This went for big money, but was it real? Sockalexis Postcard
 

Link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

This postcard went for some pretty big money today. However, I was not thoroughly convinced it was authentic. I did a ton of research, including going to the library to read biographies, and was unable to come up with any credible evidence that Sockalexis played on the 1907 Bangor team. I found a single reference to him playing for Bangor as late as 1903, but not for any time after that. By all accounts I found, Sockalexis should have been a logger and back on his reservation from 1907 to his death a few years later. The only accounts I could find of him being involved with organized Maine League baseball after his stint with Bangor in 1903 were as an umpire. With the lack of a manufacturer being named on the postcard, I stayed away from it. What do you guys think?

"It's real and it's spectacular"

It is real and one of the coolest PC's I have ever seen! Sockalexis has a special place in my life b/c I lived in Old Town, Maine for a year and spent the next decade living next door in Orono. I know who won the postcard and his snipe was set for SIGNIFICANTLY more money than it ended up going for so someone else would have had to really want it for to escape his clutches (I'm glad he won it!).

The Maine League was VERY small and no real attempt has been made up to this point to accumulate statistics for the league, which is why you didn't find much on it.

Awesome piece!

-Rhett

I saw it as well. It's very much real. Great piece!!

If it is real, then it is a hell of a piece. In my research I did find out a lot about the Maine League. According to a lot of what I read, the Maine League was actually quite a league. One author referred to it as a "mini Major League" where most owners were potato barons who were very serious about their teams. In my reading I did find a lot of references to owners hiring ringers to play a few games here and there for drawing cards and for important games, so it is possible that Sockalexis did play briefly for Bangor in 1907. I was just frustrated I couldn't find any hard references to him being involved with the league that late in his life as anything more than an umpire. This postcard must be incredibly rare if authentic. He must have only been a part of the team for days, weeks at the most.

Deleted

That is exactly what my research had led me to conclude. Which is what is most confusing to me. Maybe the 1907 date is not accurate. Although I don't know why the wrong date would be featured on a period postcard. It has happened before though. The only references I found to him being involved with organized baseball after 1903 were as an umpire and as a coach at a small school that sent several players to the New England League. There was an article written as late as 1912 about him and it made no reference to him playing as recently as 1907. It could be real and there are much more educated people on this forum, could you guys weigh in as to what led you to believe it is a 1907 period postcard?

Sockalexis' doings after his time in "Organized Ball" are not well documented. It may have been that he was simply hired for a time as a coach (or ringer) of some kind. It is obviously a real divided back (1907 or later) postcard. I have read every biography of Sockalexis ever written and the last decade of his life is usually painted with a broad brush as there isn't much written from the time to go by in newspapers, contemporary accounts, etc., etc.

Congrats...
 

Rhett - Congrats to your brother on winning a superb piece ! :p

Holy crap!

I would have gladly bid twice that had I seen it. Amazing piece!

-Ryan

i wonder if one of our board members got this.

Can anyone give a little info on how to confirm the authenticity of postcards like this? I saw that the split back is one indicator, are there other characteristics I can look for? Personally I came to the conclusion this was a fantasy piece created with an inaccurate date, but it looks like I was wrong. Any help in postcard dating would be fantastic.

Packs, basically you know a real or fake Real Photo Postcard when you see it, especially after handling and seeing literally a few million of them (obviously not just baseball ones). The photo appearance on front is consistent w/ many RPPC's that I have handled and the back is correct and even has that "honest" age to it that is nearly impossible to recreate (people try to recreate it but it never really turns out right). Basically, there was nothing from this postcard physically that would indicate it was a fake piece--as it is NOT a known postcard it would take a pretty good amount of work to fabricate something like this and then with that much work we would expect to see many more of them popping up. Also the fact that this is from a location in Maine w/in a few hours drive of Bangor also helps lend a bit of credability, combined with the fact that the seller wasn't trying to use any puffery (obviously they had no idea how significant this find was.)

