C.1934 Gehrig Ruth RPPC

[Leon]

Picked this up on the BST a few days ago and hope to find any other info about it? Who is the guy in the middle? (I know it's a longshot.)

[BosseFieldBoy]

It's Cy Young after getting liposuction. Seriously, imagine adding 40 lbs to the guy in the image...

[Leon]

Originally Posted by BosseFieldBoy

It's Cy Young after getting liposuction. Seriously, imagine adding 40 lbs to the guy in the image...

I actually thought it looks like him but yeah, looks a bit skinny (and looks too old though he would be 67 in this pic).

[T206Jim]

Here you go!

https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/61749

[Leon]

Originally Posted by T206Jim

Here you go!

https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/61749

Thanks Jim.
"Dick Mayes (a fan from Brooksville)," You certainly know how to research an RPPC.....

[Rhotchkiss]

Leon, I think the guy in the middle may be an actual Zombie. Great picture, congrats.

[T206Jim]

If only RPPC examiner was a profession!

[h2oya311]

incredible clarity on that PC, Leon! You've got a great eye! And Jim, I know who to go to the next time I need help identifying a person on a postcard!

[yanksfan09]

He is identified as Dick Mayes. Says he played with Pirates in 1880's. Also on back of mine it says he was still playing on 3/4 century team at the time of this photo!

Here is a link to one of the only other copies of seen, from REA Fall 2017

https://bid.robertedwardauctions.com...e?itemid=46676

The only other copy I've seen is this one from a 10 year old H&S auction

http://apr08.hugginsandscott.com/cgi...pl?itemid=8351

mine:

[drcy]

Originally Posted by T206Jim

If only RPPC examiner was a profession!

I taught a museums class at the U of Washington on object identification/authentication, and one thing I taught was how much identification information can be found on the internet. Google and wikipedia are an archivist's friend. One exercise was how to use the internet to assess and identify objects donated to a museum. This included researching stamps and identifying the photographers' names of famous photo images.

[Rookiemonster]

Dicks left thumb looks very deformed! Curious of what happened to the two balls that are in the picture.

[Leon]

Thanks for posting this, Erick. The clarity on this rppc just doesn't get much better....a few closer shots.

Originally Posted by yanksfan09

He is identified as Dick Mayes. Says he played with Pirates in 1880's. Also on back of mine it says he was still playing on 3/4 century team at the time of this photo!

Here is a link to one of the only other copies of seen, from REA Fall 2017

https://bid.robertedwardauctions.com...e?itemid=46676

The only other copy I've seen is this one from a 10 year old H&S auction

http://apr08.hugginsandscott.com/cgi...pl?itemid=8351

mine:

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Maybe it's just me but Mr. Mayes looks Native American. Cool piece, gorgeous image. As for research tineye.com can be a lot of help too. You put your image in and it tries to find other examples of the image on the web. Works best for internet graphics, but it can match your original image to others if they're close enough. It's really useful for seeing if someone stole an image from a previous owner/seller!

[Buythatcard]

That was great detective work!

Now, if you could only figure out who is sitting on the bench behind these 3. That would be impressive.

[Paul S]

Originally Posted by Buythatcard

That was great detective work!

Now, if you could only figure out who is sitting on the bench behind these 3. That would be impressive.

From left to right: Cobb, Mantle, Jackson

[Buythatcard]

Originally Posted by Paul S

From left to right: Cobb, Mantle, Jackson

That would make Mantle 3 years old.

[yanksfan09]

No problem Leon! I agree, fantastic image quality and features both Gehrig and Ruth! Pretty neat that apparently this guy was 75+? years old and still playing ball.

[Snapolit1]

I looked at that photo 20 times, and each time convinced myself of some reason why I didn't need it. Think I recall if from an auction or two, and was on BST. Looked at it many times and never pulled the trigger. And now I realize what a complete dope I was. It's amazing cool and very unique. I am a dummy. Leon wonderful addition.

[rjackson44]

Terrific

[oldeboo]

Saw this postcard in another thread with a different main topic, so figured I would bump this thread up. What an interesting image. One could argue that the fellow in the center was more interesting than Ruth or Gehrig. Okay, that’s debatable. The information on the back of the postcard above is spot on.

Dick Mayes owned a ball from 1883 that had at least 27 signatures that included the likes of Tom Mix, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Judge Landis, Frank Frisch, Dizzy Dean, Schoolboy Rowe and others. The other baseball is from 1902 as mentioned. From a few different articles, it appears that Mayes enjoyed showing off his balls and taking them to the ballpark to throw around on multiple occasions.

Mayes had a pretty interesting story and crossed paths with some high profile players. Some of his story can be seen in the article below.
(The Greenville News 4/27/1931)

Below, Mayes can be seen playing first base and swinging for the fences in his 80s. Even in his 80s, it would appear that he was not a huge fan of the modern gloves, probably explains why his hands were all mangled up.
(Tampa Bay Times 4/2/1941)

Below, The 1883 and 1902 balls can be seen with Mr. Mayes and a friend. Ruth and Gehrig had already signed the 1883 ball when this image was taken.
(Tampa Bay Times 1/17/1937)

I believe he played ball until he was 84 years old and passed away at the age of 84 as well.

So here who owns that 1883 ball or who has seen it?

[oldeboo]

Mayes with his cherished ball, shown below.
(St Louis Post Dispatch 1/5/1936)
matching photo can be seen here: https://twitter.com/theskimmers/stat...99902654521347

It sounds like a postcard may exist, or did at one point, that featured Frisch, Mayes and his 1883 ball.
(The Jeffersonian Democrat 8/8/1940)