1893 Naismith on Ebay -it's not Naismith

[Vintage Basketball Pat]

Did any of you see the 1893 SPRINGFIELD YMCA TRAINING SCHOOL BASKETBALL TEAM PHOTO w/ JAMES NAISMITH? It went for almost $7500. The only problem - it's not Naismith.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/391537093831?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I've collected vintage basketball items for a long time. This is a great example of an item where history gets re-written. I've looked at Naismith photos from the 1880s while he was at McGill Univ. to his 1890s photos. I also looked at the faculty for Springfield College and none of them match the photo. There are far too many inconsistencies. I pointed this out to the seller throughout the week - as did others. If anyone knows who bought this item, please pass along this information. At first glance, it looks like it could be Naismith - that's the problem. The athlete is too young and Naismith would not have had another instructor in the image - except for Luther Gulick. That's not Gulick. Again, thanks for passing along this info. Regards, Pat

[ramram]

I just now saw this for the first time. Missed it on ebay. At first glance, I thought it likely was Naismith, however, upon further review I do see some problems. Namely, the prominent chin of Naismith seems to be missing and the left ear does not seem to be a match. Hmm.

Rob M.

[Vintage Basketball Pat]

You are correct Rob. I wish I knew who bought it, as they need to know. The seller was notified and provided many examples. However, clearly he had no interest in doing the right thing. It is a tricky image, as he looks like he could be Naismith. However, only by looking at older images can the truth be determined. That's a lot of money to pay for something that's not as advertised.