Possible Earliest Jack Chesbro Baseball Collectible
 

Hi-

I purchased the premium shown below at an antique show on Saturday. It is blank backed and on the bottom left it says Supplement to Springfield Sunday Union September 15th. I saw the name Chesbro at the bottom but did not know if this was the hall of fame pitcher or a brother or just someone with the same last name. The price was right based on the age of the premium without factoring in any of the players.

When I got home I checked online and this is the 1895 team. Oddly, the team was named Maroons for the 1895 season but this item keeps the Ponies name (same name in 1894 and 1896). Jack Chesbro was on the 1895 championship team.

I reviewed the oldcardboard.com listing for Chesbro (from Phil's research) and found a cabinet photo from 1897 but nothing from 1895. I then viewed the recent pickup thread and saw the incredible team cabinet photo from 1896 with Chesbro. I think it is cool to have two early Chesbro items found by board members recently.

Alan

Yep, that's Chesbro's earliest collectible. I once owned that Team Supplement (sold it in 2013) after having acquired it from Phil G. I'm not sure if it's the exact same one I once owned or if it's an additional copy. I'll have to check my saved images on my computer.

I never really liked that Chesbro's face was photoshopped onto that other player's body for this item. That said, it is certainly his earliest collectible (that I know of), and assuming it's not a later reproduction of the original.

Nice pick-up!

Thank you Derek! I don't know how I missed seeing yours when I searched earlier. I also did not consider the odd look to Chesbro but I see it now.

Alan

About the team nickname (Maroons vs. Ponies), all such names were informal. The team was named the Springfield Baseball Club, or something similar, and were called the Ponies, the Maroons, or whatever else people wanted to call them. BaseballReference.com seems to have arbitrarily chosen a single nickname for each team, each season, but that is misleading. Both nicknames were probably used during the 1895 season, and any other seasons that the team had maroon among its uniform colors.

The head of Fielder Jones (top row, far right) has also been pasted over another player's. Here is what the original looked like (I do not own this):

Thank you! I really appreciate the information on the names and it is good to note the other edit that was made.

Alan

I also once owned that supplement. I traded it to Phil G., though my recollection is that the condition was not as nice as this one, so it may have been another example of it. I always thought the player seated second from the left looks a lot like Wagner, though it's obviously not him.

Congrats on the pickup Alan.

Very cool. That is one interesting photoshop job from the 1800's!

Thank you guys! I do think this one is new to the hobby based on the dealer I bought it from (primarily ephemera dealer from the Springfield area). I really appreciate everyone's comments and information and it is really cool to read about how the same supplement was owned by at least three board members.

Alan

I didn't even know they had Photoshop in the 1800s!