Quote:
Originally Posted by trdcrdkid
Joe -- the first word on Weidman's bat is "Burlingame", but I can't make out the second word.
|
Dave, thanks for the spot on lead. The more I dig into baseball bat history the more intrigued I've become. I previously thought professional model bats of the 1880s were nearly all Spalding or Reach but now realize there were many more possibilities.
Kevin, thanks for the post on Arundel using a Burlingame bat. It actually appears to be the same bat for both photo shoots at Gray Studio suggesting that it was perhaps a prop owned by Gray Studio. Can you check and see if there is a small chip in the knob of the bat found slightly above a line that extends down center of bat positioned above the "BURLINGAME" logo?
There is evidence that players were loyal to certain bats yet when the team would be photographed they would often use another bat. Example being Charlie Bennett who was known to like A J Reach bats (see 1886 Reach Guide below, middle of page), yet when photographed at Tomlinson Studio in 1886, Bennett used the same Spalding bat as all the other Detroit players. This Spalding bat may have belonged to the team, another player, or Tomlinson Studio.
I guess this could also mean the early Hillerich Louisville bat may have been used by teammates during the Athletics photo shoot but could be tough to determine from surviving cards.
Thanks to everyone for chiming in, these negatives are pretty neat pieces of history. I'm still amazed at the detail the old manually operated wood & brass cameras could capture on a coated glass plate. Here is another close-up, this time of Matthew's belt.
I just now realized that I inadvertently posted two historic players in the same post when I coupled Deacon White with Bobby Matthews. They both played in the first ever MLB game in 1871. Bobby Matthews was the starting and winning pitcher despite Deacon White having a solid performance including a stand-up double to lead off the game (first MLB hit). By the time Goodwin & Co. issued their cards they were "OLD" men.
Keep an eye out for this OJ (sorry, rushed attempt to create what could be / may be).