That is one nice postcard. Sure rang my bell.
Yencer Weidensaul was a teammate of Christy Mathewson when the two were students at Bucknell University. They were both members of the Class of 1902. Matty only played one season of baseball in 1899 although he did continue participation in football and basketball. Weidensaul played throughout college and captained the team. He also logged three games on the same Norfolk team in 1900 with whom Matty had a breakout year, recording an 18-2 record. Big Six went on to the Hall of Fame; Yance had a solid career in the minors on some pretty good teams such as the 1902 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1911 Denver Grizzlies. One of the Bucknell alumnus newsletters I read online hinted that he might have gotten a sniff from the Tigers but I couldn't find anything else to substantiate that. By accounts he was a good hitter, a dazzling fielder and a threat on the basepaths so you wonder why he never had his cup of coffee.
These pages are from my copy of the 1901 L'Agenda Bucknell yearbook.
My best guess is that Weidensaul is the fellow in the front row, second from the left.
Note that he parted his hair in the center in his grad pic.
Link to super-sized team photo:
http://tinyurl.com/pyrkdr7
This clipping from the June 1951 Bucknell alumnus newsletter gives notice of his passing. Interesting to note that the claim is made that he and Mathewson were cousins.
I picked up this postcard a couple of years ago. It depicts play between Baltimore and host Montreal in an Eastern League contest in 1905. Weidensaul played 91 games for the Royals that year and boxscores of the time list him as the second baseman. Is that him at the right? We'll never know but it's fun to wonder.
Link to extra-large view of postcard:
http://tinyurl.com/ovygnbe
