Help with this Ruth photo

[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.

[Butch7999]

Todd, given the ambiguity of Lisa's grammar, maybe we're reading it wrong, sort of like a verbal version
of those novelty drawings that one stares at first seeing, say, an old crone's face but then after a minute
it's the back of a young lady's head, but...

Anyway, our take is that "Lisa R," who's assuming absolutely-not-Babe-Ruth is the Babe and at the center of the photo,
wrote "The first black man playing ball is in the background as well as Bill summers and Charles Philippe."
Then the label appears to state "Umpires Summers (and Xxx) talk over (old) times with Deacon."

So we figure she meant that she thinks Summers (who may possibly actually be, or might maybe not be)
umpire Bill Summers and "Charles Philippe" are the umps flanking definitely-not-Babe, whom the label seems to indicate
is some guy named or nicknamed "Deacon." It's maybe a total coincidence that a "Deacon" and a "Phillippe"
are both somehow connected to this photo (if only in Lisa's or her grandma's mind), but we're not really getting
a suggestion that Deacon Phillippe is alleged to be in any way involved -- except, of course, that Deacon Phillippe
was in fact Charles Louis "Deacon" Phillippe, so there is or was maybe some conflation of names in grandma's
memory.

At any rate, again, we're 99.9% certain that "Deacon"/not-Babe is not wearing a style of uniform ever worn
by any Buffalo Bison team. A slightly better than cursory search of unis worn by Texas League Houston Buffaloes
also failed to turn up any match to that buffalo-head logo, but more expert eyes might yet find something there...

ETA: we already have the uncomfortable feeling that, even if the photo experts, facial recognition experts, and
baseball history experts on this board combine to positively identify every guy in the photo and the venue and
date the picture was taken, within a couple of months the pic will be available on eBay as a photo of Babe Ruth
with Deacon Phillippe.

[mr2686]

I'll chime in here and say it's definitely not Ruth. Almost every photo I've ever seen of Ruth "smiling" is more of a "grin" with his top lip almost covering his teeth. This photo is a flat out big smile. Also, it just doesn't look like him.

[Sophiedog]

Definately not Babe Ruth

[Bpm0014]

I can't believe people are even debating whether this is Ruth haha

[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.