0305 - Paul Reiferson
Paul Reiferson is a photography connoisseur who spent decades amassing the most complete Charles Conlon collection ever privately assembled. During our conversation, he referenced a handful of things and people upon which you may want to do more research. Consider this page to be your “liner notes” for the episode so you can follow along.
Me and Paul Reiferson at the Jackie Robinson Museum in Brooklyn, New York.
Charles M. Conlon
Charles Martin Conlon was born in Albany, New York and grew up in the neighboring city of Troy. He started his career working as a proof-reader for New York City newspapers in the early 1900s, and took up landscape photography as a hobby.
Conlon became a master photographer, and is known for his distinctive and poetic documentation of America’s favorite pastime.
Paul Reiferson donated his collection of nearly 500 of Conlon’s images to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Christy Mathewson
Delivering all four of his pitches, including his famous “fadeaway” (now called a screwball), with impeccable control and an easy motion, Christy Mathewson was the greatest pitcher of the Deadball Era’s first decade, compiling a 2.13 ERA over 17 seasons and setting modern National League records for wins in a season (37), wins in a career (373), and consecutive 20-win seasons (12).
This photo of the big right-hander, taken by Charles Conlon in 1911, is iconic.
Photographers On The Field
Look how close photographers used to be! Before the advent of telephoto lenses, if you wanted to get a super close action shot, sometimes you had to put yourself in harm’s way.
Conlon’s Most Famous Photo
On July 23, 1910 at Hilltop Park in New York during a game between the Yankees and the visiting Detroit Tigers, Charles Conlon took what is considered by many to be the best baseball photograph ever captured.
In the image, Ty Cobb slides into third base, and into third baseman Jimmy Austin.
The Glory Years of Baseball
The book that started it all for Paul.
1967 Bob Uecker Card
Before Paul knew any better, he thought this Bob Uecker card was “very old.” It led him to seek out a Babe Ruth card, which eventually turned into a lifelong search for vintage baseball items.
Englishtown Flea Market
Paul’s dad helped kickstart Paul’s collections by taking him to the Englishtown Flea Market in New Jersey. But it was his dad’s storytelling about his own favorite players which truly helped Paul gain an appreciation for the guys on the baseball cards.
1951 Berk Ross Richie Ashburn Card
Paul wanted to collect anyone who his dad loved, and his dad’s favorite player was Richie Ashburn. This 1951 Berk Ross card of Richie was the first one Paul got for his own collection.
“Run With The Swift”
Paul read The Wise Men and truly learned the lesson of running with the swift while he was a student at Harvard Business School.
Negatives
Paul describes negatives as something like a musical score. Negatives can be manipulated in a dark room or in various software programs, but it is an image that has the potential to be something other than exactly what it is on the substrate on which it exists.
This negative, taken by photographer Francis P. Burke, shows Walter Johnson at Comiskey Park circa 1912.
Ansel Adams - "Clearing Winter Storm"
Type I Photo
A 1st generation photograph, developed from the original negative, during the period (within approximately two years of when the picture was taken).
Type II Photo
A photograph, developed from the original negative, during the period (more than approximately two years after the picture was taken).
Type III Photo
A 2nd generation photograph, developed from a duplicate negative or wire transmission, during the period (within approximately two years of when the picture was taken).
Type IV Photo
A 2nd generation photograph (or 3rd or later generation), developed from a duplicate negative or wire transmission, during a later period (more than approximately two years after the picture was taken).
Baryta Photo Paper
The word ‘baryta’ comes from the chemical compound barite – barium sulphate.
The use of brightening agents in the baryta layer of photographic paper did begin in the early 1950s. Its adoption, however, was gradual and never complete, complicating the dating of photographic paper.
Stamps
The stamp on the back of a photograph is another way many people attempt to date a print. However, there are huge incentives to counterfeit stamps to make modern prints appear more vintage, so this method cannot always be trusted.
This is the back of a Christy Mathewson photo taken circa 1913 by Charles Conlon. Note the stamp on the back, which reads:
CHARLES M. CONLON
Evening Telegram
New York
Paul and I discuss Conlon’s handwritten notes on the back of the photo, which are less than flattering to his friend, later in the interview.
Moonrise Over Hernandez
This photo, considered by many to be the greatest photograph ever made, was taken by Ansel Adams on November 1, 1941. Using that date as the starting point, which of these printings of it would be considered a “Vintage Print” and which would be considered a “Modern Print”?
Glass Plate Negatives
Dry plate glass negatives were the first economically successful durable photographic medium. Dry plate negatives are typically on thinner glass plates, with a more evenly coated emulsion. Dry plate glass negatives were in common use between the 1880s and the late 1920s.
This glass plate negative was taken by Charles Conlon of Cy Young in 1910. Like Paul mentioned, glass plate negatives are hard to work with because of their weight and their fragility.
