Sunday, March 17, 2024

Identifying background photos in 1956 Topps baseball

Introduction

I spent this week inspecting 1956 Topps baseball cards in more detail than usual. Many cards with background action show actual games and some contain enough context to suss out date and situation.

Play at the plate for ol' Puddin' Head, but which one?

Today's post investigates several of them, seeking clear dates and situations. I rely on Baseball-Reference.com for box scores, Dressed to the Nines for uniform design, and compare my take to the 1956 Topps blog, which wrote in detail about all 340 player cards.

Things to consider when investigating 1956 cards

Photos for 1956 cards came from wire services or professional photographers. As a New York company, pictures from Yankee Stadium, Ebbets Field, and the Polo Grounds could be convenient for Topps, so I lean toward New York ballparks when location's otherwise unclear. Spring training, regular season, postseason, and staged photos all appear, with many taken before 1955. 

Card editors touched up images as needed, such as this terrific shot of Pope's leap for a game-winning drive by Dusty Rhodes in 1954's World Series opener, one best known for "the catch" by Willie Mays two innings earlier. (Rhodes earned 1955 Topps #1 honors thanks to his postseason heroics.)

Topps removed "Cleveland" from Dave's jersey and painted that ball onto his glove as partial redemption.

1956 Topps #154 Orioles OF, Dave Pope

One wonders what Pope himself thought of the change, as I bet he remembered that moment!

#132 Bobby Avila and the hidden Hall of Famer 

Bobby Avila's enjoying post-homer congratulations. With all those numbers crowded around home plate, can we nail down what just happened? Easy enough, it turned out, based on Avila's home run log and teammate uniforms.

That's #6 Bill Glynn and #32 Al Smith greeting Avila after his game-tying home off Baltimore's Don Larsen on August 14, 1954. #14 Larry Doby waits on deck for his chance to chase Larsen from that game. (Cleveland won 4-3 in extras.) 

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The 1956 Topps blog post about #132 agreed on this play and its cameo by Hall of Famer Larry Doby.

#42 Sandy Amoros: Yogi and the Series

Sandy's about to score Brooklyn's first run of 1955 World Series game four, a preface to overcoming the Yankees 8-5, as Yogi Berra receives his relay too late to make a play.

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Alternate angles expand our scene to include #1 Pee Wee Reese (on deck) and batboy Charlie "The Brow" DiGiovanna, who collects Flash Gilliam's bat after his double scored Amoros.


Umpire Frank Dascoli left no doubt about his call and the 1956 Topps blog agrees on this play.

Sandy's card back calls out his catch of Yogi's game seven drive against the left field fence and key hitting in that series.

#26 Grady Hatton: Two more Hall of Famers

Grady's wearing his road uniform and sliding past Yogi Berra in Yankee Stadium, which tells much about how to identify the play.

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Hatton spent less than three years in Boston, so I checked each game he reached base in Yankee Stadium for contested plays at the plate. One candidate stands out, July 7, 1954, when he scored from first on a bases-clearing double off Marlin Stuart.

While the 1956 Topps blog leaves #26 open to showing Detroit based on the catcher's uniform, I'm confident we see New York and Yogi again. Home umpire Nestor Chylak reached the Hall of Fame in 1999, adding another cameo from Cooperstown. This proved its final play before rain the game with New York ahead 17-9. If correct, Yogi's plate block either failed to stop Grady or Berra missed his tag.

#130 Willie Mays: Out at home

This sweet slide went for naught, as Cardinal catcher Bill Sarni tagged Mays out attempting to score from first on a Don Mueller double, Sept 13, 1954, at the Polo Grounds.

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This photo from a split-second before shows Sarni making the bang-bang play. Their box score reveals Willie already scored in the first inning and Johnny Antonelli's shutout made it stand up for a 1-0 Giants victory. This time, the 1956 Topps blog for #130 proved inconclusive, and I used wire photo research to locate a similar shot with helpful details.

