1879 Dubuque Photo -Will the Real Comiskey please stand up or sit down?

[Directly]

Thanks, now your being contructive, but I will be honest, in my opinion your middle photo of Comiskey facial features actually resembles my photo better than my example. Athough studing your comparions the ears still look the same to me in my example on the right. In the book 1919 Commy by GW Axelson its mentioned when Comiskey came to St Louis for a exhibition game their uniform resembled pajamas, so who knows what they had available at different times. Yes I agree a 18 year old is a kid and back then I suppose many young players smoked cigars like Cliff Carrol is holding. Again I believe I have a good case!-the ear appears to have a slight indentation, not perfectly straight!

[bmarlowe1]

I'm always constructive.

>>>in my opinion your middle photo of Comiskey facial features actually resembles my photo...the ears still look the same to me...

I have no doubt that to you they look alike. However, with all due respect, that means very little when the ear shapes are grossly different. The back edge of Commy's ear is long and fairly straight, the back edge of the Dubuque player's ear is very curved. If you can't see that I can't help you.

Hopefully enough people can distinguish a straight line from a curved line so that if this photo ever comes on the market the demand will be nill (I think that's constructive).

[Directly]

No problem and thanks again for the opinions, I am posting some later photos of other players I believe are in my photo-any other experts out there??--thanks for looking!--my Comiskeys ear is not curved as can be seen in the better but not hi-res team photo?

[bmarlowe1]

Your photo of Jack Rowe just above is actually Dave Rowe - that's a known NYPL Spalding Collection error. You can read about it here (page 13):

https://sabr.box.com/shared/static/t...lum70lefpk.pdf

So that implies that you are saying Dave Rowe is in your photo. If so, then it's not Dubuque because Dave Rowe was not on the team.

You will not be able to establish that any of those people are in your photo. Yeah, that's just my opinion.

Having blown this photo up to 3 by 4 feet and having already written these names over it, I just don't think you will ever be rational about it. Again, just my opinion.

So - are you the same Tom from the Sports Collectors Digest article (and the above Telegraph Herald article) that "found" this photo?

[Directly]

Thats OK-I'm here for the help and appreciate any other help or constructive imput --Jack and Dave Rowe both played for Rockford in the North Western League. I will be rational and I'm here for the wise. It's just the odds of a very old Dubuque cabinet photo found in St Louis with a young player thats a spitting image of Comiskey astronomical--anyone have a copy of his Old Judge Baseball card, the one showing him sliding I believe says World Champions?--let me know--thanks again

Note: Both Jack Rowe and Carroll joined Ted Sullivan in Dubuque around 1879, so yes they knew Comiskey.

[bmarlowe1]

Originally Posted by Directly

Thats OK-I'm here for the help and appreciate any other help or constructive input ----- It's just the odds of a very old Dubuque cabinet photo found in St Louis with a young player thats a spitting image of Comiskey astronomical-

Tom,
You edited your 11:55 PM post where you had originally asked for other opinions "for the love of the game." Really? - I am guessing it has more to do with you having tried to sell this piece fairly recently.

You are very confused about the issue of probability. As far as spitting image - no, some resemblance, yes. If you were going though a lot of old baseball photos specifically looking for someone that resembled Comiskey - that would certainly take some time but the odds of finding one would not at all be astronomical. Of course, it is the odds of the player actually being Comiskey that would be astronomically against you.

If you instead go through a lot of old baseball photos looking for a player who resembles any prominent 19thC player with some connection to Missouri - that is actually very easy to find. Again, the chance of the ID being correct would be very small.

[Directly]

Mr. Jordan the Dubuque photographer who made this image was in business until around 1890. We know Mr Jordan and Mr Comiskey knew each other. So I own a Dubuque Cabinet photo found in St Louis, with a player who with his distictive widow peak haircut "resembles" Comiskey during a period when Comiskey would have been playing ball in Dubuque. I am pleased the
discussion has elevated from not even close, and no comparison to resembles. I am very open to more serious research and any upper level discussion!

I have seen tests and discussions with other important baseball images where they do all kinds tests with lines across, up and down and around and around, etc-etc. A more complete complex computer proportion evaluation.

A brief history of my photograph: About twenty years ago while browsing through a St Louis Antique Shop I found this photo in a stack of other Cabinet photographs. I purchased it and took it home and put it in a box. Thats where it rested for another eight years until one evening while reading The Offical Encyclopedia of Baseball I happened to come acoss the article about Ted Sullivan forming the NW League which included Loftus, Comiskey and Radbourn. I remembered the baseball Photo I purchased was stamped HA Jordan- Dubuque. Of course I went to find and retreive the photo. Around that same time I had purchased a substantial Brooklyn Dodger collection. When a buyer drove down from Michigan to look, he purchased the entire collection. He asked if there was anything else I would be interested in selling. I showed him the photo and he asked if it would be OK to take it back with him-Sure no problem-. I quess around two months later he returned and bought my beautifully signed 1950's snow white Brooklyn Dodger baseball and returned the photo with the reasoning none of the players sported mustaches.-Sure no problem-, so again I took the photo home and again put it away in a box.
About year later I came across the St Louis Browns photo I had purchased in the early 1980's from a shop in Ste Geneiveve Missouri. When viewing that photo is when it hit me--most importantly it showed Comiskey not wearing a cap. It took me a little while to locate my cabinet photo which I finally found at the bottom of a box. I then contacted and sent photocopies of both images to a authority on sports memorabilia and autographs. After studing the two photographs in his opinion -quote- "I can't see how anyone can say it isn't Comiskey " and put a value on the photograph at that time around $1500.00.

I hope this clears up any intentions I intended to fabricate some fictitous silly get rich quick scheme. I will continue to research avenues of authentication when I have the time. So for now this will conclude and end my discussions. Someday I will attend another National Sports convention or the Chicago Sun show with the actual photograph. I do appreciate the response + the contructive discussion. I can be contacted by email tsc@mvp.net-- Thanks again. Tom