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Originally Posted by the-illini
Found this in an antique store in Indiana today. It is a 1902 Philadelphia Athletics "cabinet" - I have never seen the image before. Not sure if it is real or a fantasy piece. It measures about 12x10 and the image is about 9x6.
The image is not a real photo, but it also is sturdier than a magazine picture, and glossier than a newspaper cutout. The cardboard mount is very thick and appears to be pretty old. It has a Macintyre studios mark in the lower left of the image. Pretty cool images of a very young Plank and Waddell and Connie Mack as well.
Anyone have any thoughts on what this could be? My first thoughts were that it was just some homemade thing with a program cutout but it looks good under blacklight and I cannot find the image anywhere at all on the internet...
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"When the A’s joined the American League in its first year of existence in 1901, team owner Benjamin Shibe wasted little time in offering exorbitant contracts to star National Leaguers, in effect raiding them of their talent. John McGraw, who had managed the Orioles in the AL but flipped over to the Giants of the National League, was disgusted by Shibe’s actions, but thought that spending so much money was going to tank the team. And so, while speaking to a reporter in 1902, McGraw stated that Shibe had a “big white elephant” on his hands. The term, popular back then, described something that looked nice but whose upkeep made it impossible to take care of. Connie Mack heard what McGraw had said and showing that he had an outstanding sense of humor, ordered all Athletic’s gear to carry a white elephant on it."
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