I spent some time researching this cabinet photo before it ended because I thought there was a possibility that John Ward and Sam Crane were among the players pictured.
My research through old newspapers from 1896 found that there was a charity baseball team from a New York Masonic lodge called the "Beneficent Paternal Order of Elks" and that former big leaguers like Ward and Crane were on the team, among several other minor celebrities of the day (mainly comedians).
Thoughts?