1916 Dodgers team photo
 

Hi,

I just picked up this team photo of what I presume is the 1916 Dodgers. The back says it's the 1917 Dodgers, but Nap Rucker retired after the 1916 season, and the photo supposedly came from his estate. I got it in the last Hunt auction, where it was paired with what the seller claimed was a Nap Rucker cap from around 1910. I'm curious approximately when this photo was made? It's printed on thin paper and glued to a board, so I may never know for sure. It looks old, but I suppose it could be from the mid-20th century.

I recognize some great faces here, including Rucker, Zack Wheat, Wilbert Robinson, Rube Marquard, Chief Meyers, Casey Stengel and Jake Daubert.

Any help is very much appreciated,

Chris

Yes you're correct it's the 1916 team. I have the same photo. Mine came from the Casey Stengel estate.

You can tell by the paper and the sheen that it's definitely very old, certainly looks period.

I just found this old listing for the photo I have. It says that mine is also affixed to cardboard. It's been framed since I've owned it so I haven't actually looked at the back. I guess mine isn't "the only surviving specimen on earth." :D

https://sports.ha.com/itm/baseball-c...ription-071515

The back says "Brooklyn 1917 Champions". In the early 20th century, the team that won the pennant in one year were said to be the champions for the following year. I've posted below as an example a composite image of the Pittsburg Pirates, who won the National League championship in 1903, labeled as 1904 champions; they finished in fourth place in 1904. (I do not own this composite.) Brooklyn finished first in the NL in 1916, thus they were the 1917 champions. The photo is not mislabeled.