1908 RPPC Cap Anson-related postcard story

[gracecollector]

Thought I'd share my recent acquistion and the story behind it. Two weeks ago, a real photo postcard got listed on eBay. I found it doing my regular Cap Anson search. I got excited because the postcard featured Anson's Colts, the semi-pro team Cap owned and played for in his retirement. Anson's Colts played in the Chicago City League and would also barnstorm local teams. The postcard had the handwritten notation "Marengo Athletics 5, Anson's Colts 4."


Hi-Res Scan

I noticed that the seller lived very close to me, so I contacted him and explained that I'm a big Cap Anson fan and run the website www.capanson.com. He had seen my website while trying to research the card, so he was familar. After talking awhile, he agreed the postcard belonged in my collection. I drove over that night and purchased it from him. Then the research began.

I first did an internet search and found a similar postcard in the book "Marengo - The First 100 Years." That gave me a great place to start, since it made reference to a "game played in Marengo with 750 in attendence" and a date. There was no mention of Anson's Colt, but the postcard was obviously from the same game (placement of cars, umbrellas in same spots in stands).

I also researched the building in the background. Found out it was a stove factory that burned in the fall of 1907. That explained the boarded up and broken windows and placed the game to 1908, since Anson only owned the team from 1907 to the spring of 1909.

Marengo is only 10 miles from my home town, so I drove over and visited the area where the field once stood. It's interesting that it still is an athletic field with a baseball diamond and soccer fields. Marengo is the home town to Cubs pitcher Carl Lundgren of the 1907-1908 Cubs World Series teams, and there is a historic marker on the site as well.



Then, at the Marengo Public Library, I hit the jackpot of my research. The library had microfilm of the Marengo Republican-News newspaper dating back to the period. I started with the date in the book, August 28, 1908 and sure enough that was the date of the game when Cap Anson and the Colts came to town! The paper, which was distributed weekly on Friday morning, did three separate front page articles on the game, the week before, day of, and week after the game was played. There's a wealth of information and description of the game - billed as the "greatest base ball game in Marengo history."

I wrote up a full report of my research and retyped the hard-to-read microfilm prints of the 3 articles. Some great period reporting and language! Here's a link to the full report in .pdf format if you'd like to read more.

Anson Postcard Research

Sadly, I've concluded that Anson is most likely not pictured in the postcard, but it still is a remarkable piece of history and very exciting to me for its local history.

Brad W.
www.capanson.com

[ullmandds]

Nice work...very cool and interesting story! I'm sure Cap is in that photo somewhere!!!!!

[gracecollector]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

Nice work...very cool and interesting story! I'm sure Cap is in that photo somewhere!!!!!

I wish that was the case, but if you read the research, you'll see that the Colt's are playing in the field, and Anson played the entire game at first base, so he is likely out of the frame to the left. I could identify only two Colts (third baseman Kennedy and catcher Smith).

[zljones]

Totally awesome, I come from Chicago area so this is interesting. I love Cap Anson too and love to read about him and the White Stockings/Colts. Even though I can't stand the Cubs because I am a Sox fan through and through, I do love the Anson era. I also find it intriguing that in 1871 the White Stockings field was right accross from the old Union Stock Yards until the Great Chicago Fire destroyed it.

Cap Anson is indeed my favorite 19th century ball player, and I love your site, I read it all the way through.

[3-2-count]

That's about as cool as you can get, thank you for sharing. Great rppc.

[Bicem]

Awesome, and exactly why I collect RPPC's! Great piece of baseball history.

Well done.

[Jaybird]

Great research and story. And incredible shot. Love the image. Sometimes these baseball scenes are more compelling than individual player cards or team shots. Just a moment in time.

[ullmandds]

The grass is so unkempt I'd imagine rollers into the outfield would just die!!!

Good thing as there are people sitting having a picnic on the field!!!

[2dueces]

Originally Posted by Bicem

Awesome, and exactly why I collect RPPC's! Great piece of baseball history.

Well done.

Jeff, Same reason I collect them also, although mostly team RPPC's. A snapshot of history.

Great research and story. You really did your homework on this one.

[aquarius31]

That's really great detective work! I have visited your site several times and it's a great resource.

[bmarlowe1]

So, if the posted 10 cent admission price is right, they took in $75. That's probably less than what you paid for the postcard. In any case it's a great item and story.

Less than an hour from my house and yet I've never been there and I didn't know Lundgren had a marker. Not only that, 5 years at U of Illinois (a long time ago) and I had never heard of Lundgren hall.

[cdn_collector]

Cool story about the postcard, and really impressive web site.

Regards,

Richard.

[fkw]

great detective work, you added more research than when I saw this over on FCB, awesome.
PS. if you havent checked it out, take a look at the high-resolution scan, incredible detail, you can see every brick in the building and many faces.... love the guy with the stogie

[Michael Peich]

Brad--Great story, and good research--I've been reading a bit too many microfilm newspaper reports myself lately. To echo Jeff, learning the historical information about the era informs my card and postcard collecting.

BTW, I grew up in St. Charles, IL home of the Kane County Cougars. Once I moved to SE Pennsylvania I fell under the spell of the Phillies, an organization for which the Cubs had prepared me well!

Cheers, Mike

[WillowGrove]

Great research! I'm jealous - I need a research project (and some free time).

Really interesting. Off to check out your website!

[CubsFanCurt]

McHenry County! I lived out there for about half my life. Woodstock and Crystal Lake

[gracecollector]

Just wanted to thank everyone for their comments and input. This little project is getting me interested in RPPCs, an area of collecting I've ignored.

Brad

[Jaybird]

postcards suck

[Leon]

Originally Posted by gracecollector

Just wanted to thank everyone for their comments and input. This little project is getting me interested in RPPCs, an area of collecting I've ignored.

Brad

Postcards, especially generic and old ones, are not fun to collect. They should be avoided at all cost.