[bocca001]

I just acquired this really cool inscribed Hal Chase photograph from a fellow board member (thanks, Dewey). It's pretty large (9 x 13) and seems to be a rare image of Chase. Based on my careful review of authenticated Chase documents, I believe that this was inscribed by Chase later in life (as opposed to playing days).

The photo came from the estate of Ray Antonali, a 1940s minor league baseball player from the Alameda, CA area. Chase spent time in the area (e.g., Oakland) in the 1940s, and they may have met at that point in time.

The inscription reads:

"Reaching for a high ball thrown by Doc"

I'm wondering if anyone might have an idea about the identify of "Doc". The photo shows Chase in a Giants uniform, so almost certainly dates from the 1919 season. From what I can tell, nobody on the 1919 Giants went by the nickname of Doc (see roster below). It could be that the photo is from spring training (Gainsville, FL). Or, that Chase is referring to someone from the Alameda, CA area as a sort of inside joke (e.g., Doc Moskiman... someone Chase would have played with in the 1905-1915 era).

I'm curious to hear what you think.

1919 Giants Roster:
Jesse Barnes
Virgil Barnes
Rube Benton
Red Causey
Phil Douglas
Jean Dubuc
Bill Hubbell
Johnny Jones
Art Nehf
Joe Oeschger
Pol Perritt
Pat Ragan
Rosy Rya
Ferdie Schupp
George Smith
Colonel Snover
Bob Steele
Fred Toney
Jesse Winters
Mike Gonzalez
Lew McCarty
Earl Smith
Frank Snyder
Al Baird
Hal Chase
Jimmy Cooney
Larry Doyle
Art Fletcher
Frankie Frisch
High Pockets Kelly
Ed Sicking
Heinie Zimmerman
Chick Bowen
George Burns
Benny Kauff
Lee King
Bob Kinsella
Jigger Statz
Jim Thorpe
Ross Youngs
Dave Robertson