Trying to identify four cabinet cards 1880s-1890s

[spec]

I believe the lower right cabinet pictures Joe Simmons, not Sommers.

[robertsmithnocure]

Out of curiosity, how was Hunt able to identify them as baseball players? Did they come from a particular collection that had provenance? So the backs of the cards have any clues?

[RUKen]

Originally Posted by robertsmithnocure

Out of curiosity, how was Hunt able to identify them as baseball players? Did they come from a particular collection that had provenance? So the backs of the cards have any clues?

The Tommy Tucker image appears on an 1889 composite of the Baltimore team (middle row, second from the left).

[robertsmithnocure]

Thanks for posting that composite. The resources on this board are really something else.

Makes sense that they originated from the files of the Clipper. Figured that they must have been identified in their backs or published somewhere.

[spec]

As I recall, these were part of a large group of photos that came from the files of the long-defunct Clipper newspaper, which specialized in sports and theatre. Many were identified on the reverse in longhand, which was often difficult to decipher, thus Hunt reading Joe Simmons as Joe Sommers, for instance.