Need help with T210 Player Identification!

[Steve D]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

Not likely Charley Shields in the T210 set. There is a Charlie Shields listed as pitching for Memphis through 1908. He was a southpaw, and the T210 pic is of a righty (not surprisingly, as a catcher).

Yea, I noticed that after posting the above.

The Charlie Shields who played for Memphis in 1908-09, and Meridian in 1910, is the same Charlie Shields who played for the Baltimore Orioles and St Louis Browns in 1902, and the St Louis Cardinals in 1907.

In comparing the pictures of this Charlie Shields on baseball-reference.com and find-a-grave.com, with the T210 photo, the picture on T210 shows a different person.

The thing is though, if he was a southpaw, why would he have been a catcher? The boxscores show the only "Shields" playing for Meridian, was primarily a catcher, and the newspaper story about him in Memphis in July 1910, clearly states that the Meridian "Shields, was the same "Shields" who pitched in Memphis. Baseball-reference.com also indicates that Charlie Shields played for both Memphis and Meridian, as well as the Orioles, Browns and Cardinals.

We're left with there being two Shields', or that there was one Shields, and he was ambidextrous. If there were two Shields', one was the pitcher/outfielder, and the other was a catcher. If so, they both played for Meridian at the same time (Jun-Jul 1910), but never played in the same game together. Also, if there was only one Shields, then the picture on the T210 card, is incorrect

Steve

[Vintagecatcher]

Thanks again gentleman.

The answer will be found in an old newspaper or one of our other Old Mill collectors will have the answer.

If I find the answer, I'll let you know.

Thanks again!

Patrick

[Vintagecatcher]

Let's try another card to see if we can identify this catcher in the T210 Old Mill set.

The 1910 roster for the Portsmouth Truckers lists a W.G. Smith.

Here is the card in question.

I did find a Wib Smith that was a catcher and 1st baseman during this time period.

Patrick

[Steve D]

Here's a list of "base ball" players enumerated in the 1910 US Federal Census for Portsmouth, Virginia on 19 Apr 1910:

Edwards, James
Bunch, Benjamin H
Sherlow, Paul
Orebaugh, Henry
Beal, John
Brinkley, Benjamin S
Cowan, George L
Jackson, William
Hannifan, Louis J
Foxen, Thomas H
Jones, Thomas J
Booe, Edward L
Smith, Robert, 32 years old, from New York
Clunk, James R
Kirkpatrick, Edward E
Bowen, Arthur A
Hamilton, Thomas J
Guiheen, Thomas A
Norris, William S
Byans, James R
Vail, Robert
Maxwell, George T
McDonald, Henry
Cote, Henry A
Hankins, Henry T

They were all staying at a hotel on Crawford Street.

Steve

[Vintagecatcher]

Thanks for checking Steve.

The plot thickens!

I found a player listed as G. W. Smitheal, who played for Fort Worth in 1909 in the Texas League. No position listed but it's too close to the G. W. Smith listed on the 1910 Portsmouth official roster. Guessing they are one and the same player.

Patrick