Help with this Ruth photo

[Sophiedog]

The only thing true about that story is she fed those 3

[steve B]

Memories change over several years, it's really common. The main points usually stick, but the details drift. I've even tried to track down stuff I "knew" I was involved with in a certain year, only to find out I was a year off.

The closeup does look a lot more like him, but I haven't seen a pic of Ruth smiling like that, and even in pics from before 1920 he looks more wrinkly. I guess that can change or be hidden by the focus?

[Runscott]

Absolutely not Babe's front teeth.

[Butch7999]

That's Babe Ruth, just like we're all three of the Alou Bothers.

Buffalo left the Eastern League after 1911, and while we won't yet swear to it, we're pretty sure
that buffalo head on the absolutely-not-Babe-Ruth-guy's jersey was never used as the logo for
any Buffalo team, Eastern League, Federal League, International League, nor American Association.

Possibly the Texas League Houston Buffaloes of 1907-58...

[Leon]

So ya'll are saying there's a chance? Here is a blow up of the caption, anyway.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by Leon

So ya'll are saying there's a chance? Here is a blow up of the caption, anyway.

That looks more like 'Deacon' than 'Dawson'

[Butch7999]

It does say "Deacon," not that the fact that the absolutely-not-Babe-Ruth-guy's name is actually
typed out right there on the label is likely to change the lady's mind.
There are a few dozen guys with the surname Deacon and the nickname "Deacon" listed at
https://www.baseball-reference.com/s...acon&pid=&idx= , but few fit the era of the photo
and none have much if any resemblance to not-Babe-Ruth.
Also, given the monospace typewriter font, the second ump's name has to be three or at most four letters long,
so "Charles Philippe" has to be another misremembered item, assuming the label bears accurate information.

[nolemmings]

Wow, all sorts of confusion here, except for the fact that it is clearly not Babe Ruth.

The player is "Deacon" according to the slug, but it is not Charles "Deacon" Phillippe, who was done pitching in 1911 at age 39 and out of baseball altogether not long thereafter--well before Summers would have been umpiring at really any level. It also looks nothing like Deacon Phillippe, so where the lady got Charles Phillippe is a mystery.

It is possibly a retired player brought back for an old timer's game, as the caption hints they're talking about "old" times. He could even be wearing the contemporary uniform of a Buffalo or Bison team, having outgrown the threads of his playing days. That still doesn't help us know which Deacon it is, however.

Finally, I'm confused as to how the lady's grandmother even came upon the picture as part of her familiarity with either Ruth or the Yankees. If she was born in 1919, she would have been 15 when Babe last played in New York and not real likely to have cooked for the team then.

[Runscott]

I must be on everyone's ignore list

Deacon's front two teeth are NOT Babe Ruth's front two teeth - his right front tooth is chipped whereas I believe Babe died with all enamel intact. You can also google 'Babe Ruth' 'smiling' and find pictures that show his front teeth, in case you don't have me on 'ignore' and just don't believe me. This is not a matter of 'he does not look like Babe' - this is definite forensic evidence.

I'm curious who the player actually is.