Could this mystery photo be an 1870s baseball player?

[Michele]

Does anyone have any insight regarding this CDV (carte-de-visite) photo of a man whom I believe might be an early baseball player?

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s185/timetraveler7/Untitled-Scanned-36-2.jpg

The tip-off is his unusual outfit: He is wearing a darker colored pullover shirt with white lacing at the front center flanked by two lapels trimmed with white piping. Each lapel is decorated with a white 5-pointed star with a darker colored star within the white star.

According to the National Baseball Hall of Fame/History of the Baseball Uniform website, laced front baseball jerseys came into vogue in the late 1870s:

Running the Bases Wearing Laces

The late 1870s saw the introduction of the laced-front jersey. styles varied, with some shirts featuring lacing that ran the entire length of the shirt, while others had lacing for just the top portion of the jersey. Laced-front jerseys remained popular through the 1890s, but by 1901 only two of 16 major league clubs were wearing the style. Ten years later, laces on shirts had disappeared altogether.

The laced up shirt and the stars decoration are my only clues that this man could be an early baseball player.

I did show it to a guy who owns a military antique store in Gettysburg. He is fairly well-informed about military history and he said it's definitely not a U.S. Navy uniform.

But that doesn't automatically mean it is a baseball uniform, either! This photo is a great mystery, but one I may never be able to solve.

The style of this photo dates it to approximately 1871-1875 (the corners of the mount are rounded, indicative of post-1871, but the edges are not trimmed in gilt, as was the norm after 1875).

There is no ID of the subject, but the photographer is identified on the back side as: A.S. Nickerson, Photographer, Ticonderoga, New York.

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s185/timetraveler7/Untitled-Scanned-37-1.jpg

Any ideas regarding this man or a possible baseball team, circa 1870s? Or, if not baseball, how about any other sports connection, such as rowing?

I was told there were many knowledgeable persons on this forum who might be able to help me solve my photo mystery! Thanks for any help.

[drc]

I don't think he's a baseball player. Perhaps he's a sailor. Without the presence of a bat or ball, it's often difficult to be certain that a person is or isn't a baseball player (though it's often easy to weed out those who obviously aren't). For example, 1870s baseball jerseys and 1870s firemen jersey can be almost identical. Without a hose or baseball bat it can be impossible to know 100 percent what the guy is. Luckily, many old baseball players posed with a bat and/or ball. Sometimes the uniform is so clearly baseball, that you can be confident it's a baseball player without any equipment.

[barrysloate]

It also looks to me more like a sailor's uniform. Without equipment showing, or any other corroborating evidence, these CdV's are just a crapshoot. My gut is it is not baseball.

[Butch7999]

Our thought, too, was that the outfit had a vaguely nautical look, but not an "official," military, nautical look -- suggesting the possibility this might be a competitive rower (rowing being huge in the late 19th century). Just a gut feeling here, as well. If true, though, keeps it in the "sports memorabilia" arena... maybe...

[smokelessjoe]

Hi Michele,

I think this is the photographer that is listed on your photo... Perhaps this info can help in some way?

[william_9]

Interesting information. If I'm reading it correctly, Mr Nickerson's death was caused by Bright's Disease on June 7, 1912. They must have assumed the worst from the outset as he was laid to rest on May 10, 1912.