down the possible dates of action to sometime between late September of 1996 and early August of '97. But, since no big league catcher other than O'Brien wore the new mask until 1997 and the catcher depicted is not wearing a Blue Jays uniform, I felt comfortable eliminating 1996 and focusing on a pre-August 4 date in the 1997 baseball season.

At this point, however, my research started to fall apart. Further examination of Lankford's uniform shows that it doesn't match the duds worn by the Cardinals in 1997 (or 1996, for that matter). For example, in 1997 St. Louis donned dark blue helmets on the road, but despite the black-and-white version of the Lankford photo, it is clear that Ray's helmet is red. Furthermore, the Cardinals had dropped the red, white and blue stripes at the ends of their sleeves after the 1991 season, but there they are on Ray's jersey. Finally, Lankford is seen wearing the "sansabelt" pants that the Cardinals had worn from 1971 to 1991, but how could this be if there's clearly a hockey-style mask in the picture?

Hitting a bit of a dead-end with this line of research, I turned my attention to the catcher's uniform to determine ]what club he played for. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of clues provided in the picture. The catcher is clearly wearing pinstripes, but we cannot see his stockings, nor much else that might help identify his club. However, examining this detail from the picture, one can see what appears to be the letter "s" peaking just behind the catcher's chest protector:



The font of the "S" appears to be sans-serif and somewhat block-lettered, which eliminates numerous clubs that otherwise have "S"-ending nicknames or locales that adorn their jerseys. So, for example, the Braves and Expos, both clubs that wore pinstripes at home, can be eliminated as their shirt-front "S"-style does not match that seen in the Lankford picture. Alas, as I ran through all the clubs that wore pinstripes in 1997, none of their shirt-front lettering matched with that seen in the Lankford picture. Once again, I had hit a dead-end.

It seemed to me that the only way the photo made sense was if a time machine was somehow involved. As ridiculous as that sounds, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that perhaps that was a distinct possibility.

On July 11, 1990, the Chicago White Sox staged the first-ever "Turn Back the Clock" game, in which the club wore "retro" uniforms similar to those worn by the club back in 1917. I wondered if perhaps the Lankford picture came from a just such a "time machine" game.

A quick look at the list of memorial markings that is part of the National Baseball Hall of Fame's online exhibit titled Dressed to the Nines: A History of the Baseball Uniform revealed that in 1982, St. Louis wore armbands in memory of former player, coach and manager Ken Boyer, who had died on September 7 of that year. And 1982 wasn't just any old year. It was the season in which the Cardinals had last won a World Championship, topping the Milwaukee Brewers in seven games.

Is it possible that the Brewers hosted a "Turn Back the Clock" game against the Cardinals, celebrating the 15th anniversary of the '82 World Series? If so, the Brewers and Cardinals would be wearing uniforms similar to those worn by Lonnie Smith and Robin Yount on the cover of this October 25, 1982, issue of Sports Illustrated:



The uniforms seen above match those in the Lankford photo perfectly. Lonnie Smith's uniform features the armband, the red, white and blue stripes on the sleeves, and the "sansabelt" pants worn by Lankford. And Robin Yount's uniform is pinstriped, with the same "S" of the "BREWERS" across the jersey front, just like the catcher in the Lankford image.

In 1997, the Cardinals and Brewers were still in different leagues (the Brewers would move to the National League the following year), so if this was a "Turn Back the Clock" game, it was an interleague contest. I checked the 1997 Brewers Media Guide and found the confirmation for which I was looking. On June 17, Milwaukee hosted the Cardinals on Pick 'n Save Turn Back the Clock Night, celebrating the 15th anniversary of the clubs playing one another in the 1982 World Series.

With an exact date to work with, I was able to track down the Lankford photo with its original caption. Here's how the Associated Press image looked, for example, in the Huntington (PA) Daily News of June 18, 1997:



The caption reads:

BLOCKED OUT

Ray Lankford of the St. Louis Cardinals collides with Milwaukee Brewers' catcher Mike Matheny at home plate in the third inning Tuesday night. Lankford tried to score on a ball hit in the infield by Gary Gaetti, but was out on the play. The teams wore 1982 replica uniforms as part of a "turn back the clock" promotion.

