Looking for info on The Cincinnati Baseball Club Co.

[Lucas00]

Recently Won this spring training snap on Ebay of Big Klu. (doesn’t get much better looking!)

When it arrived I saw this very cool and interesting stamp on the back.

Most novice photographers don’t have players strike great poses, so I’m assuming this was taken by the Club President who had a consumer camera. But also had some likely minor ties with the team that permitted him to take some nice field level shots.

Any Cinci Fans who Were in the club or maybe remember it?

Would love to hear your stories!

[bobw]

That stamp was on the back of Reds team publicity photos throughout the 1950s and 60s. Like the AP, UPI, George Dorrill, Jacobellis stamps on their photos to make sure they got proper credit and to protect their rights.

Not mine but here are Klu publicity shots from 1955 with the same Reds stamp along with a facsimile Klu stamp.

[raulus]

Disclaimer: I could be wrong, but…

I think this is just the legal name of the company that owned the team.

Over time, with different ownership groups that come and go, these names can change, but I think this was probably the legal name of the corporate team owner at that time.

There was a lawsuit against this legal entity back in 1925:

https://casetext.com/case/base-ball-co-v-eno

Looks like it probably confirms my suspicion.

[Lucas00]

Originally Posted by bobw

That stamp was on the back of Reds team publicity photos throughout the 1950s and 60s. Like the AP, UPI, George Dorrill, Jacobellis stamps on their photos to make sure they got proper credit and to protect their rights.

Not mine but here are Klu publicity shots from 1955 with the same Reds stamp along with a facsimile Klu stamp.

Very interesting, thanks for the references. I can see why they put it on more professionally produced photos. But I wonder why they put it on a spring training Snapshot and wrote Teds name like a 3rd grader. I’d like to think maybe one of the photographers slipped a private shot in for his son! Or maybe the Reds were selling or giving away snapshot style photos? Which I’ve never heard of something like that done before by a Team.

Originally Posted by raulus

Disclaimer: I could be wrong, but…

I think this is just the legal name of the company that owned the team.

Over time, with different ownership groups that come and go, these names can change, but I think this was probably the legal name of the corporate team owner at that time.

There was a lawsuit against this legal entity back in 1925:

https://casetext.com/case/base-ball-co-v-eno

Looks like it probably confirms my suspicion.

Good find, I agree. Sometimes you can forget the word club back in the day had much more correlation to a professional organization than a kids meetup or a for fun school activity like you might think of today.

I wonder when they stopped using that name.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Lucas00

Very interesting, thanks for the references. I can see why they put it on more professionally produced photos. But I wonder why they put it on a spring training Snapshot and wrote Teds name like a 3rd grader. I’d like to think maybe one of the photographers slipped a private shot in for his son! Or maybe the Reds were selling or giving away snapshot style photos? Which I’ve never heard of something like that done before by a Team.




Good find, I agree. Sometimes you can forget the word club back in the day had much more correlation to a professional organization than a kids meetup or a for fun school activity like you might think of today.

I wonder when they stopped using that name.

Not sure about the reds specifically, but I think some teams still have owners with legal entities that include the word club in the name.

[Chris Counts]

I have a number of small Reds photos from the '30s through the '60s with roughly the same message on the back of each. At some point in the late 1940s, the photos were used for a promotion by the Mabley and Carew department store. I'm guessing yours are from spring 1956 since Ted is wearing a pre-'56 flannel, along with a one-year '56 cap.

[Lucas00]

Originally Posted by Chris Counts

I have a number of small Reds photos from the '30s through the '60s with roughly the same message on the back of each. At some point in the late 1940s, the photos were used for a promotion by the Mabley and Carew department store. I'm guessing yours are from spring 1956 since Ted is wearing a pre-'56 flannel, along with a one-year '56 cap.

Great info Chris!!!