Whose Hat Is Lew Wearing?

[thecatspajamas]

Anyone know what team's hat Lew Fonseca is sporting in this photo? This is the second time I've run across a photo of him in this ensemble: "A" cap and 1931 Chicago White Sox jersey (with the White Sox logo obscured for the print, but still faintly visible). The first time I let it go, but now it's really starting to bug me. Does anyone know if he spent some time in the minors following his trade in 1931 to the White Sox?

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll13/thecatspajamas99/GB/13/GB5157_1.jpg

[jerseygary]

I thought it was the Atlanta Crackers cap from that time period, but Lew never played for them. Are you sure there is a White Sox logo originally there? The reason I ask is he was the manager and then batting coach for the Chicago Cubs after he retired. The jersey looks like a stripped down 1935 or 1936 Cubs without the "C" on the chest. (the White Sox jersey from 1931 had 2 thin lines of piping as trim instead of 1 thick one. If that is so, the cap could very well be a Los Angeles Angels cap since they were a Cubs farm team at the time and wore that type of cap with that style "A" for a few seasons. The two teams trained on Catalina Island and around Southern California together and often players wore stripped-down old jerseys from the Cubs previous season to train in. That's the best I could come up with...

[Wite3]

Pretty sure Gary got this one...the stylized "A" is consistent with the Angels logos that were used since the 1920s...in the '50s they added a halo. A form of that hat is still worn in some games even today.

Joshua

[thecatspajamas]

You guys may be right on the Angels cap, but it's definitely a White Sox logo that shows faintly in the photo. It's a little more visible in this one (which I should have posted before but just got around to scanning).

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll13/thecatspajamas99/GB/13/Lew182.jpg

Pretty sure it matches the home uniform logo from 1931 (shown below). I'm not sure what to make of the single/double piping discrepency though. The only other possiblity would be the 1929 White Sox home uniform, but that makes less sense given Lew was in the middle of his stint with the Indians at that time. Any earlier than that, and Burke wouldn't have been photographing ballplayers yet. Looks like the White Sox did their spring training at League Park in San Antonio, TX from 1930-32, if that helps?

1931
http://exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org/dressed_to_the_nines/images/al_1931_chicago.gif
1929
http://exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org/dressed_to_the_nines/images/al_1929_chicago.gif

[jerseygary]

Ah! That is the 1936 and 1937 White Sox uniform he has on. That's why the piping is different. I guess he showed up at at Comiskey Park as a coach or tried a come back and then retired after that. I suppose if you find out where Lew was in 1935 after the Sox fired him as manager and 1937, the last year that jersey was worn, you'd have your answer. If we find out what the White Sox farm teams were in '35-37 I bet you Fonseca was a coach or manager in those years.

[thecatspajamas]

1938 Anniston (AL) Rams? Though I have no kind of photo reference to compare it to. Fonseca wasn't the manager, but possibly a coach?

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/affiliate.cgi?id=CHW&year=1938

[jerseygary]

What a tough one! Looks like Lew spent '35 and '36 with the Ray Doan baseball school. They trained at Hot Springs, Arkansas and there is a March 5, 1936 article in the Sporting News that shows him wearing the same Sox jersey but different stirrups. Can't make out the cap. He then became promotions manager of the American League where he was described as a "baseball missionary". In this capacity he traveled the country showing baseball films he shot himself and also had something to do with the National Semi-Pro tourney in Kansas. He also became the mentor of high school baseball in Chicago, too. I guess what I am saying is that it could be any team across the nation at this point since he wasn't tied to any team, but had strong ties to the A.L., high school and semi-pro ball clubs.

Like I said before, it looks like the same style as used by the 1930's LA Angels and Atlanta Crackers. I will also see if I can find what the Arkansas Travelers wore in the '30's, since the baseball school was in the same state, it could be possible...

[Wite3]

The field behind him might be a clue too...maybe he was trying out for the angels...could be wrigley los angeles.

Joshua

[whitehse]

The field behind him might be a clue too...maybe he was trying out for the angels...could be wrigley los angeles.

Joshua

That field is without a doubt old Comisky Park. I loved that place and wince everytime I see an old photo of a player in that ballpark and think that that place should still be standing today.

[Wite3]

I knew I had seen that picture somewhere before!!

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QEo_FTkmwX0/TerKs1sUrcI/AAAAAAAAAOk/yI36whthlTM/s1600/gs-039a-fonseca.jpg

1976 Grand Slam...

After a bit of research...Lew was in Los Angeles playing winter ball with the Angels when he was in Slide, Kelly Slide! during the winter of 1926/7.

I think these pictures are either from that time or closely after it.

He was also instrumental in bringing film to the major leagues.

Joshua

[jerseygary]

Ok, so the Angels cap might still be in the mix, but the above card and the other pictures have to be from 1936 to 1938 because of the SOX style jersey. The White Sox wore white sox (imagine that!) with their official uniform but Fonseca has on dark stirrups. Maybe he was there in Chi for some kind of old-timers game or the baseball school he taught at had a game there.

[Wite3]

More...
Lew Fonseca is the father of film study in baseball...in the late 30s he produced many films including "how to" type films...I cannot find any concrete evidence but I have a feeling that these pictures could be from those films or practice for those films.

Joshua

[thecatspajamas]

It does seem odd with the mixture of uniform elements that Lew is sporting, so perhaps as you suggested it could have been a uniform thrown together for one of his films. We can definitely rule out the 1926-27 time frame though as these photos were taken by George Burke, who did not begin photographing ball players until 1929. By the mid-30's though, Burke was official photographer for the Cubs and, I think, the White Sox as well, so it makes sense that he would be on hand taking photos if there was some sort of filming going on at Comiskey.

[Oldtix]

Gentlemen, I have the answer. In 1938, Kellogg's Corn Flakes offered a booklet titled "PLAY BALL WITH KELLOGG'S - WRITTEN BY LEW FONSECA." The 56-page instructional booklet is filled with photos showing Fonseca in the uniform in question at Comiskey Park. The hat and uniform logos are airbrushed away; the hat might just have provided a good contrast for black-and-white photography. Lance, your second photo is used in the book...the first one is not.

The booklet discloses that "Kellogg's Baseball School was first tried in Chicago in 1937, when 40,000 boys stormed Chicago's playgrounds to receive instructions from Fonseca and other "deans of baseball" during the 10-week term...Because the Chicago school so clearly demonstrated a desire on the part of boys to learn to play baseball correctly, plus their real need of some plan to earn baseball equipment, Kellogg's now announce (sic) a nation-wide Baseball School plan for the summer-season." 1938 Corn Flakes boxes illustrated 18 good play techniques on the back panels, and the side panels offered boxtop redemption opportunities to earn this booklet, Spalding baseballs and Louisville Slugger bats (Babe Ruth and Joe Medwick models).

Fonseca signed this copy for me back in the 80s. I think we can mark this one..."Case Closed."

http://s915.photobucket.com/albums/ac351/oldtix/Baseball%20Memorabilia/FONSECAKELLOGGSBOOKLET.jpghttp://s915.photobucket.com/albums/ac351/oldtix/Baseball%20Memorabilia/001-6.jpg

http://s915.photobucket.com/albums/ac351/oldtix/Baseball%20Memorabilia/002-5.jpg

[thecatspajamas]

Rick,

Thank you for that added insight. You nailed it! Weird that the postcards left the hat logo in but not the jersey logo, yet the publication had both obscured. Definitely the same shots though (with several more in the series to be on the lookout for). Thank you for putting this to rest for me!