#171 Jim Wilson: Lost on Arrakis

Check out on the second player on Wilson's card. Those red sleeves and #1 jersey belong to Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn, who ducks by on his safe dash to first base.


In context, it looks like the first baseman fielded a ball away from the bag and threw to second for a force out, followed by a wide return throw to Wilson covering. Where would Baltimore and Philly face off, though?

City Island Ballpark, 1940
Baltimore's 1955 spring training site

These teams held spring training in Florida for 1955, whose parks contained enough infield sand to support Jim Wilson's background image. A problem for this scenario: Baltimore aquired Wilson two games into the regular season on April 13, 1955, after he played all of spring training as a Brave.

Coverage of Wilson's first game for the birds

Look closer at the fielder itself. Note his partial "2" jersey number and yellow piping on those pants.


Wilson wore #19 for Milwaukee and #36 for Baltimore, so I believe they misidentified its team as well as its player. His piping looks like Pittsburgh's home uniform of the 1950s.

Click to go back
1953 Pirates home/road uniforms

One Pirate did play first base wearing a 2- jersey in this era, #21 Paul Smith in 1953. He even appeared in a game vs. Philly on August 12 with this first inning box score.


I agree with the 1956 Topps blog that "...Wilson isn't actually in this action photo at all." It looks like a Pirate, first and foremost, who might be first-sacker Paul Smith from 1953. Two accidental cameos and one more Hall of Famer, thanks to Ashburn!

Back to #127 Puddin' Head


The striped collar and sleeves on Willie tell us its original photo comes from 1947-49, when Philly wore that kind of jersey flair. His socks, hat, and undershirt all show up as solid red, which points to 1949, yet exposes a problem. Dressed to the Nines claims they went with blue!


Puddin' Head's problem could be the age of its source photo. Compare his 1956 card to this 1949 slide behind Cardinals catcher Joe Garagiola.


How would a Topps artist add color to a 1949 black-and-white scene for their 1956 card? You might look at Philly's latest uniforms.


Paint a red-heavy look over that 1949 uniform and you get his 1956 slide. Now consider that catcher's uniform, dugout, and umpire.


Ebbets Field used a square dugout design, backing up my earlier lean toward New York stadiums.


Brooklyn's 1949 catcher looks more like Bruce Edwards than Roy Campanella, narrowing us to two games with Jones, Edwards, and a reason to slide at home, each sacrifice flies.
My gut says we're looking at August 17 because rookie Mike Goliat advanced to third, implying a play elsewhere: at the plate. Puddin' Head beat Gene Hermanski's throw en route to Philly's 11-7 win.

Summary

That's six or seven 1956 cards identified, depending how you count Pope. I'm sure to go after more in the future! Any that you've wondered about?

Saturday, March 9, 2024

1951 "Baseball Tat-oos Book" featuring Robin Roberts and Joe DiMaggio

Things can exist in the hobby for decades, yet never pierce my veil of collecting awareness! I discoverd this slim book of "tat-oos" via an overseas site in late 2023 and am fascinated by how well it survived. That ink still looks fresh off the presses.


I believe this pose, familiar to many Philly fans, ended up on its cover following an NL Pennant run by their "Whiz Kids," which made that young ace Roberts an eye-catching choice for kids who followed baseball.


"Tat-oos" behave like most other skin transfers and this book spreads 16 images across four pages. Hold one of them against a moist surface, often a licked forearm, and its ink would leave an image that lasted until scrubbed off.


Transfer images from this book include Joe DiMaggio finishing his swing and others that suggest Yankee uniforms, which supports my hypothesis it came from that 1950 World Series matchup (Philly vs. New York). The small "Japan" text identifies its point of manufacture.

If you recognize any other players or photos, let me know in the comments!




This tat-oos line covered a range of subjects and 1951's baseball book stands apart for its two identifiable stars, Roberts and DiMaggio. Perhaps that clarity also led to complaints, since an alternate version's figures look more generic.


You can find at least two other sport-themed books for sale on eBay.


Prominent licensing from "Harvey Famous Name Comics NYC" appears on similar books for Sad Sack comics, who debuted in 1944 and ran for decades after WWII. These transfers focus on the military labors of its title character.

