1890 Players League Sam Thompson Cabinet RARE

[edhans]

Great Piece, Brian. Just curious what makes it a Player's League cabinet.

[insidethewrapper]

Good question. Slab states 1880's cabinet, and the BST listing states 1890 Players League. I don't believe he ever played in the Players League and the slab description doesn't state that.

[Keith H. Thompson]

this Thompson cabinet card was made for the Philadelphia Players League entry for several reasons. I own two copies of this same pose, and I know of no examples other than the one offered in this thread.

1. One of my cards came to the market via Terry Knouse (Tic & Tac) in a collection of genuine Player's League cabinets. Terry showed them to me at a
Reading, PA show. I say genuine because many were of obscure players who may not have played for a National League Team. When I first saw the "Thompson" neither of us was sure it was Sam Thompson. He is not in a uniform, and the card is identified only by the cursive script "Thompson" on the front and the cursive script "Malarial Thompson" on the back. The identification came later. (for which I take full credit)

2. Thompson did jump to the Player's League in the spring of 1890, and at Spring Training games on the East Coast Sam and his wife were shunned and mocked by National League Players. Sam, of course, jumped back, possibly at the personal request of Harry Wright.

3. The cabinet card is published by MacIntire Bros, Philadelphia. Sam and Ida never had a residence in Philadelphia, even though he played for the
Quakers for ten years. It is my theory that Sam had this cabinet done at the request of the Philadelhia Players League entry for publicity purposes, but I have never seen it published anywhere in a newspaper or periodical. Which is understandable since he never played for the team.

I'm always interested in all the evidence that can be brought to bear on the matter.

[edhans]

Thank you for the explanation, Keith. Entirely plausible, though not exactly definitive. Terrific piece either way.

BTW, Terry and his son go by TIK & TIK-their initials, I believe.

[insidethewrapper]

According to the biography of Sam Thompson by Roy Kerr, Sam played for the Philadelphia team during the 1890 Spring Training and it was the Boston team of the Players League which shunned and mocked Sam , his wife and the team.

[Keith H. Thompson]

that the many errors and oversights in my posts are attributable to my age (93 years old) . For example, I know full well that that Terry Knouse goes by the handle TIK and TIK. But more important, I should have known that the Philadelphia Player's League entry were the "Quakers" and that the National League team were the "Phillies."

It also gives me an opportunity to promote Roy Kerr's biography of "Big Sam Thompson." It is not just a puff piece. Roy was a dedicated researcher of the old school and never trusted anything he did not verify himself. But even so, the book is rooted on my pictorial collection, my brother Davids notes from microfilm, Sam & Ida's scrapbook and family histories from my cousin Don and other relatives. I worked very closely with Roy on the book and proofread each chapter as it unfolded. It is by far the most important and accurate biography of Sam ever done.

[Leon]

This was moved to the front page as there's some good info in it...
.