Silver nitrate is used in numerous silver-based processes from the ambrotype to the gelatin silver print. In gelatin silver printing, silver nitrate is typically mixed with other chemicals to form a light-sensitive silver halide emulsion, usually silver bromide or silver chloride, suspended in gelatin.
Albumen Prints
The albumen print, also called albumen silver print, is a method of producing a photographic print using egg whites. It was the first commercial process of producing a photo on a paper base from a negative. Previous methods - such as the daguerreotype and the tintype - were printed on metal.
This image, taken by George K. Warren of the 1871 Yale Baseball Team, is an albumen print.
Ambrotypes
The invention of wet collodion photography processes in the 1850s allowed the development of two new kinds of photographs: ambrotypes and tintypes. These new formats shared many characteristics with the earlier daguerreotypes but were quicker and cheaper to produce.
An ambrotype is comprised of an underexposed glass negative placed against a dark background. The dark backing material creates a positive image. Photographers often applied pigments to the surface of the plate to add color, often tinting cheeks and lips red and adding gold highlights to jewelry, buttons, and belt buckles.
This 19th century ambrotype shows a female baseball player holding a ring bat in her right hand and a baseball in her left hand.
Kintsugi
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold — built on the idea that in embracing flaws and imperfections, you can create an even stronger, more beautiful piece of art.
Contact Prints
A contact print is a photographic image produced from a film, usually a negative, The defining characteristic of a contact print is that the photographic result is made by exposing through the film original onto a light sensitive material pressed tightly to the film.
This contact print from William N. Jacobellis shows Joe DeMaestri of the Philadelphia A's, circa 1953.
Paul likens contact printing to making shadow puppets in that the closer the object is to the wall, the more exact the image will appear.
35 mm film
While you’re still able to capture beautiful images, using 35 mm film produces much grainier images than using glass plate negatives.
Glass plate negatives can hold a tremendous amount of information on them.
Carl J. Horner
Carl J. Horner was a studio photographer who may have been the first official photographer of Major League Baseball.
His portraits were used as the basis of the famous T206 baseball card set.
“European Photographer”
Horner was born in Europe and advertised himself as a “European photographer” to indicate that he was artistic in a way in which American photographers were not. Note the bottom left corner of this cabinet photo’s folder.
Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan
The Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan is a painting by Italian Renaissance master Giovanni Bellini, dating from c. 1501–02. It portrays Leonardo Loredan, the Doge of Venice from 1501 to 1521, in his ceremonial garments with the corno ducale worn over a linen cap.
John Pope-Hennessy described Bellini as "by far the greatest fifteenth-century official portraitist", adding that "the tendency towards ideality that impairs his private portraits here stood him in good stead, and enabled him to codify, with unwavering conviction, the official personality."
Baseball portrait photographer Carl J. Horner took inspiration from this style of European portraiture, particularly when it came to lighting.
Honus Wagner by Carl J. Horner
Possibly the most famous portrait by Carl J. Horner, this image was the basis of the highly sought-after T206 baseball card featuring Honus Wagner, which sells for millions of dollars.
Jefferson Burdick
The American Card Catalog: The Standard Guide on All Collected Cards and Their Values is a reference book for American trading cards produced before 1951, compiled by Jefferson Burdick. First published in 1939, some collectors regard the book as the most important in the history of collectible cards.
The book catalogues sports and non-sports cards, but is best known for its categorization of baseball cards. Sets like 1909-11 White Borders, 1910 Philadelphia Caramel’s, and 1909 Box Tops are most commonly referred to by their ACC catalogue numbers. They are, respectively, T206, E95, and W555.
Burdick donated his personal collection of over 300,000 pieces to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1947. He spent the next 15 years working at the museum's drawings and prints department to accomplish the task of cataloging the collection.
At 5 p.m. on Jan. 10, 1963, Burdick pasted his last card, rose, worked himself into his coat and announced, “I shan’t be back.” The next day, he checked into a hospital. He died there on March 13 at 63.
Double-Vintage
Charles Schwartz has been a collector of 19th and 20th century photographs since 1970. His areas of specialization include Japanese photography before and between the wars; portraits of photographers; the African-American experience (from Civil War to the present); and 19th century cased images, including Japanese ambrotypes.
His concept of ‘Double-Vintage’ is having objects displayed alongside vintage photographs in which they are depicted.
Graflex
The invention of the Graflex camera allowed photographers to break free of the confines of their studios, and actually take their cameras outside, or to the homes or places of work of their subjects.
Here, Germany Schaefer of the Washington Senators, plays around with a Graflex in 1911.
Charles Conlon was able to take this photo of Shoeless Joe Jackson at the Polo Grounds in 1913 because his Graflex allowed him to take his camera anywhere, shooting his subjects where they felt most comfortable and familiar.
This striking image of Chief Meyers was taken by Charles Conlon in 1914. If you look in Meyers’ eyes, you can see Conlon (and his camera) in the reflection.
