Help identify this ball player

[jb217676]

Does anyone know who this early 1900's player might be? Thanks guys!

[jb217676]

Can anybody identify this baller? Thanks guys!
Jeff

[Leon]

He looks more like a 1920s movie star to me. Good luck in the quest, Jeff.

[T206Jim]

What about this guy?

[darwinbulldog]

No.

[VintageJay]

A young Tubby Spencer?

[Leon]

Originally Posted by T206Jim

What about this guy?

One different guy as the first picture and a whole lot of great Matty pics. Not even close imo....

[Paul S]

I can't believe I'm the first to proffer Joe Jackson

[Jobu]

Do you have any clues? How do you know that is a player?

[jb217676]

Here is the full postcard for all of you detectives!

[slidekellyslide]

Not a professional player IMO. Just a gag card like this one.

[53Browns]

I agree, just a novelty item.

[T206Jim]

The AZO four triangles up was used from 1904 to 1918.

Mathewson earned his highest salary of $10,000 a year in 1910.

You guys might want to take a closer look at those photos.

[scooter729]

If they were looking to capture Mathewson in 1910, they wouldn't offer up a pose of him holding a bat. Why wouldn't it be a pitching pose if it were to be an image of Matty?

[Kawika]

Originally Posted by T206Jim

You guys might want to take a closer look at those photos.

Not even close. Ear lobes are all wrong for starters.

[vintagesportscollector]

Given the picture and the caption, it makes sense it would be meant to depict a professional ball player, so if not Mathewson, who else? I am honestly starting to see Mathewson in the photo (or my brain playing tricks). The menacing grin is no making it look like Mathewson.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Kawika

Not even close. Ear lobes are all wrong for starters.

Agree, to me it's clearly 2 different people.

[JTysver]

Not Matty at all.
Sideburns lines are different. Hair part is different. Jaw shape is different. Chin is different. Brow is different.

[Kawika]

Originally Posted by JTysver

Not Matty at all.
Sideburns lines are different. Hair part is different. Jaw shape is different. Chin is different. Brow is different.

I should have mentioned that when I cobbled together the two photos I reversed the Matty image so their countenances would be in the same alignment. Therefore the different parts in their hair should be discounted. Everything else you have enumerated is valid.

[Cozumeleno]

I don't know I'm in the Matty camp, but if the bottom is a reference to his annual salary, how many players earned that during the time period? And if not salary, what else could the $10,000 be referencing?

[bmarlowe1]

Originally Posted by Cozumeleno

I don't know I'm in the Matty camp, but if the bottom is a reference to his annual salary, how many players earned that during the time period? And if not salary, what else could the $10,000 be referencing?

Several above posters explained this very well - please read.

If the ear shape does not match, it can't possibly be Mathewson. Even though Kawika compared the left vs. right ears - there are many Mathewson photos from both sides. Comparing the correct side yields the same result. Nose/nostrils are also wrong.

[Cozumeleno]

Originally Posted by bmarlowe1

Several above posters explained this very well - please read.

If the ear shape does not match, it can't possibly be Mathewson. Even though Kawika compared the left vs. right ears - there are many Mathewson photos from both sides. Comparing the correct side yields the same result. Nose/nostrils are also wrong.

I did read all of the posts - my question wasn't if it was Mathewson as I'm not insinuating that it is. Rather, I was asking specifically about the $10,000 reference.

[slidekellyslide]

I guarantee this is just a novelty postcard. Some hot shot kid wanted his mug on a ballplayer as a gag.

[bgar3]

I believe King Kelly was known as the 10000 dollar player. This, of course in not Kelly.

[bmarlowe1]

Originally Posted by Cozumeleno

I did read all of the posts - my question wasn't if it was Mathewson as I'm not insinuating that it is. Rather, I was asking specifically about the $10,000 reference.

Several earlier posts specifically addressed that - #11 and #12, as well as the subsequent post #23.

[slidekellyslide]

Lajoie, Cobb, Wagner and Matty were all making $10,000 a year in 1910, this was a big deal in the news.

[RColeman]

There is an article published July 15, 1906 in the Rockford Morning Star that identifies both Christy Mathewson and Willie Keeler of New York baseball teams as recipients of $10,000 a year salary. Keeler started receiving his in 1903. It would be quite a coincidence if two random dopplegangers of baseball greats posed for a novelty keepsake and these examples were discussed and compared over a hundred years later. Please let me know if you decide to part with your novelty keepsake. It should receive a place of honor within your already impressive collection. For the record, the Keeler caricature is holding a bat and it states "$10,000 a year" to the lower left of him. I will need to upload a full version later if there is any interest.

[bravos4evr]

It appears to me to be a novelty postcard that is intended to make the subject appear as a "$10,000 ball player"

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by Kawika

Not even close. Ear lobes are all wrong for starters.

Yeah, those are definitely a closer's ear lobes.

[packs]

It would be the same as if I put my head on a body and had them type up $30,000,000 a year man. Just because someone made that amount of money in 1910 doesn't mean that person must be the guy on the postcard.

[darwinbulldog]

People see what they want to see. Whenever we have one of these posts, we have a couple of people pointing out a couple of minor similarities between the anonymous person's features and those of a famous ball-player. You don't need to do that when it actually is a picture of the famous ball-player. You just look at it and say, "Hey, cool picture of Wagner you've got there." We have very intricately evolved facial recognition adaptations. My guess is most people here are as good at telling if something is a picture of Christy Mathewson's T206-era face as they are at identifying recent pictures of their own family members. If the group is saying no, the answer is no.

The only ambiguous one I can recall is the possible Joe Jackson in the T202 center panel, and that is the proverbial exception that proves the rule as it's such a poor image for identification purposes that I wouldn't feel confident identifying my own father in it (or rather, in a photo of similar quality).

[RColeman]

In an effort to continue to document factual evidence and promote additional research concerning these card types, I am going to offer some quick research facts that I have discovered since coming across this post. These relate to the other postcards shown and offered as novelty non-celebrity. In 1906, donkey rides were offered in Central Park, New York City (runaway celebrity?). This card helps to confirm the possible age and location of events. The "improving" card identifies itself as Atlantic city on the lower left. Is it plausible that Atlantic City was going through a reformation at this time and this is a depiction of a political figure? Possible, but it again confirms a location. The last example shows two individuals aboard an aircraft. Aircraft in this time period were certainly popular items. Women pilots would certainly be thought of as celebrities. In 1906, Harriet Quimby (female pilot celebrity) accepted a position in NYC as a drama critic for a popular publication. One of the most popular stage presences at that time on Broadway was William Farnum. Is it plausible that a celebrity postcard could have been made depicting an event related to this? Possible. I offer the pictures below for your inspection. I am only suggesting this based upon the small sample size of examples reviewed to date. Whether these are Celebrity postcards can not be haphazardly dismissed based upon one mans opinion of ear lobes. I would encourage anyone with similar examples to post them so we can flush out other facts.

[RColeman]

William Farnum

[RColeman]

Image from original postcard