Earliest Known Color Baseball Photo or Slide?

[Lucas00]

Real color photos weren't invented until I believe the mid 30s. So anything before that would be hand colored. I don't think anything would exist (snapshot wise) prior to the early 40s.

[Hankphenom]

Not sure about photos, but color film had been well developed (no pun intended!) by the late 1930s as documented by the incredible series, "When It Was a Game," largely consisting of ballplayers' home movies taken at ballparks. "The Wizard of Oz" and "Gone With the Wind" were both released in 1939, and there hasn't been a color movie to match those since. In all my research into the life of Walter Johnson, I have never seen a color photo or film of him, despite the fact that he lived until 1946, well into the color era. But color was expensive, and not considered necessary for many years after its invention. Photos from my youth are all black and white until about 1967, when suddenly they're all in color from then on.

[Bigdaddy]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Not sure about photos, but color film had been well developed (no pun intended!) by the late 1930s as documented by the incredible series, "When It Was a Game," largely consisting of ballplayers' home movies taken at ballparks. "The Wizard of Oz" and "Gone With the Wind" were both released in 1939, and there hasn't been a color movie to match those since. In all my research into the life of Walter Johnson, I have never seen a color photo or film of him, despite the fact that he lived until 1946, well into the color era. But color was expensive, and not considered necessary for many years after its invention. Photos from my youth are all black and white until about 1967, when suddenly they're all in color from then on.

Great film and narration. Somewhere I have the DVDs. I believe they are now on YouTube.