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Old 06-11-2010, 11:25 AM
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Default At the risk of making everyone cringe.....This has to be that Wascally Wabbit

Quote:
Originally Posted by gracecollector View Post
Walter "Rabbit" Maranville - he was right up there with the other jokesters and characters of the dead ball era. Plus he had plenty of talent too. Just seemed to love the game and had a great sense of humor. He always hamed it up for photographers too, so the images we are left of him bring me a smile. Read "Run, Rabbit, Run : the hilarious and mostly true tales of Rabbit Maranville" for his antics.





I've been looking at this postcard for a few years now and have concluded that the guy with the arrow pointing at him is Rabbit. I know, can't be certain, but I think just based on the way he's standing and wearing his hat.





I know there's a thread on here somewhere in which it was found that this postcard pre-dated Ruth, but I can't find it, and can't recall if it was factual. Anyway, before that, when it was possible Ruth was hitting BP bombs in this postcard picture, exhibition style, with a packed stadium and all his teammates standing around in awe, I thought (and still do) that Ruth packed the stadium for BP, much like McGwire in '98.....

My family and I traveled to Atlanta in '98 for one of the Braves/Cardinals games, arriving early for BP and wow, McGwire was literally in another league by comparison. Ruth was the same way, yet further toward the extreme end of hitting by comparison. There was nobody close to him until later..........IMO, McGwire was the closest thing to "the next Babe Ruth," but he needed artificial enhancement to get there: Ruth just needed a dozen or so hot dogs....

I remember buying a bunch of unopened packs growing up and hoping for this and that, trading with my buddies, etc. Walking through our little league park one day I asked my older buddy, "Do you think there's such thing as a real Babe Ruth card, one that they did when he was playing? He didn't know; nobody seemed to know. I told him, (his nickname was "Hootie," nasty lefty pitcher, even back then), when I grow up, I'm going to get me one of those Babe Ruth cards if there is one........I thought about it all the time growing up:



My guy: Babe Ruth, the man with about a hundred nicknames

By the way, I have photos of each section of the postcard that I took with a macro lens if anyone is interested.
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