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“The Father of Baseball” – late 1870s (possibly 1880) Portrait of Henry Chadwick by Frank Pearsall

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Cabinet Card Photographs197 of 429Shipmates from Clipper ship from Salem ma 1890sHenry W Longfellow Cabinet Card
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    Posted 10 years ago

    rniederman
    (343 items)

    It’s baseball playoff time! Whether you’re a passionate follower, casual observer, or traditionalist who munches Cracker Jack while watching games, division and league contests leading up to the World Series are always fun and highly debated. Will your favorite team make it to the hallowed championship? I’ve been talking about Detroit and St. Louis for months, but it’s probably a long-shot (and another story altogether).

    “America’s pastime” is a moderately paced game in which players are measured and characterized by oodles of metrics. In contrast to casual fans getting their updates from daily papers, diehard followers scrutinize trades, managers’ calls, the plays themselves and stats. Attending most any game, you will see fans analyzing players’ performances using a plethora of metrics (I personally like the ERA and OPS measures) and filling in their own box scores. For those of you who are deeply into the religion of stats, rules, and box scores, or simply enjoyed the movie “Money Ball”, give some props to Henry Chadwick ... probably someone you've not heard of but one of the most important people in the sport!

    Although not the inventor of baseball, Henry Chadwick (b.1824 to d.1908) was a key figure popularizing the game in the role of America's premier 19th century baseball journalist. He developed the modern box score, introduced statistics such as batting average and ERA, wrote numerous instructional manuals on the game, and edited many baseball guides. In recognition for his work, Chadwick was posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame in 1938. To collectors Chadwick is highly revered and original ephemera with his signature sells easily in the upper five figure range ... pretty impressive for a non-player!

    Living in Brooklyn and working for several of the city’s dailies, it was only a matter of time before Chadwick met Frank Pearsall, the leading photographer and gallery owner who was popular with celebrities, politicians, and Brooklyn’s social elite. For instance, a Pearsall portrait of Chadwick frequently appeared in Spalding’s famous baseball guides.

    Only a handful of Henry Chadwick photographic portraits exist. This particular image of a young Henry Chadwick seated at his desk while working at the New York Clipper took me six years to acquire. [It has been cropped to not show all details.] The picture is heavily silhouetted for newspaper use. Silhouetting (including cropping notations) was a common practice by newspapers when readying photos for publication. This image was prepared by the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and marked accordingly. As a note, I am aware of only two other silhouetted images of Chadwick.

    There are clippings on the reverse of this cabinet card signifying this photograph might have been used for Chadwick’s 1908 obituary. Also affixed to the reverse is the original Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper production sheet.

    All-in-all, this silhouetted portrait of the Father of Baseball is historically important and a fine addition to my Pearsall Compact Camera and collection of Pearsall ephemera.

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    Comments

    1. SEAN68 SEAN68, 10 years ago
      OMG!! already , IT SEEMS LIKE YESTEDAY!! We were talking about baseball cards:)
    2. SEAN68 SEAN68, 10 years ago
      This one stunning Rob:)
    3. rniederman rniederman, 10 years ago
      Thanks, Sean ... and you're right. It seems like just a bit ago (as opposed to 2 months) you were posting all of those terrific player images.
    4. SEAN68 SEAN68, 10 years ago
      Your very welcome Rob:) !
    5. rniederman rniederman, 10 years ago
      Thanks, officialfuel!
    6. rniederman rniederman, 10 years ago
      Thanks, aghcollect!
    7. rniederman rniederman, 10 years ago
      Thanks, pops52!
    8. rniederman rniederman, 10 years ago
      Thanks, DrFluffy!
    9. rniederman rniederman, 10 years ago
      Thanks, geo26e!
    10. rniederman rniederman, 10 years ago
      Thanks, petey!
    11. rniederman rniederman, 10 years ago
      Thanks, Ben!
    12. rniederman rniederman, 10 years ago
      Oh well .... Detroit lost but St. Louis won. Should be a great series this year!
    13. rniederman rniederman, 10 years ago
      Thanks, tom61375!
    14. rniederman rniederman, 10 years ago
      Thanks, Manikin!
    15. rniederman rniederman, 10 years ago
      Hi valentino ... my team never makes the playoffs. I know how you feel. The series started tonight and Boston is already pounding on St. Louis in the first.
    16. rniederman rniederman, 10 years ago
      The fall classic isn't disappointing this year. Anyone else following the World Series?
    17. Belltown Belltown, 10 years ago
      Yes, it's been a good one, unless you are a fan of Golden Glove-level defense. ;-) But the pitching has been stellar, Beltran coming back after being hurt was cool, and Ortiz has been otherworldly. I even liked the way the catchers patted each other on the back last night when Ross slid into home. Good series.
    18. rniederman rniederman, 10 years ago
      Congrats, Boston for its first Fenway win since 1918!!! Ortiz as MVP is well deserved. Now if only my beloved Chicago Cubs can step up and make the fall classic. 1908 was their last appearance. <sigh> And of course Chadwick gets a big 'nod' for inventing the box score to make things easier to track.
    19. rniederman rniederman, 10 years ago
      Thanks, pw-collector!
    20. rniederman rniederman, 9 years ago
      Just a reminder; Tuesday the 21st is the first game of the World Series (it's the 110th Anniversary)! And it was this man - Henry Chadwick - that invented the box score.
    21. rniederman rniederman, 9 years ago
      The MLB All Star game is underway! ... an American classic. I went to the game (hosted in Minneapolis) last year and had a great time. This year ... Mike Trout hammers a HR in the 1st. Should be a good game.
    22. rniederman rniederman, 8 years ago
      Thanks, Thomas!
    23. rickzog4 rickzog4, 5 years ago
      Wow. This is unbelievable. Very important piece of baseball history.
    24. rniederman rniederman, 5 years ago
      Thanks!
      rickzog4
      hunterqlee

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