Identifying Baseball Cards in a Pair of Non-Baseball Photographs

Baseball is everywhere ... even where it isn't. Let me explain.

The incomparable Prints and Photographs Online Catalog of the Library of Congress includes a treasure trove of baseball images. Go to the site's search page, enter the keyword "baseball," and the massive database will return over 7,200 results. While that sounds like a lot of baseball images, it's a drop in the bucket when you realize that the Library has digitized well over a million images ... and that there are more than 14 million items in their Prints and Photographs Collections in total.

Obviously, most of these images are not related to baseball at all. This means that the overwhelming majority of these items are not tagged with the keyword "baseball." And yet, some of these "non-baseball" images actually feature baseball content. One such image, part of the Library's National Photo Company Collection, is seen here:


Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-npcc-30803

(All photos in this blog are best viewed at full size. To do so, click on an image to enlarge it, then right-click on this larger image and choose "View Image." You may have to click one more time to get the full size)

At first glance the photo doesn't appear to have anything to do with our national pastime. But take a careful look in the background and you'll notice that amid the clutter of postcards and calendars, dozens of baseball cards are affixed to the busily-decorated walls.

Little is known about this photograph and this is reflected in the minimal metadata that accompanies the image. Other than a non-contemporary title devised by the Library's staff ("Young man in dormitory room") and a rather broad estimate that the photo was taken sometime between 1910 and 1920, the Library of Congress provides no other details.

Thankfully, a few members of the wonderful Shorpy photo blog have made a bit of headway researching the photo. Most significantly, one eagle-eyed researcher noted that a crest seen at the end of the young man's bed frame resembles the insignia of the Quartermaster Corps.



The photograph below of General Carroll A. Devol (the Library of Congress mistakenly identifies his surname as Devoe) shows this insignia affixed to both sides of the subject's collar:


Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division,LC-DIG-npcc-19825

Compare a detail from the above portrait to a detail from our dormitory photo:



The insignias are essentially identical: an eagle with its wings spread perched on a wheel over which a sword and a key are crossed diagonally. (More information about the Quartermaster insignia can be found in Encyclopedia of United States Army Insignia and Uniforms.) This suggests that the photo may have been taken at the Quartermaster Corps School in Philadelphia, its location from 1910 through 1917.

As for the baseball cards, there are well over six dozen of them adorning the wall in this young man's room. Who knows how many may be hidden from view or attached to the other walls?

Every one of the baseball cards that is visible comes from one of two well-known sets that were issued as premiums in cigarette packages: T205 (Gold Borders) and T206 (White Borders). The T205 set of over 200 different cards was produced in 1911, while the T206 set that numbers well over 500 cards was produced between 1909 and 1911. Given the presence of cards from the T205 set, we can now establish that the photograph was taken no earlier than 1911.

Additionally, two calendars in the background also provide clues. One of the calendars is titled "A Rose Among Roses" (seen below, at left) and is displayed showing May of 1910. The other calendar (seen below, at right) is showing March of 1911.

 

Of course, neither calendar provides a definite date for the photo, but it certainly suggests that the photograph was taken no earlier than March of 1911.

The baseball cards are grouped together in six distinct areas in the background, highlighted below:



Though most of the cards are slightly out of focus and some do not reveal unique features, the vast majority of these cardboard mementos can be definitively identified.

Group A
The small group of four cards at top left are quite out of focus and were a bit of a challenge to identify. The cards are (top to bottom; click on the linked player names below to see their corresponding baseball cards at the Library of Congress web site): T205 Mickey Doolan (Philadelphia NL), T206 Tom Downey (Cincinnati NL), and T205 Cecil Ferguson (Boston NL). The fourth card is a rather generic T206 portrait with hardly any details whatsoever. While I cannot state for certain, I think it is a good possibility that the card may be of Ty Cobb (Detroit AL).