Francis P. Burke
A Chicago-based photographer, Francis P. Burke was the official photographer of the Chicago Cubs during the early part of the 20th century.
This photo Burke took of Ty Cobb at Comiskey Park would later become the basis of Cobb’s famous Cracker Jack baseball card.
George Burke
More than 60 years after his death, George Burke remains one of the most famous and collected baseball photographers. Burke was the official photographer for several teams and provided the photos for the Goudey and Play Ball baseball card sets.
Based out of Chicago, Burke shot some of the iconic images of the days’ stars including Lou Gehrig, Jimmy Foxx, Dizzy Dean and Joe DiMaggio.
Babe Ruth once called Burke his favorite photographer, and he and numerous other stars bought his photographs to fulfill their autograph requests.
George Brace
George Brace was born on Chicago’s South Side on April 11, 1913. By the time he retired in 1994, he had 65 years of experience, capturing more than half of major league baseball’s years in pictures, and leaving a priceless legacy to fans everywhere.
Along with his mentor, George Burke, Brace photographed baseball’s first official All-Star Game (NL vs. AL) at Comiskey Park in 1933. Brace captured an estimated 13,000 subjects, including players, managers, umpires, groundskeepers, ball boys, mascots, concessionaires, announcers, et al. “If they came to Chicago, I got ’em,” he told everyone, leaving hundreds of thousands of images.
Francis P. Burke
Although his images were used for numerous Cracker Jack cards and publications of the day, Burke’s name has been largely forgotten.
Here, his 1905 image of Frank Chance graces the cover of a 1909 issue of The American Magazine.
Paul Thompson
While many believe (or want to believe) Paul Thompson was a photographer, he actually operated a photography news service which aggregated photos taken by a large network of photographers across the country and distributed those photos to publications which wanted to use them.
George Grantham Bain
George Grantham Bain was known as "the father of foreign photographic news." Although not a photographer, himself, he operated Bain News Service starting in 1898.
The George Grantham Bain Collection at the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division comprises approximately 40,000 glass plate negatives and 50,000 photographic prints.[2] Most are scanned and have been made available online. Most date from the 1900s to the mid-1920s, but some are as early as the 1860s, and some as late as the 1930s.
The majority of Bain's images depict events in New York City, but he also copied extant images of worldwide events for news distribution purposes.
Charles M. Conlon
According to Paul, Charles Conlon was unquestionably the first “baseball photographer,” as opposed to photographers prior to Conlon who sometimes took photos at baseball games or of baseball players.
Conlon was truly a baseball photographer. In this photo, he captures Tris Speaker of the Boston Red Sox sliding into Ed Sweeney of the New York Yankees circa 1910.
Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard Muybridge was an English photographer known for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion, and early work in motion-picture projection.
Muybridge was a noted photographer in the 19th century American West. He photographed Yosemite, San Francisco, the newly acquired Alaskan Territory, subjects involved in the Modoc War, and lighthouses on the West Coast. He also made his early "moving" picture studies in California.
This series of photos was taken in 1886.
Spalding’s Official Base Ball Guide
Spalding's Official Base Ball Guide was an annual baseball guide, founded by A. G. Spalding, and published by his American Sports Publishing Company.
First published in 1878, its name varied slightly over time. In 1940, it merged with another publication to become The Official Baseball Guide. A modern descendant of the Guide is published by the Sporting News.
T205 Portraits
This portrait of Johnny Evers was taken by the Paul Thompson agency and became the basis for the Johnny Evers baseball card which appeared in the T205 set.
Reach's Official Base Ball Guide, 1914
In addition to being published in the Spalding guide, Conlon’s photos also appeared in the Reach guide books. This page, taken from the 1914 edition, credits Conlon in the lower right corner for taking the photos featuring the New York Giants’ pitching staff.
After The Swing
Many photographers chose to take photos of swinging batters once their swing was complete, as opposed to trying to capture the middle of the swing, or even the point of contact when the bat meets the ball. Take this photo of Shoeless Joe Jackson, a lifetime .356 batter, captured in 1916.
Paul theorizes that this was due to photographers of the day struggling with the shutter speed of their cameras. When photographers would “miss” a shot using a glass plate negative, it was expensive and time consuming. This led to many photographers opting for the safer photos, ones they knew they could get.
Butch Schmidt
Normally, Conlon would set up behind a left handed batter. For this image of Butch Schmidt, Conlon set up in front of him and produced a great action shot.
The image is stamped ‘October 24, 1914’ and was published in the 1915 Spalding Guide.
“Charley Can Be Trusted. Always.”
With these five words to his teammates, Christy Mathewson gave Charles Conlon the biggest vote of confidence any photographer could ever ask for.
Conlon’s First Baseball Photo?
Taken in 1904 of Christy Mathewson, this image is potentially the first ever baseball photo ever taken by Charles Conlon. Not bad, Rook.
