help on id

[Archive]

Posted By: Rob M (ramram)

I was going to bid harder after this same image but I could never hammer down that it was actually the Indianapolis Major League team. They have all the look (age, uniform, cockiness) of a major league team but after looking through a multitude of sources, I couldn't confirm any of them. So many of the players looked alike back then (mustaches, etc.) that they're hard to distinguish. The most distinctive looking players are the young manager and the fellow seated in the chair on the right. If one guy could be definitively identified one can trace his teammates for further study. I looked through copies of all the Joseph Hall's but got nowhere. I believe they are most likely a mid-1880's team. The studio location is actually quite a long distance from Indianapolis and is closer to Chicago (but still a long ways away) which raises some question. However, it is possible this studio purchased the photo from the actual original photographer also (like Goodwin & Co. did with most of their Old Judge photos). If it is an Indianapolis (American Assoc. 1884 or NL 1887-89) team I would lean towards the 1884 team since the photo doesn't seem to match up with the Joseph Hall images (1888) and because there were fewer players on earlier teams (as appears to be the case in this photo). Indianapolis had a young manger in 1884 (Watkins) but the likeness doesn't seem to fit. I hope somebody can figure this one out!