CIRCA 1900 FRAMED BASEBALL PICTURE

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

"Play Ball"

I went to a swap meet recently and purchased an old, framed baseball player photo that I paid $10.00 for. I have already done quite a bit of research on it that can best be summed up with the following which is how I came up with a date of circa 1900 ... (Also see pictures).

1. The seller said he found it in a box of other junk and didn't know anything about it.
2. The frame is made of tin ~ Appears Victorian ~ Hand painted floral ~ Fold-out standee on back.
3. The frame is oval and measures 3 1/2" x 2 1/2"
4. The photo is sepa colored (brownish) and was developed in an oval shape then cut to fit.

5. Regarding the uniform ...

Uniform Parts:
National Baseball Hall of Fame - Dressed to the Nines - Parts of the Uniform

Caps - 1888 - Spalding:
National Baseball Hall of Fame - Dressed to the Nines - Parts of the Uniform

Shoes - 1883 - Spalding: National Baseball Hall of Fame - Dressed to the Nines - Parts of the Uniform

Uniform/Collar - Last Used 1906
National Baseball Hall of Fame - Dressed to the Nines - Parts of the Uniform

Uniform/Beltless - First Used circa 1910
National Baseball Hall of Fame - Dressed to the Nines - Parts of the Uniform

Earliest Numbering of Jerseys - 1907-09
National Baseball Hall of Fame - Dressed to the Nines - Parts of the Uniform

Baseball History - First Major Leagues 1871 thru 1875
History of baseball in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Grain Elevators: Grain Elevators -- History

Pictures, etc ...


1. Framed Photo.

2. Photo Only.

3. Frame and Back. (Glass Not Shown).

4. Cropped Photo. I cannot read the words on the grain elevator.

Shoes from above link ~ He appears to be wearing #1 ~ Solid black high top. Ad is from 1883 Spalding catalog.

Cap ~ Appears to be either #11 or #19 ~ Mulit-sectioned top part. Ad is from 1888 Spalding catalog. I can't tell in my photo if the player is wearing a short or a long bill cap.

Uniform Pants/Beltless ~ Player in my photo is wearing a belt. Belts were last used on uniforms around 1910. This picture is the earliest known example that shows a beltless player and is dated 1913. It is said that prior to 1913 most players wore belts until they were discouraged and possibly even banned because defensive players would sometimes grab hold of the belt to stop an advancing runner.


Footnotes:

1. The Major Leagues were first introduced around 1871 to 1875.
2. Uniform numbering was first introduced in Major Leagues around 1907-1909. (My player has no visible number on his jersey.
3. Uniform "Collars" were last used around 1906. My player's jersey appears to have a collar.

Bottom Line Questions ...

1. Can you think of anything I missed?
2. do you agree with the circa 1900 date?
3. Do you think the player is ... Hometown Team ~ Farm/Minor League ~ Major League?
4. Can you think of any way to identify the location?
5. And what about the grain elevetor? Any clues there? Midwest?

6. And most important of all, do you happen to recognize The Player?

Thanks in advance for your time and interest. I realize I am asking some tough questions that may be impossible to answer, but I thought it would be fun anyway because Baseball season is upon us and I know there are a lot of fans out there like myself.

Sodabottlebob

 

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[SODABOTTLEBOB]

I found the following confirmed dates for when Lloyd Orrison played baseball and the teams he played for. (Lloyd was born in 1883).

1904 = Columbian Team ~ Virginia ~ 21 Years Old
1905 = Herndon Team ~ Virginia ~ 22 Years Old
1906 = Herndon ~ 23 Years Old
1907 = George Washington University ~ 24 Years Old
1908-1911 = Herndon and the Post Office team in Washington D.C. ~ 25 through 27 years old.

 

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[SODABOTTLEBOB]

My buddy Lloyd Orrison is hard to keep track of. In this case he's playing for George Washington University in 1905. So I'm really not sure if he started school in 1905 or 1906. But regardless of that, I'm beginning to think he's the player I focused on in my last post. Compare the pictures and see what you think ...


1. 66's photo which I enhanced/lightened.

2. Cropped image of who I think might be Lloyd Orrison.

3. Lloyd Orrison from 1905 George Washington University team photo. Lloyd was 22 years old.


4. George Washington University Baseball Squad ~ Washington Times ~ April 9, 1905

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Just doing some more comparisons ...



