Before there were Baseball Cards

[mouschi]

Back then, the game of baseball was played by pitching underhand. In fact, pitchers wouldn't be able to throw overhand until over 20 years after Creighton passed away. Because the ball was pitched underhand, Creighton figured out how to pitch with a unique snap of the wrist, fooling nearly everyone who went to bat against him. It was reported that during a game, he swung the bat so hard while hitting a home run, he ruptured something internally and actually died the next day, at the age of 21! He was the very first superstar of baseball, ever.

This woodcut also holds significance for other reasons, primarily due to the bearded gentleman pictured on the right, without a name. People have often speculated that it may be the father of baseball, Henry Chadwick.



I actually have the entire publication that this woodcut came in, and stumbled upon this little gem of text confirming that it is in fact him! This is known to be the earliest depiction of him.



The last piece I wanted to show off is one that I thought would be an appropriate one to end my last article of the baseball season. You may have noticed all of the baseball players this year wearing this on their sleeves:



This is because 2019 marks the 150th year of professional baseball (1869-2019). Here is my woodcut of the first professional baseball team from 1869 - the Cincinnati Red Stocking Baseball Club.



There is a wealth of information on the internet about this team, and I highly recommend you looking them up!

Owning a tangible collectible such as a woodcut from historic teams and events from the 19th century is surreal. They look incredible as framed pieces - like they belong in a museum, and are relatively affordable, too! When I first found out about them, I thought they would be thousands of dollars each. As it turns out, many of them can be found for between $100-300 when they come up for sale, and in some cases, under $100!

I also wanted to try my hand at a mock up of Cap Anson ... errr ... Baby Anson ... as a custom card using part of the woodcut as the relic. Having an authentic collectible piece of from the 1800s in a standard sized card is very appealing to me. Here is what I came up with:



If you are interested in collecting woodcuts yourself, they do come up on eBay from time to time, plus, I have a few I'd be willing to let go of as well, if anyone is interested. If you do become a collector of 19th century woodcuts, I have a warning: you too, may fall in love with this period of our national pastime - a time before there were baseball cards.

BTW check out my new podcast - episode 1 talks more about these as well! https://anchor.fm/tan-man-baseball-f...ssion-1-e6qo71