Obtaining new scans of Dummy Hoy cards, etc.

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Posted By: Matthew S. Moore

Greetings to all fellow Hoy fans. The manuscript of the Hoy biography is shaping up; we hope to publish it this fall. I'm once again soliciting high-resolution , large-file photos of Old Judge cards, E.G. Williams cards, Cameo Pepsin pins, etc., depicting Hoy. Since last receiving images from fellow VBC posters, I've switched to a new iMac, and it'll be easier for me to send digital attachments to our graphics staffer if I have new scans, as my old iMac has been disconnected. Also, new scans may be of high resolution than those made several years back . . . I always hold out that hope!

I need at least one or two good images of Hoy for the October 2008 issue of "DEAF LIFE," which will have a brief writeup about Hoy's being bypassed (again) by the Hall of Fame/BWAA committees.

We already have a good photo of the famous Old Judge image of Hoy standing and leaning on his bat (next to a base). The other four poses, showing him squatting to scoop up a ground ball (without a glove), batting a "pitched" ball (actually a ball hanging by a string), tossing a ball (with slightly blurred arm), and reaching for a "high" ball (another string shot), are the ones I'd like to obtain.

I'd also like to obtain Old Judge and other vintage images of Hoy's teammates, such as Walt Wilmot and Hank O'Day. I suppose I can post a want list later.

The kind of budget we're running on (strictly shoestring) doesn't permit me to freely buy up all the cards I'd like to acquire. But Hoy-fans have been good about sharing photos. My policy is to give proper credit to the owners, and if any of you run memorabilia-selling sites, I'll include the URL with the credits.

Anyone who assists us with images of cards will get a courtesy copy of the October issue of "DEAF LIFE." [Of course, I'll need mailing addresses for that; you can contact me at Editor (at) deaflife.com.] We also published a cover story on "Dummy" Taylor last December. We'll likely do a tie-in cover story on Hoy when publication of the book is imminent.

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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

There is a friendly fellow board member who has a gorgeous vintage cabinet photo of Hank O'Day. Perhaps if you sent a request to David McDonald he might be willing to help.

Do you have a copy of the Hoy photo featured in (I want to say) a 1960 or '61 issue of Life Magazine? It depicts him in the stands at a game shortly before his death.

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Posted By: barrysloate

Hoy threw out the first ball at the Minnesota Twins inaugural game, so the photo Jodi cites is probably from 1961.

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Posted By: Matthew S. Moore

Thanks for the suggestion. Will follow through on that.

You must be referring to a photo showing Hoy tossing out the first ball at Game 3 of the 1961 World Series at Crosley Field. We do have a photo or two taken on that occasion. I believe that this was the last time he was photographed.

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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Yes, I'm certain the Life photo(s) were taken in Cincinnati. Sounds like you have what you need in that department. Otherwise I would have dug through my piles of old magazines/ephemera to find it for you.

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Posted By: Matthew S. Moore

Ms. Birkholm . . . thanks! Iit's nice to have magazine clips, but they wouldn't be publishable because a) there'd likely be a copyright problem, since Time-Warner probably still owns the rights to LIFE photos; and 2) I'm trying to track own real photos (and original negatives) and/or high-resolution digital scans made from them. Reproducing printed images (as second- or third-generation images) results in an obtrusive moiré effect (that diagonal-checkerboard-like pattern seen on badly reproduced and degraded photos), and there'd be a noticeable loss in clarity and quality of the image.

I can contact Time-Warner, Getty Images, Corbis-Bettmann, and other sources about that. Photo agencies typically charge exorbitant prices for their photos, though . . . a BIG problem for us. We've obtained some good photos from "Sporting News" and the Giamatti Library at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

We may be using some poor-quality photos in the Hoy book (for lack of anything better), but we're scrupulously trying to avoid them as much as possible. It isn't always possible to avoid using third-generation photos; we've purchased several from the Gallaudet University Archives. These are acceptable when there's nothing better available—or when we can't find any other photographs of a particular person, especially one who wasn't in the limelight of celebrity.

One set of photos that I've agonized over show Hoy and "Dummy" Taylor at a Deaf Community softball tournament on Labor Day Weekend in 1942. I have no idea what happened to the originals. Two fuzzy, murky photos were published in Ralph LinWeber's "American Deaf Softball Guide" (1961). I have a disked scan from the book, but the quality of the images is atrocious. And these are, to the best of my knowledge, the ONLY pictures ever taken of Hoy and Taylor together.

Mr. Sloate, thanks for your response, too. I wasn't aware that Hoy threw out the first ball for the Minnesota Twins. Do you have that on record?

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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Perhaps that Hoy image to which I refer is already in the files of the National Baseball Library. If so, you can obtain publication permission from them for considerably less of a financial outlay.

By the way, feel free to call me Jodi, but if you insist on a more formal salutation, "Mr." usually covers that nicely! I'm sure my friends will thank you for giving them a laugh at my expense!

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Posted By: barrysloate

Matthew- I made the comment about Hoy throwing out the first ball for Minnesota from memory. I think it's correct, but I am now not absolutely sure. Since others cited he attended the 1961 World Series, perhaps that is the first ball he threw out and I am wrong. Maybe someone else could help clarify this.

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Posted By: DMcD

Mr. Moore: e-mail sent regarding my Hank O'Day cabinet.

Mistah Barry: Sounds like maybe you're getting a touch of Oldtimers. I think the first Minnesota pitch question was settled in a thread last year: http://tinyurl.com/63l75n .

Mizz Jodi: Thanks for refraining from calling me gorgeous, too.





Um. Wow. Vintage cards, scantily-clad Polynesian maidens, uku-zillion penguins, authentic Dutch people and more at . .
http://ImageEvent.com/kawika_o_ka_pakipika
Password=aloha

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Posted By: D. Bergin

Reproducing printed images (as second- or third-generation images) results in an obtrusive moiré effect (that diagonal-checkerboard-like pattern seen on badly reproduced and degraded photos), and there'd be a noticeable loss in clarity and quality of the image.


If your scanner software has a "descreen" option you can pretty much solve the moire effect problem with printed type photos. It won't magically turn them into real photos but will give them a much smoother look.

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Posted By: Danny

Moore-

Im more than willing to help you out. I know Dummy Hoy threw the first pitch in 1961 World Series, Game 3. I have couple of tickets from the game. I never heard about the one he threw at Twins....

Danny-

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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Massa David,

That's Mizz JODUH to you!

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Posted By: barrysloate

David- have no recollection of that discussion. It's scary, but I'm beginning to have trouble remembering things that came easy to me...oh well.

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Posted By: Matthew S. Moore

Mr. Birkholm, my apologies. I'm a bit out of the loop. It was an honest error.

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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Not a big deal whatsoever! Again, feel free to call me Jodi. Your project sounds like an honorable and highly interesting undertaking. Please keep us apprised as the publication date draws nearer.

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Posted By: NYHighlanderFan

Hoy for the HoF!
Hoy for the HoF!