The Downey card is particularly interesting in that it depicts the Reds shortstop wearing an all-blue uniform. But that is historically accurate, as the Cincinnati club wore that seemingly incongruous color scheme on their road duds from 1900 to 1903, 1909 to 1911, and 1913.

Additionally, the card shows Downey wearing a red armband on his left sleeve:


Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-bbc-0750f

That's somewhat historically accurate. Following the death of National League president Harry Pulliam in late July of 1909, the Reds, along with every other National League club, honored the memory of the executive by wearing black armbands. The artist for the T206 cards, however, took some liberties and opted to paint the armband a more artistically arresting red.

Group B
The lone card seen directly below Group A is clearly a portrait from the T205 set, but it is extremely difficult to state for certain exactly who is depicted. A best guess is that the card shows third baseman Bobby Byrne (Pittsburgh NL).



Group C
Below the topmost calendar is a group of 11 cards. These can be identified as follows:
Top row (left to right): T205 Chief Wilson (Pittsburgh NL) and T206 Admiral Schlei (New York NL).
Second row (left to right): T205 John McGraw (New York NL) and T206 Ed Konetchy (St. Louis NL).
Third row (left to right): T205 Art Devlin (New York NL), T205 Larry Doyle (New York NL), T205 Cecil Ferguson (Boston NL), T205 Frank Chance (Chicago NL), and T205 Bill Foxen (Chicago NL).
Fourth Row (left to right): T205 Deacon Phillippe (Pittsburgh NL), and T205 Ed Konetchy (St. Louis NL).



Many of the T205 images are based on photographs taken by the Paul Thompson agency in 1910. As an example, I've overlaid Thompson agency photographs of rival managers John McGraw and Frank Chance atop their corresponding baseball cards. (Click on the linked names of these managers to see their corresponding Thompson agency photographs at the Library of Congress web site). Note that while the faces match perfectly, portions of the uniforms have been altered by the baseball card artist.



Group D
To the right of Group C is a trio of cards that includes (top to bottom): T205 Art Fletcher (New York NL), T205 Gabby Street (Washington AL), and T205 Tom Needham (Chicago NL).



Group E
Below Group D are seven T205 cards (left to right): Al Bridwell (New York NL), Fred Clarke (Pittsburgh NL), Christy Mathewson (New York NL), Bob Ewing (Philadelphia NL), George Gibson (Pittsburgh NL), Frank Chance (Chicago NL), and Tony Smith (Brooklyn NL).



Group F
Directly behind the young man's head is a solid block of baseball cards, over 50 of which are identifiable. All but two of these cards are from the T206 set:
Top row: Howie Camnitz (Pittsburgh NL), Danny Murphy (Philadelphia AL), Jeff Sweeney (New York AL), Patsy Dougherty (Chicago AL), Bill Bradley (Cleveland AL), Orvie Overall (Chicago NL), Hal Chase (New York AL), Heinie Berger (Cleveland AL), Rube Geyer (St. Louis NL), George Bell (Brooklyn NL), Red Ames (New York NL), Christy Mathewson (New York NL), Cy Young (Cleveland AL), and Jimmy Sheckard (Chicago NL).
Second row: Fred Payne (Chicago AL), Ed Konetchy (St. Louis NL), Joe Tinker (Chicago NL), Harry Davis (Philadelphia AL), Harry McIntire (Brooklyn NL), Rube Oldring (Philadelphia AL), Vic Willis (St. Louis NL), Bill Bradley (Cleveland AL), Frank Chance (Chicago NL), Josh Devore (New York NL), Hugh Duffy (Chicago AL), and Chick Gandil (Chicago AL).
Third row: Ed Reulbach (Chicago NL), Orvie Overall (Chicago NL), Joe Tinker (Chicago NL), George Bell (Brooklyn NL),  Mickey Doolin (Philadelphia NL), Doc Crandall (New York NL), George Bell (Brooklyn NL), Fred Payne (Chicago AL), Gabby Street (Washington AL), and a card to be discussed below.
Fourth row: T205 Frank Chance (Chicago NL), Joe Lake (St. Louis AL), Josh Devore (New York NL), John Hummel (Brooklyn NL), Ed Reulbach (Chicago NL), Heinie Berger (Cleveland AL), Doc Crandall (New York NL), Doc White (Chicago AL), and Hal Chase (New York AL).
Bottom row: T205 Davey Jones (Detroit AL), Frank Chance (Chicago NL), John Frill (New York AL), Kid Elberfeld (Washington AL), Vic Willis (St. Louis NL), George McQuillan (Philadelphia NL), Zack Wheat (Brooklyn NL), Charley O'Leary (Detroit AL), Ed Foster (Charleston, SC, South Atlantic League), and Johnny Evers (Chicago NL).



