Between the Covers

Hardcover. Cabinet card photograph. Image size approximately 3½" x 5½", mounted on 5¼" x 7" thick card. A bit of faint foxing in the background of the image and a small splash mark at one corner, near fine. A slim clean-shaven African-American baseball player is shown going through the motions of throwing the ball (although still clutching the ball after the point from which the ball would likely be released) with a mitt on his left hand. From the uniform and Boston style cap, we'd estimate the date of the image to circa 1895-1900. While neither the subject or the photographer is identified, there is some reason to speculate that the player is William Clarence Matthews when he played for Philips Andover Academy. Matthews, from Selma, Alabama, attended Tuskegee Institute, graduated from Philips Andover Academy, and enrolled at Harvard in 1901. Harvard was forced to adjust their schedule in his sophomore year when several southern colleges threatened to boycott games if Matthews played. He starred all four years at Harvard. At any rate, a clear strong image. Photographs of early Black ballplayers are extremely scarce.

Item #502015

Status: On Hold