When were lineup cards first used?
Another post related to line-up cards had me thinking about a question I'd been wondering for a long time: How long have they been using line-up cards?
To the best of my knowledge the reason for line-up cards is rule number 6.01 (a) which states: Each player of the offensive team shall bat in the order that his name appears in his team’s batting order.
The earliest lineup cards I have seen images of stem from 1933. The line-up cards from the inaugural all-star game which was played that season sold at Hunt Auctions back in 2008. I haven't seen any prior to that but I did come across this picture which is supposedly Cobb giving his lineup to the umpire. Cobb from 1921-1926, so while it is not clear that they were using the template line-up cards that were used by 1933, it does seem like they were being written down.
I would love any information on the early history of these line-up cards. Thanks!
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