Can you help me identify this photo?

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Posted By: Ben

I know this is not a baseball photo but I figured there were people here who might be able to help identify it.

I'm inclined to thing its rugby but am hoping its football. I figured its 1880's but I'm not sure. It's hard to tell but it looks like "U. 96." is written over the ball. The back is blank. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Ben

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Posted By: Brock G.

That is a football nosegaurd around his neck. He is a late 19th century football player.

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Posted By: davidcycleback

You'll be happy to know it's an 1890s football cabinet card. A key to identifying the sport is the nose guard around his neck, which was standard football equipment.

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Posted By: Ben

Thanks for the help guys. Do you think the 96 on the ball is his graduating glass (1896)? Is there any chance of actually identifying him? Approximately how much is the photo worth?

Thanks Again,
Ben

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Football photos like that usually sell in the $100-$200 range. Sometimes more if you can identify the player. It should not be hard to identify the school. What college/university is in Unionville, Connecticut?

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Posted By: davidcycleback

If the ball says '96 on it, that's almost certainly the year of the photo (1896). It was standard in high school and college basketball and football for a team to pose with a ball with the year and team name written on it.

My opinion is, if he's a college player, if you can deduce what team he's playing for, that's all the information you need. Even if you find out his name, probably no one's ever heard of him, but there are lots of college team collectors and enthusiasts. Buyers and collectors always like to know which college, even if it isn't a big one.

I used to sell a lot of vintage college football photos, and a majority of buyer bought because of the college pictured not the player. Of course the big time colleges were always popular. However, not everyone graduated from Notre Dame and USC, so there was also demand for photos of U of San Fransisco, Wayne State, etc.

P.s. I think it's a fine football photo, especially with the nose guard.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

David, I have found with college photos from this time period that the date on the ball or jerseys is usually the year of expected graduation. I collect yearbooks and almost always the football players are divided by class for the team photo. It can be very confusing to date college photos.

Check this link for Christy Matthewson at Bucknell College- it has him listed as class of 1902, but he dropped out after 1899 to pursue his professional baseball career.

http://www.bucknell.edu/x2869.xml

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Posted By: davidcycleback

Good point, Dan. The question is if that's an upperclassman's mustache.

Corrected to say the number on the ball probably dates the photo to the 1890s.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Here's an example from my collection...this is a page from a yearbook so you can see that they have dated it for the season of 1889 - but look at the fellow in the middle row third from left - he has the number 94 on his jersey. Out there somewhere I'm sure there once (Maybe still) existed a cabinet of this photograph without the accompanying names and dates of expected graduation. I would bet the photo is wrongly attributed to 1894.

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Posted By: Tom Russo

Unionville is a small town. No college there that I know of but it is just a few miles west of Hartford so it could be U. of Hartford or Trinity College.

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Posted By: Keith

I think the photo dates to 1896. In my experience when footballs have the date painted on them, they are usually trophy balls from that year; versus, when a player has the year stitched on his jersey, that usually indicates his graduating year.

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Posted By: John Effenheim

Here's one I've never been able to identify...

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Posted By: Ben

I'm glad I posted this photo as I'm learning quite a bit. One thing however...when I said the ball appears to say U.96 I do not believe it has been painted/written on the ball. However, it is not as though somebody wrote it on the photo itself. It seems that it was added to the image by the studio...does this make any sense? I'm having some difficulty trying to explain what I am thinking!

Ben

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

The studio 'painted' it onto the negative. Not an unusual practice in the day. Can you see what the photographer did to this photo?