1940s Phil. A's Team Issue George Kell
 

For many years, I've owned a 1940's team issue of George Kell, showing him with his first team, the Philadelphia A's. Over the years, I've seen a few (very few) offered for sale. All of them had the same pose as mine, a fielding pose.

Now I've stumbled across a portrait. Has this pose been documented before, or is it a new discovery? And is there any way to confirm which of the two poses was issued first?

I've posted pictures of both below. (Sorry for the random size differences.) By the way, for those of you who think there are no more bargains to be had, I paid $6.19 for the Kell portrait.

Those A's team issues came out from the late 30's to the 50's. Kell played with Philadelphia from '43-46. The portrait shows the patriotic patch on his sleeve which would suggest 43. Since these were likely made available in packs (like several other major league teams from that timeframe) it would lean towards the portrait being the earlier version

Very interesting. Thank you.

Very interesting indeed! I believe the Fielding pose was issued in 1945, based on my documentation. If the portrait is an earlier issue (although it is possible the photo was simply taken earlier and used in a later issue), then that would be a GREAT find, Paul!

Based on the other subjects sold by the seller, most with a similar style including the black background behind the player and several with the arms crossed (same photo shoot?), I would say that this Kell photo is also from 1945. Joe Cicero only played with the A's in 1945. Lou Knerr only played from 1945-46. Also, I see that Cicero has the patch on his sleeve, so this patriotic patch must have stayed on the uniform throughout the war and into 1945.

The other players with the same "style" sold by the eBay seller include:

Name (patch on sleeve)? = years with team
Luther Knerr = 1945-46
Dick Siebert (patch seen) = 1938-45
Joe Burns (patch seen) = 1944-45
George Kell (patch seen) = 1943-46
Bob Wilkins = 1944-45
Joe Cicero (patch seen) = 1945
Charlie Metro (patch seen) = 1944-45
Bob Estalella = 1943-45, 1949
Russ Christopher (patch seen) = 1942-47
Al Simmons = 1940-41, 1944 (perhaps coached in 1945?)

So cool that you found a different Kell in the 1945 set. I'll have to keep my eye out for one. The portrait is certainly a much nicer looking photo than the fielding photo (which, as it seems, may have actually been produced in a different year given the significant style differences). I acquired a huge collection of these a few years back and now want to go through them to see if I can pinpoint the dates better, unless, of course, someone on the board already has the answers.

Thank you Derek. This is definitely starting to sound like a new find, but it may be impossible to pin down which pose was issued first.

I have an Eric Tipton, who was only with the team from 1939-41. I believe I also have a Nick Etten, who was there 1938-39, 41-42.

Would love to see these. Do they have the dark background, with player portraits from waste-up like the Kell that Paul showed in the first post? Those were the ones I was trying to compare to...

I will take a look later, but I believe the Tipton had a 1939 Centennial patch on his sleeve.

That would make the most sense too. 1939 was the only time Tipton really played for the A's.

Here is the Tipton