I bet transfer picture books showed up in a whole range of stores from that era, considering how many survived to the present day.


I find this actor book most intriguing, given its star power and high level of detail on transfers. The presence of James Dean, who died in 1955, implies a release before that year.


This'd be a solid addition to any Hollywood star collection and #5 from its sheet of actresses appears to be Audrey Hepburn, best remembered today for Roman HolidayBreakfast at Tiffany's, and Sabrina. Her own career took off in 1953, which helps date this book to between then and James Dean's death.

Value: Intact transfer books start about $5 and go up, depending on their subject (example "1950s japan transfer picture book" search).

Fakes / reprints: I bet these prove too obscure to fake, since cheap ink transfers hold less fascination for today's young buyers.

Sunday, February 25, 2024

Five Facets of 1922 American Caramel (E120 set of 240): Babe Ruth, Surf Dry Casting, the Federal League, and more!

Introduction

Most collectors who know the 1922 American Caramel set (Old Cardboard profile) will recognize their baroque borders and aspire to own any big name from its star-filled checklist. The company, an important 1920s candy maker, made a comprehensive set (15 guys on 16 teams team) and attractive albums to display them, something seldom seen in our hobby's prewar era.

Those intricate borders drew me in first. I spent a week going through E120 card by card, searching for insights into its players, photos, and peccadilloes. This post digs into five of them.

1. Borders = teams

Each E120 card shows baseball gear in all four corners and their secret hides in plain sight: designs also identify teams. All fifteen Yankees share this catching mask, chest protector, and crossed bats.

Red Sox cards like Herb Pennock show an umpire's protector and gloved ball, each with bat, above a pitcher throwing to that righthanded batter.

E120 put its eight different borders on one team per league. Note the toning difference between leagues, creamy for AL and pale for NL.

Mask, glove, bats on bases: Washington Senators, Pittsburgh Pirates

Mask, chest protector, crossed bats: New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals

Diagonal crossed bats, gloves/baseballs: Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs

Mitt, mask, crouched catcher, pitcher: Cleveland Indians, Brooklyn Dodgers

Paired pennants, megaphone, base: Chicago White Sox, New York Giants

Bat/ball/glove, thrower, pitching windup, bat on base: Philadelphia A's, Boston Braves

Pennant, pennant, pitching windup, runner: St. Louis Browns, Philadelphia Phillies

Chest pad/bat, bat/ball/glove, batter, thrower: Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds


Just three players fall outside this pattern and seem like goofs, since team names remain correct and none of them changed franchises midseason.

Adolfo Luque: Reds team, Braves border


Frank "Dixie" Davis: Browns team, Red Sox border


Walter Mails: Indians team, Browns border


2. Babe Ruth vs. Harold G. Lentz

Now that you know more about the Babe border, why's he holding that baseball like a farm-fresh egg?

His original photo raises more questions than it answers. Easy enough to see Ruth's companion holds a fishing rod, so what else is happening?

You're looking at the 1922 Polo Grounds pregame event to promote dry surf casting, a competitive distance sport with rod and reel. Reigning champ Harold Lentz attempted to outdo the Babe's longest homers with his 4oz lead weight. History differs on their outcome. First, read a note linked to that source photo and recall those Polo Grounds went 483' to deep center.

"New York: Champion Surf Caster Fails to Beat Babe Ruth's Swat. In a most unusual contest at the Polo Grounds today, Harold G. Lentz, world's champion surf caster, using a four-ounce lead, tried to better Babe Ruth's record swat of 470 feet. Lentz made four attempts, casting the lead 392 feet, 402 feet, 440 feet and 438 feet."

Popular Science Monthly cited different distances for each competitor, with Lentz now outdoing Ruth. Their circled handshake happened about the same time as E120's source photo.

I welcome anyone who can ID their real winner! Either way, you never look at E120's Ruth card the same way again.

