Show your favorite stuff from any sport except Baseball...

[Bosox Blair]

Type I photo of HOFer Hap Day from 1937-38 season:

[Ulidia]

I'm back to my family home in Belfast, Northern Ireland for the Christmas period and thought I'd show some of my football (soccer) items purchased this year.

Original photos of Belfast Celtic from 1937/1938, 1940/1941 and 1946/1947 seasons. These were amongst the most successful seasons in the history of Belfast Celtic. The 1940/1941 photo is particularly poignant for me as in April 1941 (towards end of the 1940/1941 season), the city of Belfast suffered two particularly bad air-raids by German bombers which decimated much of the city.

The photos from 1940/1941 and 1946/1947 may not necessarily be considered "type 1" in a technical sense but they are original creations from the time. All three images were taken and mounted by R. Clements Lyttle, the then official photographic studio of the Northern Irish government.









Also, showing a Northern Ireland (also known as Ireland) shirt worn in the international versus Scotland in the 1936/1937 season and the honourary "cap" awarded to the player. This particular player was Davy "Boy" Martin, a very famous footballer of the era. He was nicknamed "Boy" both due to his small physical stature and the fact he was a drummer boy in his teenage years (he was an orphan) for the Ulster Rifles (British army regiment). His career would ultimately end due to injury sustained in the Second World War.

The sports outfitters (Athletic Stores, Belfast) noted on the collar is still here but, after 100 years, the distinctive building on Belfast's Queen Street will soon be demolished to make way for apartments. All rather sad.













Happy Christmas to everyone from Belfast, Northern Ireland.

[sdkammeyer]

My complete set (series 1 & 2) of 1938 Churchman Cigarettes Footballers

[Runscott]

Strange for a baseball collector, but a handwritten Johnson letter was on my short list. I learned a lot about him while researching the 1909-11 KC black baseball teams, looking for a different 'Jack Johnson', while reading through the 'Freeman'. The boxer was hugely popular and occupied half the print space in those old papers.

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by Runscott

Strange for a baseball collector, but a handwritten Johnson letter was on my short list. I learned a lot about him while researching the 1909-11 KC black baseball teams, looking for a different 'Jack Johnson', while reading through the 'Freeman'. The boxer was hugely popular and occupied half the print space in those old papers.

This is a great piece! Not that strange as I have wanted a jack Johnson as well for awhile now. What a historic piece. The letter appears to be written during his fighting days too??(1915). Hard for me to tell as I am on my phone but either way, a fantastic addition to any collection. Me likey.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by Forever Young

The letter appears to be written during his fighting days too??(1915).

Thanks. He lost the championship April 5, 1915, to Jess Willard. This letter is dated October 15, 1915.

On November 25, 1920 (according to his wiki), he fought the 'baseball' Jack Johnson (who I am still researching) in Leavenworth, Kansas. There is some debate over the exact date or if the fight even took place.

Maybe Adam knows?

[Ulidia]

As someone who absolutely loves the baseball imagery, esp. through vintage photos, that many provide on this forum, I thought I'd show a few of the original football (i.e. "soccer" in US terminology) photos that I was able to pick up in 2012:

Portugal national side, pictured in Milan in 1928 before their match versus Italy:



Italian national side, pictured in Florence before an international match in December 1938. Earlier that year, they'd won their second World Cup in succession and were reigning world champions:




Photo of Pele, the most famous footballer of all time, at the age of 18 shaking hands with the King of Sweden in advance of the 1958 World Cup Final in Stockholm. 90 minutes later Brazil would win the World Cup for the first time ever and the legend of Pele was born:






Original photo of A.C. Milan. Early 1910s:

[Ulidia]

My most poignant photo obtained in 2012 is this one:







The photo, shot in Budapest, shows the Hungary and Italy players entering the field of play for their international game in 1949. The Italian players are wearing black armbands as a sign of mourning. It was in the aftermath of the Superga tragedy that had decimated the Italian national team (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superga_air_disaster).