Christy’s Crow’s Feet
The inscription on the back of this photo, in Conlon’s own hand, reads:
“1913 - First appearance of crow’s feet under his eyes. Years on the pitching slab under burning sun beginning to tell.”
Photography Concepts Applied To Sports?
The angle formed between the normal and the incident ray at the point of incidence is called the angle of incidence. Similarly, the angle formed between the normal and the reflected ray at the point of incidence is called the angle of reflection.
When Conlon tried to explain this concept to Home Run Baker, as he felt it related to baseball, Baker shrugged him off, thinking Conlon was out of his element.
Betraying His Friends?
Were Conlon’s photos of his aging friends’ eyes a betrayal of their trust? Or was Conlon simply trying to learn as much about the sport as he possibly could, and approaching performance analysis in a way no one else had ever thought to?
This image of his friend, Honus Wagner, was taken in 1914, when Wagner was 40 years old.
F. C. Lane’s Captions
"If you ever want to know why Hans Wagner dropped out of the select batting circle, look at his eyes."
"Sam Crawford is a man who has carefully conserved his energies. His calm philosophy of life has carried him much farther than the restless activity which burns up the energies of so many players. But Sam's batting eye is growing dim. The lustre, the quickness of perception which he knew in his youth, are gone forever."
- F. C. Lane, "How A Ball Player's Eyes Grow Old," Baseball Magazine, May 1917
Baseball Magazine
"Look at Chief Meyers. The strained, almost wild, look in his eyes is a telling tribute to the exhausting effects of the only game. Meyers is practically through, so they say… Take a bird's-eye sweep of Meyers' record; note how that marvelous batting gift rose to heights which few ever reach and then note how steadily and decisively it fell. What took more than a hundred points off his batting average in three years? If anything save damaged eye-sight could produce such a change in so short a time, what was it?"
"Look at the weary look in Evers' eyes. The fiery Trojan is growing old for a ball player. His batting was never his chief claim to glory, though he was always a brainy and usually a good hitter. The camera favors Evers in the accompanying picture. His eyes are older even than they look in the illustration."
- F. C. Lane, "How A Ball Player's Eyes Grow Old," Baseball Magazine, May 1917
Bag It, Michael!
Michael Jordan appeared on 50 Sports Illustrated covers. More than anyone ever. He was always very cooperative with SI. Until they published this cover in March of 1994.
MJ's main objection was that Sports Illustrated never spoke to him for the story. He vowed to never speak to the magazine again after that. And he never did.
Batting Grips
"Strikingly like Cobb, but with a great, decisive difference, is Joe Jackson's position at the plate. Almost with the same build as Cobb, slightly lighter on his feet, more wiry, with stronger hands and forearms, the great White Sox slugger is the perfect model of what a ball player should be. Jackson holds the bat at much the same elevation as does Cobb, but there is a telling difference in the way in which he grips the war club. His hands are close together. Furthermore, the bat is gripped at the extreme end of the handle. His right hand overlaps the far end of the bat as though he wanted to get every inch of the club into the swing and wanted to stretch the bat a little more. Unlike Cobb, Jackson is a slugger, first, last, and all the time, a batter who scores hits by the matchless keenness of his eye, by the driving power of his bat; a batter whose superior has never been seen and whose equal it would be difficult, if not impossible, to find.
One other feature of Jackson's pose is noticeable, the bat which he clutches in his sinuous fingers with so resolute a grip, is black."
- F. C. Lane, "How A Ball Player Grips His Bat," Baseball Magazine, September 1917
Batting Grips
"Until Ty Cobb robs him of his newly won crown, Tris Speaker is champion. Note the curious way in which the direful Tris stands at the plate. He draws a line with the ends of his bat in the dust, his tribute to the players' superstition, then takes his stand in a resolute, rather crouching attitude, swinging his bat slowly back and forth across the plate. Speaker is one man who holds the bat almost parallel with the ground. Look at his shoulders and they will corroborate that statement. He keeps his shoulders elevated so that if the ball comes high he can raise his arms and the bat with the minimum of effort. If the ball comes low, he can, of course, lower his hands to meet it without effort."
- F. C. Lane, "How A Ball Player Grips His Bat," Baseball Magazine, September 1917
Fred Jacklitsch
"[Fred] Jacklitsch has the typical, dockwalloper catcher's hand. The palm is thick and hard and bony. Every finger of the hand has been broken, some of them several times. See how greatly distended is the mid-joint of the middle finger. A fierce foul tip shattered the bone at this point."
- F. C. Lane, "Ball Player’s Hands," Baseball Magazine, October 1917
Alfred “Roxy” Walters
"Al Walters of the Yanks is still a relative newcomer. He hasn't a huge war club of a hand, but the essential characteristics are all there. Note the thickness of the palm, the short, stubby, powerful fingers."
