I’ve never been much of a team sports fan and don’t really have a favorite genre or game. But I’ve certainly been to more baseball games than any other sport so I guess by default that makes it my choice. Plus, I like the peanuts.
Since we’re at the time of year when baseball has its big finale, I thought today I’d look at some early baseball cards — and some great moustaches. These cards are from a period of 1887 through 1914 and are from the Library of Congress collection. Click on any image for a larger version. These two are from 1911.
Baseball cards first appeared in photographic form soon after photography became popular, and by the late 1800s there were printed commercial baseball cards. The first cards were inserted with candy or, more commonly, with tobacco products. These two cards are from 1888 and picture Hardie Henderson of the Brooklyn Trolley-Dodgers and Ed Andrews from the Philadelphia Quakers.
For all of the cards pictured here, the photographs were strictly black and white — any color was added by hand-tinting. Here is a version from 1914 of Eddie Collins of the Philadelphia Athletics, and two from 1911 and the Helmer Tobacco Company.
I don’t think the moustaches have all that much to do with baseball — they were probably popular among all men of the time — but there are some good ones in these cards. Here are two from 1888 and one from 1887 of John Clarkson of the Boston Beaneaters.
Here are Connie Mack and Jimmy Dygert of the Philadelphia Athletics in 1910, followed by Johnny Bates of the Boston Doves in 1909.
Go to page 2 to see cards from many teams and eras.
This article was last modified on May 17, 2023
This article was first published on October 8, 2010
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