3. Two teams, same day, 1922 edition

Trivia fans might remember Joel Youngblood as a guy with hits for two teams on the same day after being traded by the Mets to Montreal on August 4, 1982 and joining Les Expos in time to suit up.


Custom card maker and blogger Nine Pockets recognized this feat with a 1984-style highlight card and full story on Joel's big day.

E120 players Max Flack and Cliff Heathcote managed half-bloods by being traded for each other mid-doubleheader on May 30, 1922, and playing in two uniforms without leaving Chicago's North Side.


After going hitless in the day's opener, each did better in game two, Flack went 1-for-4 with an outfield assist, while Heathcote notched a pair of singles.

It appears Americal Caramel released their set in phases through that year and finished its Cubs and Cardinals lineups before late May, since Max and Cliff appear with their original teams. Consider other 1922 transactions to fill out their timeline.

Note: I assume American Caramel produced all 15 players on each team at once, since they also took pains to plan out league albums. This "team teamline" could fail if cards went out piecemeal, even if I use correct transaction dates.


E120 shows Lee's opening day team, so they set the Phillies checklist sometime before late May and the Giants sometime before August.



E120 shows Moore on his original team, so add the A's to those distributed before mid-July.



E120 shows Mokan's original team. As a Pennsylvania company, American Caramel might reflect local transactions sooner than others, so we can set the Pirates checklist by this time.



All three players in E120 appear on their new teams, our biggest update for midseason changes.


New York outpaced St. Louis by a single game for 1922's AL pennant, so I think this update says more about American Caramel making fans wait for Babe Ruth's card to show up. Their July 23 swap marks E120's latest transaction cutoff, so I infer Red Sox and Yankee sets went out in August or September.

4. Max Flack and the Whale

There's another secret hiding in plain sight on Flack's card. That notched "C" on his chest dates to 1914, when Max played for Chicago's short-lived Federal League franchise!

 


That Federal League spirit remains with us today, at least in Chicago. Wrigley Field began as a park built by Charles Weeghman for use by his "Feds" in 1914.

Rookie OF Max sits dead-center in their 1914 team photo

The squad changed to "Whales" for 1915 and captured that year's title on its final day of play. When the Federal League folded, MLB allowed Weeghman to buy Chicago's Cubs, where Flack played until that midday 1922 trade. Cool to see this photo history resurface eight years after the fact!

5. Frank Snyder and Charles Robertson, International Men of Mystery

I promise this photo does not ask whether you can see through Frank's uniform, a "thin pants" reference that'll be dated by summer 2024. It's for something you can't see: any photo credit.


All but two E120 cards credit their photo to one of five sources.
  1. I.F.S. : International Film (or Feature) Service (179 cards, maybe 180)
  2. U&U : Underwood & Underwood (14, maybe 15)
  3. FM : Felix Mendelsohn (13)
  4. P&A: Pacific & Atlantic (5)
  5. S: Company not yet identified (27)
Photos for Frank's Giants teammates came from I.F.S., as well as all 15 Yankees. These guys show that expected © mark near their feet.

 

Synder's stats show he played often and well, with no midseason team change to muddle things. I assume an editing gaffe omitted his I.F.S. photo credit, making Frank's card unique in E120!

Charlie Robertson, another "man out standing in his field," got a step closer with © and then petered out.


The White Sox sourced photos from three different studios (I.F.S., U&U, FM), so who's to say what his credit should be. That uniform and environment looks close to teammate Everett Yaryan, so I'll pencil in U&U.


I added those "maybes" above to get 240 total card ©.

Summary

Card analysis showed us which borders match to teams, unmasked an unusual Ruth card, and found some Federal League history that remains relevant today. Next time, we ask the hard questions: where can a guy buy these sweet, sweet sweaters?


BONUS: Keith Olbermann pointed out this is the same Ralph "Babe" Pinelli who worked as home ump for Don Larsen's perfect World Series game.


You can spend days uncovering secrets from E120's 240 cards, thanks to its unconventional design and wide-ranging photo sources, and I look forward to finding even more in the future. Add any of your own questions or insights in the comments!