- F. C. Lane, "Inside Dope From A Ball Player’s Hands," Baseball Magazine, July 1918
Jimmy Archer
"The first and fourth fingers look like the wreck of the Hesperus. The little finger curves like a barrel hoop. Jimmy [Archer] couldn't straighten it to save his life, but it didn't bother him any, as he said 'the ball fitted well into that curve.' The first finger is grown to about two sizes owing to the fact that both joints have been repeatedly broken. The other two fingers might not do over well for a violin player, but they are quite straight and normal for a catcher. Not saying that they have not met with their mishaps. Jimmy broke every finger of this hand.”
- F. C. Lane, "Ball Player’s Hands," Baseball Magazine, October 1917
Baseball’s Golden Age
The cover photo of the incredible book by Neal and Constance McCabe depicts Big Ed Walsh’s spitball grip, photographed by Charles Conlon in 1913.
When Paul saw this print in person, he knew he had to own it. It was the first Conlon in his collection, but it wouldn’t be the last.
Eddie Cicotte
It didn’t take long for Paul to purchase his second Conlon. He bought this print of Eddie Cicotte’s knuckleball grip (taken by Conlon circa 1913) in the same transaction. This was a gift and a curse, though. When you own one of something, it’s just something cool you own. But now that Paul owned two, that’s the start of a collection. And it was all downhill from there.
“We do not take pictures. We are taken by pictures.” - Jay Maisel
Walker Evans
The photographs of Walker Evans told the story of American working-class life with an exacting frankness that was truly revolutionary for its time. His iconic portrait of Allie Mae Burroughs - a farmer's wife, and mother of four - whose unforgettable eyes seem to stare right through us - is one of the most firmly embedded images in American consciousness. A staffer at Fortune and Time magazines, Evans actually reached the height of his powers toward the end of The Great Depression. Drawing deeply on the American literary tradition, he went further than others in his refusal to romanticize poverty.
Diane Arbus
This portrait of 7-year-old twin sisters Cathleen and Colleen Wade is probably Diane Arbus’ most recognisable work. The image, which was taken at a Christmas party for twins and triplets in New Jersey, shows the girls standing uniformly side by side – their height, matching dresses and haircuts characterising them as twins. The differing facial expressions of the pair, however, show the strong sense of individuality from each girl and begs the question of whether or not the twins are actually identical, which might be why their parents have claimed that this image is the worst likeness of their daughters that they've ever seen. This image gained more notoriety upon the release of cult horror film “The Shining”, when pop-culture fanatics began comparing the girls in the 1967 portrait to the spooky twins featured in Stanley Kubrick’s film.
The First Baseball Ever Patented
It took decades of hunting, and a good amount of luck, but this piece became the cornerstone of the collection Paul was trying to build, so he could tell the story he wanted to tell.
Babe Ruth’s Eyes
"Here you may meet baseball's greatest slugger face to face. Babe Ruth, the Superman of Swat — most picturesque of ball players, the greatest slugger who ever lived."
Lou Gehrig’s Eyes
"Lou Gehrig, Ruth's most promising rival for slugging honors. There is a forceful personality behind those thoughtful eyes quite in keeping with the smashing power of his hits."
Ben Paschal
"Babe Ruth was taken out of a ball game this spring and a pinch hitter sent to the plate in Ruth's place. This incident was telegraphed from coast to coast and caused a national sensation in sport. 'Paschal bats for Ruth,' became the most widely discussed line of type printed in the newspapers of the United States that day. Paschal, a substitute, is called from the dugout to bat for the greatest slugger of the baseball ages."
- George Moriarty, The Warren Tribune, April 29, 1927
Owning The Cameras
Imagine owning one of the actual cameras used to take these incredible photos. That’s what Paul thought he was about to do, before finding out that he was misled.
This image shows a group of photographers at the Polo Grounds in 1914.
Cleaning House
Charles Conlon, pictured here at his proofreader’s desk at the Evening Telegram in 1930, lived in a small house in New Jersey.
Eventually, the thousands of glass plate negatives he was storing, documenting his life’s work, became too much of a nuisance to keep at his home. So he decided to have one of the most tragic spring cleanings in American history, and threw thousands of pieces away.
About 8,000 images survived of an estimated 40-50,000 total. The world will never know what was lost in that purge.
Conlon’s most recognizable work, Ty Cobb sliding into Jimmy Austin on July 23, 1910 was taken out of instinct.
Intellectual Property Rights
Paul regrets saying that he lacked the authority to speak on matters of intellectual property rights in images. He wishes he had said that he lacked the knowledge. Paul thinks that the truth of an idea has nothing to do with the authority of its proponents.
This Conlon image of Casey Stengel batting in 1916 was used as the basis of an illustration which graced the cover of the September 1917 issue of Baseball Magazine.
Conlon’s Prime
Paul posits that the prime of Charles Conlon’s career spanned about 7 years, roughly from 1911 to 1917.
This portrait of Ty Cobb was taken by Conlon in 1913, smack dab in the middle of Conlon’s prime. Paul considers the peak of Conlon’s prime to be 1913 and 1914, when he begins experimenting with photographic essays on eyes, hands, and grips of players.