Some of the card identifications were quite simple. For example, in the detail below, the trio of images are easily matched to their T206 cards: Christy Mathewson, Cy Young, and Jimmy Sheckard.



But other cards, either greatly out of focus or significantly obscured, proved quite challenging to nail down. For example, the detail below includes a number of cards for which only small portions are visible:

• Some cloth overhanging the bed obscures all but the bottom right-hand corners of the top two cards on the left, but careful research revealed matches with T206 cards of Howie Camnitz and Danny Murphy.
• The young man's head obscures all but the top left portion of the card at far right in the second row and the bottom left-hand corner of the card at bottom right. Still, just enough of these images were visible to match them to known cards of Rube Oldring and Mickey Doolin.

One of the cards in Group F did not match any known T206 or T205 baseball card. It is the far right-hand card in the third row.



After a good deal of research, however, the mystery was solved. The card was not of a baseball player, but of a young woman, part of a series issued in 1910 and today designated as the T106 set of "State Girls." In this case, the card was "Alaska Girl." Just why Alaska was featured as a part of the series is unknown, since it would not be until 1959 that the territory would gain statehood.



Below is another photograph from the National Photo Company Collection that is not tagged with the keyword "baseball," yet contains the same baseball content as in the "dormitory" photo: baseball cards.


Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-F82-10381

As was the case with our first photograph, the Library of Congress's metadata sheds little light on the image. It is titled "Lithnan & Latham, F. Baltcry 12 Peduri," but surely much of this jibberish is a misreading of what is written on the original negative (at far right on the original photograph). For example, close examination of "F. Baltcry" reveals that what is actually written is "F Battery." And "12 Peduri" may in fact be "12 Pictures." Still, the handwritten information is difficult to decipher. Additionally, the staff's estimate for the date the photo was created is essentially useless: 1910 to 1935, a whopping 25 year span! In short, as with our previous photo, we know very little about this image ... except, of course, that there are lots of wonderful baseball cards in the background.

Each of the cards seen in this photograph belongs to the T206 "White Borders" set, and many depict players with minor league clubs from the American Association and Eastern League. The cards are found in three large groupings.



Group A
A group of cards can be seen just above the right side of the billiards table, each one identifiable except for the bottommost card, which is obscured by a dark spot (perhaps a flaw in the emulsion). The cards are (top to bottom, left to right): Del Howard (Chicago NL), John Anderson (Providence, RI, Eastern League), Harry Krause (Philadelphia AL), Jimmy Slagle (Baltimore, MD, Eastern League), George Ferguson (Boston NL), Ray Demmitt (New York AL), Miller Huggins (Cincinnati NL), Bud Sharpe (Newark, NJ, Eastern League), Harry Gaspar (Cincinnati NL), Danny Moeller (Jersey City, NJ, Eastern League), Paul Davidson (Indianapolis, IN, American Association), Jake Atz (Chicago AL), Harry Krause (Philadelphia AL), Lou Fiene (Chicago AL), Jack Hannifin (Jersey City, NJ, Eastern League), and Bob Groom (Washington AL).



