Sporting News Photo - Stamp Help - Date?

[h2oya311]

can anyone tell me if this is a date stamp on the back, insinuating 1922? The photo was trimmed on the sides.

I'm not a photo expert, but am hoping that this format is familiar to you guys. Any help would be appreciated.

[thecatspajamas]

How big is that photo, and what is on the front?

FWIW, it just looks like a pretty generic numerical stamp to me. Could be a date (assuming it coincides with the event on the front), or could just as easily be some sort of in-house file coding. From what I've seen, TSN was very inconsisten about dating their photos, with many either having no date on the back or else a hand-penned date which may or may not have been done at the time the photo was received.

[h2oya311]

I hope the "22" coincides with a date. You'll quickly see why.

The photo is slightly smaller than a standard postcard...

[drcy]

I'd guess it isn't the date, just the end of serial number.

But he does look youngish.

[thecatspajamas]

More to the point I think, if I were the one buying the photo, I would not make my decision based on that 22 being indicative of the year of the photo with no other corroborating evidence. If it was an in-uniform shot and the uniform style matched the year, maybe, but even then if it was a date I would expect to see the full "1922" in a date stamp.

And after looking at a bunch more Sporting News photos, I'll add that date-stamped photos from their archives are more the exception than the rule. It seems like, if it didn't have a date stamped on it or in the caption when it came in, it didn't get one. Sometimes there would be a date (usually just the year) penned by hand along with the notation of the player's name and sometimes team, but right offhand, I can't find an example of a TSN stamped date to even try to compare to.

[h2oya311]

Thanks for the help. I see a few bags under Gehrig's eyes. I doubt they were there when he was 19...unless he was already feeling the effects of his magnificent streak well before starting it.

Thanks for nothing

[bcbgcbrcb]

Derek:

Sorry I'm not able to lend more support but I have handled quite a few Sporting News photos very similar to yours and don't think that the stamp applies to the year of the photo. As previously mentioned, true date stamp photos from TSN are rarely seen.