Ray Chapman’s Death
Paul says the death of Ray Chapman is the line of demarcation when it comes to important events being photographed on the baseball diamond.
Before Chapman’s death in 1920, there isn’t a single important event that was photographed on a baseball field. After Chapman’s death, there isn’t a single important event that wasn’t.
Chapman was hit with a pitch from the hand of Carl Mays on August 16, 1920 at the Polo Grounds in New York. He died the following day. This is one of the last photos ever taken of him.
“Something New In Baseball”
The New York Daily News began taking photos of every play of every game of the 1920 World Series, hoping to be able to capture every significant play on film so they could put it in a “double truck” two-page spread in the paper.
Photographers positioned on the first base side and the third base side of the field used modified Graflex cameras to be able to capture any and every play on the field.
Bill Wambsganss’ Unassisted Triple Play
This photo exists thanks to the Daily News and their “Sports, Illustrated” experiment. It shows Bill Wambsganss of the Cleveland Indians recording the first ever unassisted triple play in the history of the World Series.
Neil Leifer
Neil Leifer’s photography career has spanned over 60 years. Beginning in 1960, his pictures regularly appeared in every major national magazine, including the Saturday Evening Post, Look, LIFE, Newsweek, and, most often, Sports Illustrated and Time. His photographs have appeared on over 200 Sports Illustrated, Time, and People covers.
Here is one of the most iconic sports photos ever taken: Muhammad Ali reacting after his first round knockout of Sonny Liston during the World Heavyweight Title fight at St. Dominic’s Arena in Lewiston, Maine on May 25, 1965.
Honus Wagner
Wagner considered Conlon a friend, and even went out of his way to protect Charley’s exclusivity when it came to getting certain photos on the field.
“Three Finger” Brown
Mordecai Peter Centennial Brown, lost his index finger in a childhood farming accident, and the injury imparted bewildering movement to his curve ball.
Conlon confessed that he took this photograph of Brown’s change-up grip in 1914 when he was a member of Federal League’s St. Louis Terriers, motivated by the naive thought that the details of Brown's pitching grip might be useful to his friend, John McGraw. Brown and his Chicago Cubs largely dominated McGraw's New York Giants from 1906-1910.
Different Stamps
Photos from earlier in Charles Conlon’s career had a stamp with an address of 216 W. 111th Street in New York.
The 189 Alden Place stamp appears on the backs of Conlon prints from (at least) 1930 until 1943.
Photos That Answer Questions
Nat Fein’s photo of Babe Ruth from what many believed would be Babe’s final public appearance on June 13 of 1948 is one of the lasting images of the sport’s greatest hero.
“Babe Bows Out” won Fein the Pulitzer Prize.
“I saw Ruth standing there with his uniform, No. 3 . . . and knew that was the shot. It was a dull day, and most photographers were using flash bulbs, but I slowed the shutter and took the picture without a flash.”
The Decisive Moment
The photographic master Henri Cartier-Bresson made some key observations about photography, translated as “the decisive moment” which is often (incorrectly) characterized as: “capturing an event that is ephemeral and spontaneous, where the image represents the essence of the event itself.”
Cartier-Bresson, himself, explains it like this:
"In a photograph, composition is the result of a simultaneous coalition, the organic coordination of elements seen by the eye. One does not add composition as though it were an afterthought superimposed on the basic subject material, since it is impossible to separate content from form. Composition must have its own inevitability about it.
But inside movement there is one moment at which the elements in motion are in balance. Photography must seize upon this moment and hold immobile the equilibrium of it.”
His 1932 photo Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare (pictured here) is often cited as an example of his “decisive moment.”
Harry Harris
Harry Harris used a flash while shooting Ruth that day, like many other photographers. Harris also shot his image in portrait, instead of landscape, making his image significantly different from Fein’s, although they were shooting from similar positions.
Harris was a great photographer in his own right, but he missed the mark this day.
Fein’s Flash
Fein didn’t use a flash on the photo which won him the Pulitzer, but he did use a flash on this photo of Babe coming out of the dugout. Look at the difference the flash makes.
Paul said that Nat Fein might have credited Jimmy Hare with telling him not to use a flash. While Fein did tell Paul that he had worked with Jimmy Hare early in his career, the person who told Fein not to use a flash was the New York Herald Tribune’s picture editor.
Arthur Fellig aka “Weegee”
Weegee worked in Manhattan's Lower East Side as a press photographer during the 1930s and 1940s and developed his signature style by following the city's emergency services and documenting their activity.
Paul mistakenly says that a mother is watching her children die in a fire in this December 15, 1939 photograph. In his book Naked City, Weegee titles the photograph “I Cried When I Took This Picture,” and describes it as a mother and daughter crying as another daughter and her young baby are burning to death in the top floor of the tenement.