Group B
At the far right is another group of cards displayed vertically. These cards are (top to bottom, left to right): Jean Dubuc (Cincinnati NL), Donie Bush (Detroit AL), Spike Shannon (Kansas City, MO, American Association), Ossee Schreckengost (Columbus, OH, American Association), Hal Chase (New York AL), Jean Dubuc (Cincinnati NL), Ted Easterly (Cleveland AL), Pete O'Brien (St. Paul, MN, American Association), Chappy Charles (St. Louis NL), Harry Howell (St. Louis AL), Dode Paskert (Cincinnati NL), Newt Randall (Milwaukee, WI, American Association), Dots Miller (Pittsburgh NL), George Perring (Cleveland AL), Deacon Phillippe (Pittsburgh NL), Ray Demmitt (New York AL), and Roger Bresnahan (St. Louis NL).



Group C
The final block of cards is found just to the left of the seated man. This group also contains two non-baseball cards, most likely cigarette premiums of actresses. I will leave it to the adventurous reader/researcher to identify those two cards. The rest are:
Top row: Oscar Stanage (Detroit AL), Ed Willett (Detroit AL), Boss Schmidt (Detroit AL), Ed Willett (Detroit AL), George Hunter (Brooklyn NL), unidentified actress?, John Ganzel (Rochester, NY, Eastern League), Sam Strang (Baltimore, MD, Eastern League), Steve Evans (St. Louis NL), Tris Speaker (Boston AL), and Jimmy Slagle (Baltimore, MD, Eastern League).
Second row: Dolly Gray (Washington AL), Jack White (Buffalo, NY, Eastern League), Jack Hannifin (Jerysey City, NJ, Eastern League), Bob Bescher (Cincinnati NL), Joe McGinnity (Newark, NJ, Eastern League), unidentified actress?, Dan McGann (Milwaukee, WI, American Association), Jack White (Buffalo, NY, Eastern League), and Jimmy Collins (Minneapolis, MN, American Association).
Bottom row: Beals Becker (Boston NL), Nick Maddox (Pittsburgh NL), Shad Barry (Milwaukee, WI, American Association), Bill Abstein (Pittsburgh NL), Jean Dubuc (Cincinnati NL), Heinie Zimmerman (Chicago NL), Ted Easterly (Cleveland AL), Deacon Phillippe (Pittsburgh NL).



Scores of wonderful baseball cards on photographs from a century ago that otherwise have nothing to do with baseball. It just goes to show that baseball is everywhere ... even where it isn't.

Disney, Dali, and Baseball

Iconic surrealist Salvador Dali had a fascination with baseball. "About the game, I know nothing," said the Catalan painter. "But as an artist, I am obsessed." Few realize that this obsession was to manifest itself in a short film that Walt Disney asked Dali to create in collaboration with Disney's unparalleled stable of illustrators and animators. Dali was to provide the story line and original artwork, while the folks at Disney, most specifically artists John Hench and Bob Cormack, would mold the concept into a full-fledged, animated short. The film was to be called "Destino," the title of a Mexican ballad written by Ray Gilbert and Armando Dominguez that served both as an inspiration for the work, as well as its soundtrack.





The project began soon after the end of World War II. Despite a flurry of activity during the nine months in which the project was embraced by both Disney and Dali, by mid-1946 the film was shelved, most likely due to financial concerns. And while Dali and a number of Disney artists created dozens of works of art, only a very short sequence of the film was completed. The rest of the concept remained within the head of the genius Dali and upon a number of Disney storyboards.





Fast forward to 2000, when Walt's nephew Roy Disney ran across numerous priceless Dali paintings in the Disney archives, the remnants of the "Destino" project. He also ran across the contract for the failed film which stipulated that the artwork could only become the property of the Disney Studios if the project was completed. This potential financial windfall put the project back on the front burner, over half a century after it had been abandoned.