Talk about "Turn Back the Clock!" The Brewers' catcher was Mike Matheny, who would later gain fame as a member of the Cardinals, winning three Gold Gloves in five seasons with St. Louis. Additionally, the Cardinals' starting pitcher that night was Fernando Valenzuela, making his first appearance with St. Louis after being acquired from the Padres just days earlier. Fernando made just five starts with the club, posting a record of 0-4 before being released in mid-July, never to play in the big leagues again.

Coincidentally, by the way, the uniform that Ray Lankford wore that night is apparently in the hands of a collector. Here's an image of the jersey as posted at the Game Used Universe Forum:



So, to answer the original question: On June 17, 1997, Ray Lankford may not have realized it, but he was mourning the passing of Ken Boyer ... almost 15 years after the Cardinals great had passed away.

A Photo from the 1914 World Series

My friend Mark Stang periodically contacts me with a baseball photo mystery. The search for answers to his questions is almost always fun and challenging, because Mark is a top-notch baseball researcher and he really knows his baseball pictures. His groundbreaking book Baseball By the Numbers (written with Linda Harkness) is the encyclopedia of baseball uniform numbers and is an indispensable tool for the baseball photo researcher. And his numerous books of baseball photographs should be on every baseball fan's bookshelf. You can find out more about Mark's wonderful books at his web site.

Mark is currently working on an illustrated history of the Braves and one of the latest mysteries he sent along has to do with the "Miracle" Boston Braves of 1914. (For another post about this club, check out my earlier blog entry titled "Rabbit Maranville is not a Nazi.") Mark emailed the following image that can be found at the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog at the Library of Congress …


Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ggbain-17528

… accompanied by a note in which he stated that …

This [George Grantham] Bain photo of the 5 Braves players from 1914 has the ID's of Joe Connolly and Lefty Tyler reversed on the original neg. But Tyler is clearly the 4th from the left and Connolly 3rd …. Any idea what ballpark this is?

As for the mix-up of identifications, Mark was absolutely correct. The noted positions of Joe Connolly and Lefty Tyler are swapped. Here's a detail from the mystery photo:



Here's an image of Lefty Tyler:


Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ggbain-17334

And here is what Joe Connolly looks like:


Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, detail from LC-DIG-ggbain-16903

The correct identifications of Mark's photo are (left to right): Hank Gowdy, Dick Rudolph, Joe Connolly, Lefty Tyler, Oscar Dugey. The "no name" in the bunch is Oscar Dugey, a journeyman infielder who spent parts of six seasons in the big leagues. His biggest claim to fame was that he played for two straight pennant winners: the 1914 Braves and 1915 Phillies.

The photograph that Mark sent along is similar to a number of others from the Bain Collection at the Library of Congress:


Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Detail from LC-DIG-ggbain-17527


Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Detail from LC-DIG-ggbain-17529

Clearly all three of these photographs were taken on the same day, at the same location, and essentially at the same time.

The uniforms of the Braves in the photograph are consistent with those worn by the club on the road from 1913 to 1915. Compare Hank Gowdy's uniform to the drawing found at the National Baseball Hall of Fame's online exhibit, Dressed to the Nines:



Each of the five players pictured played with the 1913 and 1914 Braves, but Oscar Dugey was traded to the Phillies in February of 1915, so we know the photo was taken in either 1913 or 1914.

And while we're looking at photos of Hank Gowdy, take a close look at his right hand as seen in the photo sent along by Mark as well as in each of the above photographs:



This comparison also suggests that the photographs were taken the same day, as the last two fingers on his right hand are taped together the same way in each picture.

As for Mark's original question, a review of grandstands of National League parks of the era fails to reveal a match to the various features seen in the background of any of the three similar photographs above. What about American League parks?

Take a look at the following photograph taken at Philadelphia's Shibe Park during the 1914 World Series:


Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, detail from LC-DIG-ggbain-17540

Note how the pillars and roof line in this photo match well with those as seen in Mark's photo and the others taken that same day. Additionally, take a close look at this detail from the police photo:



The openings in the back of the grandstand are windows with shades that can be raised or lowered, depending on the angle of the sun. This also matches well with the openings seen in Mark's mystery photo.