Javan Emory
“Some photographs tell stories; others keep secrets.” This is a stunning example of an image that doesn’t immediately answer all of your questions. It was taken circa 1885 of catching phenom Javan Isaac Emory.
Javan Emory was a celebrated catcher at a time when catching was dangerous and required real courage. He often caught for celebrated Black pitcher George Stovey.
His capabilities as a catcher during an exhibition game for a National League “proved to be so threatening that Major league baseball drew the color line in direct response.”
Read Paul’s essay, “He Wears The Mask”, originally published in the Southwest Review from Southern Methodist University, by CLICKING HERE.
Tobacco Juice?
Paul thinks Shoeless Joe Jackson’s famous bat, “Black Betsy,” wasn’t stained with tobacco juice, as we have all been told for nearly 120 years.
Instead, since he is so familiar with all of the different bat-related patents from the early days of baseball, Paul is fairly certain the bat was actually turned on a lathe while a piece of Black Walnut was held against the bat, darkening the lighter colored wood until a desired effect had been achieved.
CLICK HERE to see the full patent in question.
“One of Baseball’s Great Images of Failure”
Many of the images used in these liner notes are courtesy of the Paul Reiferson Collection, but this is actually one that I personally own.
It depicts Joe Jackson standing behind the counter at his liquor store in Greenville, South Carolina, on October 2, 1939. He is 52 years old here.
Paul says “what makes the whole story beautiful today is that he’s banned.”
Ralpha Branca
This heartbreaking image from Barney Stein shows Ralph Branca in the clubhouse after Bobby Thomson hit the Shot Heard ‘Round The World to give the Giants the 1951 National League Pennant over the Brooklyn Dodgers.
“The Agony”
Barney Stein also captured Ralph Branca & coach Cookie Lavagetto together, in silence, on the clubhouse steps.
“After the ball sailed into the seats, I’d inadvertently picked up the rosin bag and threw it down in disgust. Head down, I headed for the centerfield clubhouse. Jackie [Robinson] had the presence of mind to make sure [Bobby] Thomson touched every base. He did. We were defeated. Undone.”
Branca was inconsolable. Once in the clubhouse, he buried his face on the floor. His teammates left him alone. Jackie eventually approached him and said, “Ralph, it it weren’t for you, we would have never made it this far.”
The Mick
“Mickey Mantle Having A Bad Day At Yankee Stadium” in 1965, captured by John Dominis. One of the great pictures of an athlete in decline, Dominis picks up where Conlon left off with his “eyes” series.
Conlon’s Influence
Dominis wasn’t the only photographer being influenced by Conlon’s work. This shot of Mickey Mantle in the backyard of his River Edge, NJ, home on June 7, 1956 from Ralph Morse, along with a couple other taken during this session, clearly draws inspiration from Conlon.
Or This One…
Mickey’s batting grip, taken that same day. Is it safe to assume Morse was aware of Conlon and his work?
Or How About This One?
Nolan Ryan’s fastball grip by Robert Seale. Does this look familiar at all?
New York Daily News photographer Frank Hurley caught Willie May’s catch during Game 1 of the 1954 World Series.
Lou Gehrig Uniform With Pants
Sometimes a deal feels good in the moment, but with hindsight, you realize it wasn’t as good of a deal as you thought at the time.
Paul selling a full Lou Gehrig uniform, with the number 4 on the back, including the pants, was one of those times for him.
Josh Gibson
Another piece Paul regrets selling is this beautiful close-up portrait of Josh Gibson at age 18 during his rookie season in 1930.
The First Baseball Card?
In 1863, a series of games was played at St. George’s Cricket Club in New York. A total of three games was played at the site. Two were cricket matches but the third was a baseball game. Tickets to the games were sold for .25 but some special tickets featuring pictures of players in the games were sold for .50.
Walt Whitman
“In our sun-down perambulations of late, through the outer parts of Brooklyn, we have observed several parties of youngsters playing ‘base,’ a certain game of ball…. Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our close rooms…. The game of ball is glorious.”
Walt Whitman, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 23 1846
April 15, 1947
A ticket from Jackie Robinson’s debut game has skyrocketed in price during recent years as collectors have begun coveting tickets to famous sporting events just as much as cards or game-used artifacts.
The Jackie Robinson Story
Jackie Robinson plays himself in this heartfelt and unusually realistic biopic that follows his early years to baseball superstardom.
Mom / Photographer
This ghostly double-exposure shot of Dan Wallach was captured by Lori Wallach at the Field of Dreams Movie Site during the summer of 1993.
Mom’s Birthday Present
Taken in Carbondale, Illinois in 2008.
Neal and Constance McCabe
Their names have become synonymous with Charles Conlon’s images at this point, as well.
If you don’t already own a copy, you can buy the book HERE.
These Eyes Sure Have It
Conlon’s photo essay on the eyes of the 1927 Murderer’s Row Yankees is one of the great photo series in baseball history.
