[cyseymour]

Joe,

Glad you have enjoyed reading the posts, and the OJ book was a definitely a huge contribution. However, I must say that I do believe the idea that the McCreachery card was a reference to his age was a misinterpretation. It happens - every book (and in fact, history itself) is an interpretation. That's why they say that history is always changing.

As for the idea of whether it was malicious, I have mulled it over and still think it might have been a mix - i.e., while it was a joke about his drinking, the producers of the cards may have realized it was malicious after a very short print run and then pulled the card. Which is why there is only one remaining specimen today.

Clearly, in a time period where Irishmen were seen as wild drinkers, hot-tempered and belonged to a poor, undereducated class subject to job discrimination, i.e., many signs for employment that read "Irish Need Not Apply", the card could be very well considered to be derogatory. White clearly had some very eccentric and uneducated ideas, and that could be the source of calling him Irish.

Whether it was malicious or purely as a spoof is subject to debate (we may never really know their true intentions) but White's strong performance on the field, plus the etymology of the name teasing him, strongly suggests that the joke on the card was not really a reference to his age.