Released in 2003, "Destino" earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short Film, but ultimately the film failed to garner much attention. A few years ago, my friend Mary Quinn alerted me to the haunting film and its brief, but vivid flirtation with baseball. I encourage you to turn down the lights, turn up the volume, and enjoy "Destino" here.

Old Footage Now Identified as Showing Babe Ruth Setting a Home Run Record

It doesn't happen very often, but every once in a while there's a jewel hidden in plain sight. Sometimes it just takes a little research to uncover that jewel. Herewith the story of a classic silent movie that contains two such jewels.

Jewel 1: The Earliest-Known Celebrity Photo Bomb

In the 1920s, there was no bigger star on the baseball diamond than slugger Babe Ruth. And during the same decade, you'd be hard-pressed to find a bigger star on the silver screen than comedian Harold Lloyd. So when the Bambino made a cameo appearance in Lloyd's 1928 silent film "Speedy," fans of both our national pastime and motion pictures were elated.


Motion Picture News, January 28, 1928

You can watch the film here, with the Ruth appearance running from 49:03 to 53:20.

In the 85-minute-long movie, Lloyd plays Harold "Speedy" Swift, a rabid Yankees fan whose obsession with baseball results in his inability to hold a job. Speedy eventually becomes a cab driver and is lucky enough to pick up the Babe for a fare. Ruth asks Speedy to take him to Yankee Stadium and so begins a wild ride through the streets of Manhattan en route to the ballpark in the Bronx.



At the end of the trip, an exasperated Ruth exits the automobile, relieved to have made it to his destination in one piece. He turns to Lloyd and exclaims:



But the real gem comes just prior to that title card. Pay close attention to the end of the scene at approximately 52:42 as Ruth exits the cab. In the background at far right you will see a familiar face:



Yes. That's Lou Gehrig! This discovery was made by Kevin Dale back in 2011 and was first revealed at silent film historian/detective John Bengtson's always entertaining blog.

Jewel 2: A Ruthian Record Captured On Film

In the scene that follows Ruth's taxi cab ride, "Speedy" watches a ball game at Yankee Stadium. The scene includes two separate shots of Ruth at bat. The movie doesn't call out the footage as coming from a specific event (or events). Instead, it is simply used to establish that Speedy is at a Yankees game and Ruth is playing in that game. The following video shows both sequences:

The First Sequence: Ruth Strikes Out ... But When?

The first sequence lasts just two seconds and shows Ruth striking out and the catcher juggling the third strike or, perhaps, the foul tip on the third strike. The umpire quickly raises his fist to call Ruth out. Here are a few stills from the sequence.







First, it is clear that the action was not staged for the movie cameras. This is a real, in-game sequence. And since "Speedy" was released on April 7, 1928 (four days before the Yankees opened the season), the action must have taken place in 1927 or earlier.

Since Ruth is seen in pinstripes, we know that the action took place in New York. And the proximity of the dirt track near the grandstand (seen at the upper-left hand corner of the above stills) is consistent with the layout of Yankee Stadium, not the Polo Grounds. Thus the footage must have been taken at Yankee Stadium sometime between 1923 (the year the park opened) and 1927 (the year that "Speedy" was filmed).

The catcher's uniform provides some additional clues. He wears a cap with a white crown and dark bill, his stockings feature a thick dark band near the top, and a thin stripe runs down the side of his pants. From 1923 to 1927, the only major league clubs to wear such uniforms on the road were the 1923, '24, and '26 St. Louis Browns and the 1923-27 Boston Red Sox.

Unfortunately, there is not much else to go on to help narrow down possible dates for this first sequence. I suspect that the competition was the St. Louis Browns, as the Red Sox road uniforms for the years noted featured pinstripes and, though it is difficult to state with certainty, it appears that the catcher's uniform is not pinstriped.

My research into this first sequence is ongoing, so for now, all I can say is "Stay Tuned."

The Second Sequence: Recording Ruth's Record Round-Tripper

The second sequence shows Ruth hitting a home run and trotting around the bases. Here are a few stills from that sequence.