(By the way, take a look at this other detail from the police photo:



Not only are there numerous fans perched atop the advertisements beyond the left field wall, but one fan has even clambered up the side of a telephone pole in an effort to catch a glimpse of World Series action. You have to applaud that guy's passion, though not necessarily his "good" sense.)

So we now have an answer to Mark's question: "Any idea what ballpark this is?" It's Shibe Park in Philadelphia. But can we learn anything more?

Take a look at yet another photograph from the Bain Collection at the Library of Congress:


Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Detail from LC-DIG-ggbain-17540

That's future Hall of Famer Eddie Plank warming up before his start in Game Two of the 1914 Series on October 10. Recognize the grandstand in the background with the distinctive windows and shades? Not only is it Shibe Park, but the levels of the various shades in the windows match those seen in Mark's photo exactly! Here's a comparison with Mark's photo aligned directly underneath the corresponding windows in the Plank photo. Take a careful look.



There's little doubt that the photos were taken on the same day: October 10, 1914. But just to make sure, let's take a look at some other evidence.

First, there is this note found in a column titled "National League Notes" in The Sporting Life of July 25, 1914: "Hank Gowdy, the Boston Braves' catcher, is out of the game with a broken finger, and [Bert] Whaling is doing most of the backstop duty." Though Mark's mystery photo was taken some two-and-a-half months later, it seems likely that Gowdy was taping his fingers together for added support for the recently broken digit.

Next, take a look at yet another photo from the Bain Collection:


Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Detail from LC-DIG-ggbain-17538

Here Braves catcher Hank Gowdy is seen shaking hands with John F. Fitzgerald, the former mayor of Boston (and future grandfather of John F. Kennedy) who was known as "Honey Fitz." What is such a dignitary doing at the ball game? Well, Fitzgerald was a prominent member of Boston's Royal Rooters, a fan club that generally cheered for the Red Sox. However, with Boston's other ball club in the series, the Rooters passionately pulled for the Braves in their 1914 clash with the Philadelphia Athletics. Fitzgerald's attendance at Game Two was noted in an article from The New York Tribune of October 11, 1914:

Tyler and James warmed up for the Braves, but Plank was the one an d only choice for Mack. Before anything could be started a fair lady with a bunch of red roses came over to the Boston bench and gave Hank Gowdy a traveling bag. Hank took the bag, but looked unhappy. Honey Fitz came out and took a rose. He looked happy and did not blush as Gowdy had done, even when the camera men snapped his picture.

Notice the traveling bag on the ground at far left in the photo? And take a look at the "Royal Rooters" pin affixed to Fitzgerald's lapel. Note how it compares with an actual pin that was sold at auction in 2008:



And notice the press pass attached to the unidentified individual at far right. Here's a comparison of that pass and a Shibe Park press pass from the 1914 Series that was sold at auction in 2009:



And take a look at Gowdy's taped fingers as he shakes the former mayor's hands:



Clearly, the photo of Gowdy with Fitzgerald was taken at the same time and location as Mark's mystery photo.

Now let's take a look at one more piece of evidence. Notice that Fitzgerald is holding a newspaper in his left hand. Here's a closer look:



The paper is none other than The Philadelphia Ledger. A logical assumption is that the paper is a morning edition of the Ledger from the day of the game: October 10, 1914. The Library of Congress has digitized numerous newspapers and made them available to the public at their Chronicling America web site. Thankfully, they've digitized a number of issues of The Philadelphia Evening Ledger, a later edition of the same paper. Here's what the October 10 edition of that paper looked like:



Here's a detail of the baseball-oriented political cartoon on the front page:



Now compare the newspaper in Fitzgerald's hand to the same section of the evening edition:



While the morning and evening editions differ in some ways (e.g., the morning edition has a story at far right previewing Game Two of the Braves-Athletics matchup; the evening edition reports on the progress of the game), both editions feature the political cartoon at the top center of the front page. This is the final "nail in the coffin" proving that the Gowdy-Fitzgerald photo, as well as Mark's original mystery photo, were both taken at Shibe Park prior to Game Two of the 1914 World Series on October 10.