Live From The Rock Room
Started by drummer Mike Felumlee (Smoking Popes, Alkaline Trio) in his basement, Live From The Rock Room gives touring bands a chance to get a free meal and some free publicity.
When I helped shoot still photography during the sessions, my photos often times resembled those of Charles Conlon.
Big Ed Walsh
From 1907 to 1912, “Big Ed” Walsh tested the limits of a pitcher’s endurance like no pitcher has since. During that stretch the spitballing right-hander led the American League in innings pitched four times, often by staggeringly large margins.
He hurled a total of 2,248 innings, 300 more than any other pitcher in baseball. He started 18 more games than any other pitcher, and led the American League during that stretch in games finished and saves, though the latter statistic would not be tracked for another 60 years.
His finest season came in 1908, when Walsh became the last pitcher in baseball history to win 40 games, and hurled an incredible 464 innings, 73⅓ more than any other pitcher in baseball.
This photo of him was taken by Charles Conlon circa 1911.
John Quincy Adams
This daguerreotype was taken in a Washington portrait studio in March 1843, when Adams was in the middle of his post-presidential career in Congress. He gave it as a gift to a fellow representative, whose descendants kept it in the family while apparently losing track of its significance.
It is the earliest known photograph of a president.
The Changing Face of Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln’s physical appearance changed dramatically during his tenure as President of the United States. The magnitude of his apparent aging is often demonstrated by showing a photograph from the start of his first term compared to one taken a few months before his death.
Matthew Brady
When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Matthew Brady marketed his services to soldiers who, before going off to war, wanted to give their family members photograph keepsakes of themselves.
Yet Brady believed photography could document the war in a way no other medium could and envisioned a greater purpose for his talents, stating later, “I had to go. A spirit in my feet said ‘Go,’ and I went.”
Relating To The Camera
This 1922 image of Babe Ruth is a clear example of the trust Conlon’s subjects had in him, and the rapport which allowed him to get photos no one else could get.
Carl J. Horner Portraits
Notice the difference between the above photo by Conlon, and this original Carl J. Horner studio portrait cabinet photograph of Bill Bradley as a member of the Cleveland Naps. The photo was taken circa 1906 and would be used a few years later as the basis of Bradley’s T206 card.
Granted, they were setting out to accomplish two separate things, but there’s no way Horner could ever get the shots in his studio which Conlon was getting on location with his Graflex and the full trust of his subjects.
Recreating History
We did our best to make the kitchen inside the museum look as accurate as possible to the time period, including a period-appropriate refrigerator. Guests really seemed to love what we did.
Paul and I
The Jackie Robinson Museum was really cool to experience. I couldn’t think of anyone better to go through with than Paul.
April 22, 1947
Paul donated this original photograph to the Jackie Robinson Museum. It shows the Phillies dugout taunting Jackie Robinson just one week after he broke the Major League Baseball color barrier. This scene was depicted in the movie 42 starring Chadwick Boseman.
A Critical Eye
Seeing the things which resonated with Paul was extremely interesting.
Sometimes those same things also resonated with me, but not always. Sometimes it took some further explanation from Paul for me to really see why something that resonated with him should also resonate with me.
Having someone there to teach me what and how to see was wonderful.
Design Choices
This trophy and award case was truly breathtaking. You were drawn to it from across the room. But as you walked up to it from the other side of the room, you realized it was 10 feet tall, which meant you couldn’t really see the details or engravings on anything above a certain point.
So while the concept was beautiful, and the layout within the case is gorgeous, it wasn’t a functional museum display for people who were there to read and see and learn.
Ray Chapman
Ray Chapman’s death contributed to the banning of the spitball, and to the first real push for mandatory use of batting helmets.
While no photos of that moment or any of the following moments exist, photos of the flower arrangements from his funeral (seen here, captured by famed photographer Louis Van Oeyen) and other related moments were captured after the fact.
Barry Halper
In October of 2010, Hall of Fame spokesman Brad Horn told the New York Post that a Barry Halper-donated jersey, supposedly worn by Shoeless Joe Jackson, was a fake. Horn stated that the logo utilized acrylic coloring first created in 1941. The jersey had been removed from display in 2008.
Issues of authenticity have been raised with other items, including ones purported to belong to Cy Young, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Ty Cobb, and others.
Subsequent reports alleged that scores of items in Halper's collection had been stolen from the Baseball Hall of Fame, the New York Public Library, or other institutions. There have also been allegations that items in his collection were stolen from the wives or family members of deceased baseball stars.
Joe Jackson’s Black Bats
The story we’ve been told for years about Joe’s bat being stained by tobacco juice may not be accurate. This photo was taken by Charles Conlon in 1912. Notice the light handle and the perfect line separation of the dark barrel.
Many of the photos used in these liner notes are courtesy of the Paul Reiferson Collection. We can’t thank him enough for his generosity in making this episode and the accompanying liner notes happen.