Quote:
Originally Posted by BOB52
JollyElm ~
Congratulations again for identifying Hilltop Park. When you get a minute please tell us how you made the connection.
Thanks.
Bob
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Hey Bob.
Quite frankly, it was mostly a matter of luck. I get obsessed with puzzles and brain teasers and what not, so when I stumbled upon this thread I wanted nothing more than to solve it.
Here's my method of CSI on this case (since they always use Who tunes for the theme songs, press play on my personal favorite, 'Love Ain't For Keeping'):
Even though the OP posted it was a shot from 1912, I first theorized that it's possible it may have been from a year or two before or after that date, although I knew it was a longshot. My main thinking there was that Bennett Park (home of the Tigers) closed in 1911 and Fenway opened in 1912, so maybe it could have been taken in one of the stadiums that were no longer opened in 1912. And when I saw a couple of pictures of Cobb, supposedly taken in 1912, that showed him in a different type of away uniform than in the photo in question, I realized looking from around 1910 to 1914 would be the way to go.
Then I theorized that the photo was taken looking towards centerfield or right field and didn't show the left field wall. It was a small leap of faith that seemed to be correct.
And then the hard work started. I began pouring through seemingly untold hundreds of photographs on-line from that timeframe looking into the distance on the right field sides. I couldn't tell what those background structures were in the original Cobb photo, as they seemed to me to look like the top of some sort of amusement ride and not buildings, but I kept an open mind. Then there was our old friend the smokestack. So I began just going through picture after picture after picture looking for that wavy black shape and a smokestack...and that's when I serendipitously stumbled upon the Lajoie photo with those exact shapes far off in the distance. Since he was also in his away uniform, it most likely eliminated Cleveland (as well as Detroit) as the sight of the photograph.
Since the buildings in the Lajoie photo seemed to be in the style of my hometown, NYC, I started looking for anything Hilltop Park related from that era...and now your lead detective takes off his sunglasses gives a look of frustration and grumbles..."and then I hit it out of the park!"