Photo from the Merkle Game found

[mattsey9]

https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2018/1/8/16860102/fred-merkle-game-1908-photo-cubs-giants

Thoughts? The photo is purportedly from the camera of Charles Conlon. Interesting read of a picture taken just before Fred became Bonehead.

[MVSNYC]

Well that's cool.

[Stampsfan]

Great read. He poses some interesting questions about the inability to capture the moments and the aftermath, considering how much time elapsed. Didn't know it was that long.

[prewarsports]

Cool photo, but Conlon didn't "miss" anything, there was no need to take additional photos, the game was over. Only about ten people out of the thousands that stormed the field had any idea something else was going on and Conlon would have rushed to get out of there and develop his photos for the late edition of the paper which he would have done a thousand times before!

[horzverti]

The write up referred to the poster going under the nickname "Merkle923". Most likely that is Keith Olbermann.

Regarding Conlon leaving the game or missing the moment. How will we ever know what really happened? Maybe he did capture the moment. As the melee erupted, maybe someone bumped him and broke the fragile glass plate negative. Maybe he got mugged but angry fans who were attempting to destroy the evidence. :) Maybe he captured the moment and the negative still exists in the collection. If he did miss it, I forgive him. I think he can be given a free pass given all of the other great shots he didn't miss. If Conlon did miss it, then all of the other photogs in attendance missed it as well. Rhys probably has the most correct scenario.

[btcarfagno]

I have a glass plate negative from that game.

[mattsey9]

I have a glass plate negative from that game.

Awesome. What scene does it depict?

[btcarfagno]

Awesome. What scene does it depict?

The overflow crowd

[dealme]

I love the picture, and I found the story as to how it was determined to be from the specific game fascinating. I can only imagine if the play had happened today how many times it would have been reviewed, replayed, and rehashed. Merkle would have likely been destroyed in every media format imaginable. I've always thought that the umpiring crew had no business calling him out, especially given the utter chaos taking place in the aftermath of the game.

For anyone that's interested in some great reading on the 1908 season, I highly recommend the book Crazy '08.

Cheers,
Mark

[obcbeatle]

Does anyone who is a current member of SABR know if the SABR Pictorial History Research Committee (I think that's what it used to be called?) agreed that they believe this photo may be from that specific game? The PHRC used to do some pretty impressive sleuthing of old photo's. Just wondering. A very cool photo either way. Thanks for sharing!

[philliesphan]

Keith was pretty clear this was him. Now that he's retired from his GQ gig, his Twitter feed tends to be largely about baseball, collecting, and stray dogs.

Here's his Tweet re: this game

https://twitter.com/KeithOlbermann/status/950021647213441024

[prewarsports]

We sold this one a few years back. At the time a member of SABR contacted me to tell me he thought it was not the game identified on the back and we were set to pull it from the auction, but then after more research the same person found out that it was indeed the "Merkle Playoff Game" as the advertising and such were a match. While not the game of the actual incident, it pictures the playoff game that was necessitated by Merkle not touching second and it is interesting that this one does picture the aftermath it appears. Maybe like one of those movies where there is a little clip after the credits, this photographer stuck around, just in case.

https://rmyauctions.com/bids/bidplace?itemid=5557

[btcarfagno]

The overflow crowd

Oops. My glass plate negative is from the playoff game. Not the Merkle game.

[obcbeatle]

Keith was pretty clear this was him. Now that he's retired from his GQ gig, his Twitter feed tends to be largely about baseball, collecting, and stray dogs.

Here's his Tweet re: this game

https://twitter.com/KeithOlbermann/status/950021647213441024

Thanks for the link/tweet. So very cool to think this is a photo of the exact moment before Merkle makes a decision that would alter his life forever (and perhaps contribute to Harry Pulliam's suicide). AND ... the photo was taken by Conlon to boot. Pretty amazing! Thanks again for sharing.

[RUKen]

https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2018/1/8/16860102/fred-merkle-game-1908-photo-cubs-giants

Thoughts? The photo is purportedly from the camera of Charles Conlon. Interesting read of a picture taken just before Fred became Bonehead.

At ooptdevelopments.com, another poster suggested that the baserunner looks more like Buck Herzog than Fred Merkle, and I agree. Below I have posted a 1908 photo from the Chicago Daily News archive of Herzog, then the baserunner from the "Merkle/Chance" photo, and then Fred Merkle's portrait taken by Carl Horner in 1908. Merkle had a very youthful face that is not evident on the baserunner in the photo with Frank Chance.

[JollyElm]

It always comes down to the ears. The original shot is shadowy, so it's tough to tell for sure, but those ears don't look like a match. Unattached lobe vs. more of an attached lobe.

And Merkle had a smaller, kind of 'flat' nose.

301929

[The Nasty Nati]

Incredible discovery! It's almost painful looking at that image knowing what's in store for Fred Merkle for the rest of his life.

[bmarlowe1]

Not the Merkle game. After August 1908 the Cubs wore solid black socks (Chicago Daily News 8-21-1908). They were probably also wearing solid black caps at this point.