Opinions on baseball cabinet ID's....
 

Here are 2 cabinets I recently received. The Boston player is blank backed with the handwritten inscription.." C. Webster Jeffery, artist Boston". I was thinking maybe Billy Nash, Tom O'Rourke or John Morrill.

The Geo. Rich Cabinet with the Chicago player, I can't place. Not Silver Flint or Mike Kelly, I don't think. Any ideas? Thanks

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3670/9...9e53db1076.jpghttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7360/9...f0d7727441.jpg

Can you post larger scans of just their heads?

Larger pics
 

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3670/9...53db1076_b.jpghttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7360/9...d7727441_b.jpg

Lance, and all, here are larger pics. Can zoom in more tomorrow if need be.

I believe the Boston player is Tommy Bond. That is a great find.

Unquestionably Tommy Bond, and a super pickup. I've seen other Boston players from that series, and I believe they were issued late 1870's. I love it.

Tommy Bond
 

Thank y'all for the Tommy Bond ID on the Boston card. That is great news. I had not heard of him before, but I see now that he was a great pitcher in the late 1870's, a pitching triple crown winner with three 40 win seasons in a row.

Any thoughts on the Chicago player, or maybe on the time frame of the uniform style? Thanks

Chicago is circa 1888-90. Don't recognize the player.

Agree with the others that the Boston player is a well known image of Tommy Bond. Congrats on, what in my opinion, is a major score.

There is good bio of him in SABR's Nineteenth Century Stars book.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Bond_(baseball)

Thanks, I will have to get a copy of that SABR book.

Here is a link to a baseball discussion site that debates the pros and cons of Bond's possible HOF status....

http://www.baseball-fever.com/showth...839-Tommy-Bond



An update on the Chicago card..........

The photographer is Geo. F. Riel of Chicago. I found some Chicago directory listing archive sites that place Riel at this Chicago street address from 1890-1900 and/or 1891-1900. The sites indicate that Riel was active as early as 1880, but no addresses are known from 1880-1889.

I have looked through rosters of the Chicago White Stockings/Colts/Orphans from 1884-1901 and have not been able to identify this player. There were a few obscure players that I could not find an image of, so it is possible that this is not a well known player.

However, my ID skills are not the best, and I may have overlooked an obvious photo match for this player. Some matches I thought were possibly close were, Ossie France, Dad Lytle, Pat Luby, and Silver Flint.

I agree with Barry on the dating. I think your photo is prior to the late 1890's when the team seems to have dropped the "CHICAGO" lettering in the few team photos I have seen from that period.

It is definitely not Silver Flint nor is it Pat Luby. I don't think it's a well-known player. As for Lytle and France, given the existing images I have, it's hard to say. Keep in mind that there are a number of candidates for whom there is as yet no known (to SABR) image for comparison.

Also - he doesn't match anyone on the 1890 Chicago Player's League roster (I don't know what their uniforms looked like).

Great find on the Bond photo.

Thanks for the help, Mark and all. If I ever turn anything up on the Chicago card I will let y'all know.