Once again, this is actual, in-game action from 1927 or earlier. And Ruth's pinstripes, the opposition's darker uniforms, and the dirt track near the grandstand (seen at the upper-left hand corner of the fifth still above) all point to action taking place at Yankee Stadium.

The uniforms worn by the catcher and the rest of the fielders are quite different from that worn by the catcher in the first sequence. This time each fielder is wearing a cap with a light-colored crown and dark bill, and gray stockings with three dark bands (the middle band being thicker than the ones above and below). For the time period between 1923 and 1927, only one club wore such uniforms on the road: the 1925 and 1926 Cardinals. However, the 1925 Cardinals wore special patches commemorating the 50th anniversary of the National League on their left shoulder, and the fielders in this footage do not have such patches. Here's an image that shows the patch on the left shoulder of Cardinals pitcher Leo Dickerman in 1925:



So, if this sequence shows action between the Cardinals and the Yankees in 1926, we are left with the question: When did these clubs face each other that year? The answer, of course, is in the 1926 World Series. You may recall the story that prior to Game Four, Ruth made a promise to hit a home run for a sick boy named Johnny Sylvester. As it turns out, the Babe hit three that day.


Boston Globe, October 13, 1926

Those three homers (the first three that Ruth hit that post-season) set a single-game World Series record that has since been tied, but never surpassed. However, none of those homers is seen in this sequence, since Game Four took place at St. Louis's Sportsman's Park and the footage from "Speedy" was certainly taken at Yankee Stadium.

So when did Ruth hit his fourth home run of the 1926 Series? In the third inning of the seventh and final game, October 10. Play-by-play for that game corroborates what we see in the footage. With two outs in the bottom of the third and no runners aboard, Cardinals pitcher Jesse Haines surrendered Ruth's fourth and final homer of the Series. With the blast, Ruth set another record: most home runs (four) hit in one World Series. It took over fifty years before Reggie Jackson broke that record in the 1977 World Series.

Game Seven of the 1926 World Series is also known for the drama of its final innings. The Yankees were trailing 3-2 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh when they mounted a rally and loaded the bases. Cardinals player/manager Rogers Hornsby pulled starter Jesse Haines and brought in Grover Cleveland "Pete" Alexander to face New York's Tony Lazzeri. In one of the most celebrated moments in the history of the Fall Classic, Alexander struck out Lazzeri to end the threat. Two innings later, Ruth was caught stealing second base to end the game, and the Cardinals celebrated their first modern World Championship.

We can now identify the various individuals seen in the Ruth home run sequence. Catching for the Cardinals is Bob O'Farrell and all four infielders can be seen as Ruth rounds the bases: at first is Jim Bottomley, at second is Rogers Hornsby, at shortstop is Tommy Thevenow, and at third is Les Bell, who can be seen tossing a new baseball to pitcher Jesse Haines. The Yankees third base coach is likely Benny Bengough. The umpires are George Hildebrand at home, Bill Dinneen at second, Hank O'Day at third. (First base umpire Bill Klem is just out of the field of view as Ruth rounds first.) The Yankees bat boy is Eddie Bennett and awaiting his turn at bat is New York's Bob Meusel.

Some avid baseball fans might be surprised to see Meusel following Ruth in the Yankees' lineup, as that spot was usually reserved for Lou Gehrig. Indeed, Gehrig spent most of the 1926 season batting fourth, with Ruth batting third. But in mid-September of that season, Yankees manager Miller Huggins began experimenting with different line-ups for the heart of the Yankees order (3-4-5 hitters): Gehrig-Ruth-Meusel, Ruth-Gehrig-Lazzeri, and Ruth-Meusel-Gehrig. For the World Series, Huggins settled with the latter combination.

What a wonderful surprise: an old sequence found in a silent movie can now be identified as footage showing Ruth's record-breaking moment in the 1926 World Series.