...................

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Based on my forensic examination, mainly because of the sloping hairline from left to right which comes to a little point in the center of his forehead, plus the overall similarity and expression, my new guess is that the guy pictured in the center here is Lloyd Orrison ...

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

P.S.

If you take another look at the guy I thought it was earlier, you'll notice his hairline is straight across his forehead and does not slope at an angle.

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

My latest find might not be a "Homerun," but I'd say its at least a "Triple."


Wouldn't you know it, after spending hours searching, I finally find a picture of the Herndon baseball team and some of the faces and names are partially washed out. But that's okay, because it at least gives us an idea of who some of the members were in 1907 and what they looked like. Because of the washout, I don't know if Lloyd Orrision is pictured but the name "Beavers" is familiar to me and I'm going to try and determine how many years he played for Herndon and whether he might be one of the players pictured in 66's photo. I just found this picture and haven't had time to do a full comparison with 66's photo, but at first glance I believe their are matching members. Notice the different uniforms and where it says the team was in the "Loudoun County League." But whether 66's photo was before or after this, I do not know yet. Also notice that in both pictures they are wearing the same type of baseball caps, which I believe is a significant clue in itself. By the way, the numbers are not on the uniforms themselves but apparently were written on the original photograph before it was published in ...

The Washington Post ~ Washington, D.C. ~ August 4, 1907

1. 1907
2. ?

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Compare player "Reed" in the 1907 photo to the player standing on the far left in 66's photo. Notice what appears to be a strand of hair across his forehead, plus they look similar in general and might be the same person.

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Here are my preliminary findings based on the score tallies I posted earlier ...

1905 = Beavers is listed as a player but not Reed
1908 = Beavers and Reed are both listed as players
1911 = Beavers and Reed are not listed as players

I intend to search more newspaper scores and see if I can narrow this down even more. Plus I'm going to check on some of the other player's names as well.

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Just doing some possible matches but nothing conclusive yet. However, I did discover the "Loudoun County League" was first organized in the spring of 1907.

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

...... BEAVERS ?

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

........ REED ?

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

....... Darrell (with cap pushed back and hair drooping over right eyebrow) ?

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

So far, the only year I can find where Beavers, Reed, and Darrell were on the Herndon team at the same time was in ...




1907 and 1908

... which I determined from various newspaper scores. Of course, I'm not 100% certain that's who is pictured in 66's photo, but it could very well be them.

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Homerun!

Here's the same 1907 picture as the other one, but not washed out this time! Plus 66's photo again for comparison ...

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

And here's the article I found regarding the formation of the "Loudoun County League"

From ...

The Washington Post ~ Washington, D.C. ~ July 11, 1907

( Notice that Beavers and Darrell are not listed for this particular game but they are clearly identified in the 1907 team photo. Its discrepancies like this that drive me bonkers, but one's I cannot explain either. As for Lloyd Orrison, he was pretty much playing full-time for the Post Office team in 1907).

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Because of the different uniforms, what I'm trying to figure out now is ...

1. Are the uniforms as well as the two pictures from different years or the same year?

2. Or are the pictures and uniforms possibly from the same year but they got new uniforms after the season started?

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Only time will tell if this final observation of mine is a grand slam homerun or a strikeout. But whichever of the two it turns out to be, it's the best I can come up with and hope member 66 finds it helpful. The 1907 picture speaks for itself because it came from a dated newspaper . If the 1904 date I came up with for 66's photo turns out to be incorrect, I'm betting it was taken before 1907 but no earlier than 1903. The players names I came up with for 66's photo are the result of hours of examination, and even though some of them might not be correct, I'm betting the majority of them are.

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

P.S.

The best way to compare the pictures is to click back-and-forth on the boxes "Last/Next-Prev/First" and focus on one face at a time. Study every feature of their faces, especially their eyes and general expressions.

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

P.S. ~ P.S.

Possible clue to one of the players ...

Beavers was a pitcher most of the time but occasionally played first base. Notice in the 1907 newspaper photo that he's wearing a jacket and holding a baseball in his right hand. Now look at the player I named Beavers in 66's photo. Is that a baseball he's holding in his right hand? Its things like this, plus close examination of their faces, that I spent hours studying.