This postcard is a great example of how the history of the players we follow is constantly changing. The conventional wisdom based on "known" accounts indicated that Sockalexis never played or participated in organized baseball in any way after 1903 was wrong, this postcard is actually helping to fill in that dark gap at the end of his life where we really don't have much to go on. Most of what is written about him during this period is based on oral history and accounts of others, which are often wrong or imbellished over the years.

Another recent example of our efforts to fill in gaps in the history of baseball is that Jim Thorpe postcard I recently came across (see 1910 Rocky Mount thread). Up to this point I had doubted whether there was any surviving photographic evidence of Thorpe during his Rocky Mount, NC playing days during 1909-10. He had withdrawn from Carlisle during that time and wasn't known throughout the country until he re-enrolled at Carlisle in 1911 and became famous that year for his football play, prior to that he was merely a promising young Indian football & track star (but wasn't a household name by any stretch of the imagination).

-Rhett

Andrew, a member of this board did end up winning the piece.

Is there anything to be made of the caption? "Sockalexis On The War path" sounds like something you'd say about a coach or manager rather than a player. The players in the field have jerseys and he's wearing a sweater.

There again, is that a glove stuck up his sweater? For shagging balls or playing in a game?

Great postcard and a nice pickup for the lucky winner.

Rhett certainly thinks its real and he has no doubt handled more postcards than I have. I still have a feeling its a modern postcard, but that is solely a feeling. It seems to me that if a fantasy piece of memorabilia were to be produced of Sockalexis, it makes the most sense that it would come out of Maine and for it to be in the hands of a Maine resident. I can see it being real and fully admit I honestly don't know one way or the other. If a board member did win the postcard it would be great if they could conduct a black light test and let us know how it turned out.

Hi Guys

I dont think it was any secret that I bought the postcard. I knew it was real but did not want to post anything until I had it in hand to be safe. I got it today and it is 100% real and in better condition than I thought. It is a real photo Silver Gelatin Postcard and the silver shean on the dark spots of the postcard is the dead giveaway that the postcard is 100% authentic. Just to be safe though, it also checks out under a blacklight. When you tilt it to the light it reflects like the Rotographs and other high quality Real Photo Postcards in the dark areas. I took a photo of it tilted in the light to show the reflection (cant be faked and proves the age) for the doubters.

Not looking to sell it ever, but I just wanted to post this so that people know for sure this is a legit postcard and a newly catalogued Sockalexis item.

Rhys Yeakley

great pickup Rhys!!!!

I think I see Joe jackson in the background...

WOW.....absolute stunner.....

Very nice Rhys!

What a couple of weeks for the Yeakley Bros! First the Thorpe postcard and now this Sockalexis!! WoW!!

Very nice pick up. Thank you for posting the results I appreciate it.

Dan, it was "American Indian" month this month for sure, but mine was cheaper! While the Thorpe is probably worth more the Sockalexis PC has more sentimental value. I'm glad it found a good home that I can visit often!

Statistically amazing that two important Native American baseball images new to the hobby were found by brothers in the last month. I love it.

Congratulations from an Underbidder
 

Rhys - aside from seeing your name on this forum and stopping by your brother's table at my first National in a while - I don't know you guys - but I'm very happy you won that card!

I noticed the card with about an hour and a half to go and with less than a minute left I put in a much higher yet conservative.

And ever since that auction ended I have been truly disappointed in myself. I was reared at auctions and here I am being conservative on such a beautiful piece? Boy did I screw up.

But hearing that your high bid was probably more than I was ready to spend -and knowing it went to someone who really appreciates - well heck, I can look at myself in the mirror again.

I knew Sockalexis's basic story but the research I did on him in the hour or so I had - really made be want to read more about him. I'm going to be enjoying the most recent biography of him as soon as it gets here.

Anyhow - some backstory.

Enjoy the card Rhys & take care
peter