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Posted By: davidcycleback

If the ball says '96 on it, that's almost certainly the year of the photo (1896). It was standard in high school and college basketball and football for a team to pose with a ball with the year and team name written on it.

My opinion is, if he's a college player, if you can deduce what team he's playing for, that's all the information you need. Even if you find out his name, probably no one's ever heard of him, but there are lots of college team collectors and enthusiasts. Buyers and collectors always like to know which college, even if it isn't a big one.

I used to sell a lot of vintage college football photos, and a majority of buyer bought because of the college pictured not the player. Of course the big time colleges were always popular. However, not everyone graduated from Notre Dame and USC, so there was also demand for photos of U of San Fransisco, Wayne State, etc.

P.s. I think it's a fine football photo, especially with the nose guard.