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Old 06-14-2017, 06:32 AM
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T206Jim T206Jim is offline
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Default 1912 Lee L. Stopple RPPCs of "Home Run" Baker and Christy Mathewson,Their Story Told

1912 Lee L. Stopple Real Photo Postcards of "Home Run" Baker and Christy Mathewson

Stopple photos Net 54 final.jpg

I wanted to share the story of these two relatively unknown RPPCs of two Deadball stars. The Mathewson belongs to Jeff Prizner and I was fortunate enough to talk him out of the Baker. These are the only two known real photo postcards produced by Lee L. Stopple. They depict Frank “Home Run” Baker and Christy Mathewson during Spring Training exhibition games against the Galveston Sand Crabs of the Texas League in March 1912 at Beach Park in Galveston, Texas. The reverse of the postcards are inscribed with a pithy accolade for each player in Stopple’s own hand and bear his signature and brag about the shots.

Stopple Postcard backs Net 54 final.jpg

Stopple tells us the Mathewson was taken on Saturday, March 16, 1912 at Galveston. The Galveston Daily News and New York Times each confirm that the Giants did indeed play an exhibition game against the minor league Galveston Sand Crabs (they became the Galveston Pirates in 1913) on March 16th in Galveston. Mathewson pitched the last three innings in a 15-1 Giants victory. Notice Matty’s superb tweed overcoat! A smart move on Matty’s part as the Galveston Daily News weather section indicates a game time temperature of 58 degrees with a brisk wind of 13 mph.

The game was played at Beach Park which was hastily completed the week before the Giants came to town. The stadium was used by the Galveston Sand Crabs (became the Pirates in 1913) from 1912 to 1914. Here is a real photo postcard of the 1914 Galveston Pirates at their Beach Park home field.

1914 Beach Park Galveston_edited-1.jpg

Notice the top right of the photo. The trim at the bottom of the roof and railing along the back row match up with the Mathewson and the Baker postcards. The netting matches in all the photos and even the four high, field level boards shown in 1914 can be seen in an enlargement of the Baker photo. Also note the sandy ground under Baker’s feet, this was “Beach Park” after all!

Clearly the photos were all taken at Beach Park, but when was the Baker photo taken? The answer is Friday March 22, 1912. The Galveston Daily News and the Philadelphia Inquirer confirm that the Athletics came to Galveston to challenge the Sand Crabs the Friday following the Giants game. Twelve hundred persons turned out to see the game. The A’s had been in Houston and it wasn’t until 1 P.M. of the game day that Connie Mack committed to journey the 50 miles from Houston to Galveston to play the game. The Galveston Daily News reports Baker, the hero of the World Series the previous Fall, received a standing ovation upon his first appearance at the plate. He hit a home run, his first of the Spring, during the game, but the local Galveston press remained unimpressed, publishing “He got a home run all right, but it wasn’t as good as it might have been.” The A’s enjoyed an oyster supper after the game before boarding a trolley car for the ride back to Houston. Chief Bender pitched in the game and I can only dream what a Stopple Bender RPPC would look like!

Who was Lee L. Stopple? According to his obituaries published in the California papers and in the online information below, he was born in Bellville, Texas (close to Houston) in 1888 and died in Santa Rosa California in 1960. According to the Houston Post June 1914 posted real estate transfers, Stopple bought a lot in Houston, which places him as settled in the Galveston vicinity at the time he took the postcard pictures. Stopple subsequently moved to the San Francisco Bay area where he lived the rest of his life. He was a book collector, newspaper owner, Photostat and lithography business owner. His twin passions, books and mountaineering, are evident in his personal bookplate shown below!


Lee Stopple obituary.jpg Lee Stopple bookplate.jpg

He was also an avid mountaineer and noted amateur photographer. His photos appeared alongside photographs by a young Ansel Adams in a 1926 Sierra Club Bulletin Volume XII Number 3, see below, Stopple's is shown first, the Ansel Adams one is shown second.


Sierra-Club-Stopple-1-Net-54.jpg Sierra-Club-Adams-1-net-54.jpg

It is highly likely these are the only two surviving baseball real photo postcards by Stopple from March of 1912. Baker and Mathewson were at their peaks and probably the biggest stars on their teams that year so they were his most likely targets, but it is fascinating to think of who else he might have photographed while in Galveston!


If you have any more information on Stopple or these photos, and especially if you have a Stopple Chief Bender, please let me know!

Last edited by T206Jim; 06-14-2017 at 06:34 AM.
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Old 06-14-2017, 06:39 AM
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Jim--This is great sleuthing, and thank you for sharing it. Both you and Jeff have a superb eye for the unusual, and as a baseball postcard collector, I appreciate your willingness to share information with the rest of the collecting world.

Great job!

Cheers,
Mike
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Old 06-14-2017, 06:45 AM
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I concur with Mike. Great stuff, Jim. As an RPPC collector those cards are magnificent. It was nice meeting you at Rich's most recent show. Sorry we couldn't make a trade too but we tried.
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Last edited by Leon; 08-25-2017 at 07:09 AM.
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Old 06-14-2017, 08:30 AM
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Bet you have some amazing postcards Leon, would have loved to be a fly on the wall during those trade talks!
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Old 06-14-2017, 02:24 PM
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great stuff Jim! Keep 'em coming!
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Old 06-19-2017, 06:22 AM
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Thanks Derek, I might have another one or two up my sleeve.
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Old 11-18-2017, 03:47 PM
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Stopples-framed-web.jpg
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Old 11-18-2017, 04:54 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by T206Jim View Post
Looks great, Jim!!
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Old 11-18-2017, 05:37 PM
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What a great pair of unique postcards. They definitely belong together.
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Old 11-18-2017, 06:11 PM
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Shhh! Jeff still thinks the Matty is in his safe.
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Old 11-18-2017, 06:38 PM
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Jim, did he change the combination on it yet or does the same code still work?? I'm going to make a house call soon! Great score BTW and glad they are together. I have first dibs!
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Last edited by BeanTown; 11-18-2017 at 06:39 PM.
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Old 11-19-2017, 07:04 AM
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Quote:
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Shhh! Jeff still thinks the Matty is in his safe.
He hasn't noticed as he is now too busy looking for consignments!! The 2 PC's look good together.
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Old 11-19-2017, 07:32 AM
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Thanks guys; JC, these bodies are going to be buried here for quite a while!
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Old 11-19-2017, 09:22 AM
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Oh I've noticed. It just hurts too much to talk about it.
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Old 01-13-2018, 06:49 PM
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Here is a photo of Beach Park with the Matty game in progress as stated in the caption. An exact match for the postcards, it just doesn't get any better than this!

Beach Park photo.jpg
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Old 01-13-2018, 07:48 PM
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So cool, Jim!
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Old 01-13-2018, 08:37 PM
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That's great Jim!!
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Old 01-13-2018, 08:56 PM
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Great job Jim. Very cool.
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