[whitehse]

Originally Posted by thecatspajamas

Make that Puerto Rican baseball. Geez. This is what I get for making a quick post without researching first!

In order to redeem myself by contributing something to this thread, how about this photo of Bobby Brown in a Cincinnati Reds uniform.



Until a few days ago, I wouldn't have said it fit the theme. But I was chatting with Graig about it, and he dug up a Google Books excerpt from "Bridging Two Dynasties: The 1947 New York Yankees" which states in the chapter on Bobby Brown:

"In 1941, while a junior at Galileo, he was noticed by a Cincinnati Reds scout, who had seen the Galileo squad destroy the University of California freshman baseball team. After the game, the scout, who was also a professor at Berkeley, asked young Bobby if he would like to go to Cincinnati and work out with the Reds. Bobby, a shortstop, promptly agreed. That summer he took the train to Ohio and worked out for ten days with the Reds, followed by an additional three-day workout when the team went to Chicago."

As this shot was taken by George Burke, it is likely that this photo was taken when the Reds came to Chicago, Burke's base of operations. Looking at the Reds' schedule for 1941, there are only two instances where they played at home for 10+ days followed by 3 days in Chicago, with the second of these occurring in late September (in other words, not summer). The first schedule match for 1941 had the Reds in Chicago from May 23 to 25, which fits the narrative above. Thus we have a young Bobby Brown in the uniform of a club that he never officially played for, nearly 5 years before he would signed by the Yankees and sent to Newark, and just over 5 years before he would make his major league debut in New York.

Cool photo and I think you are right as there is no doubt in my mind that is Wrigley Field where the picture was taken.