eBay

murphy71605 · ‎08-04-2018

Does anyone recognize this team lettering (AEC) on jerseys and ball. Picked this up in the upper midwest region and there is a Detroit banner hanging on the wall. I would guess this is a high school or college level team but thats all I know. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

butch799 · ‎08-04-2018

"E--- Athletic Club."

Hi Murph, now all you have to do is find a city, town, hamlet, college, high school, company, or organization, from somewhere in the midwest, in the 1930s, give or take a decade, that starts with "E." Should be a snap!

stashyourcash · ‎08-04-2018

Probably not a Michigan College...no college towns really start with an "E", and Adrian or Aquinas Engineering college would be most likely be lettered differently. I like the "Athletic Club" suggestion. Seems to make the most sense.

murphy71605 · ‎08-04-2018

Thanks to both Butch and Stash for weighing in on this. Nice to know we still have people checking out this board and helping others. The athletic club makes sense. I have looked at schools in Michigan starting with E and this may be a tough one to figure out.

Funny thing is, I picked this up at an estate sale two weeks ago and the woman who owned it was there. Probably in her 80s , I took the photo to her and asked about it. All she could tell me was that it was her neighbor, who has since passed away and she only bought it for the frame. She had no idea where it was from. I wanted it anyway and bought it. Last time I had a somewhat similar photo, but knew the school, I listed it and a gentleman from Arizona contacted me and was completely blown away because his father was in it. Would love to know where this was from so maybe I could return it to someone who would appreciate it.

stashyourcash · ‎08-04-2018

Cool that you want to try to return it to one of the possible relatives. It's a neat photo...I would have bought it too. it's probably going to bug me until someone solves the mystery, lol!

biggymoe · ‎08-05-2018

I agree with the Athletic Club suggestions. The Detroit pennant also suggests Michigan. However, I would be more inclined to think it is a town team, not a high school, or university. Probably a lot of towns in Michigan that start with an E. But I would be looking for one in close proximity to Detroit. Good luck figuring it out.

gypsy325 · ‎08-05-2018

There are two suburbs of Detroit known as Eastpointe and Ecorse. You might try the library of each one to see if they have any knowledge of oldtime athletic clubs.

Also, if you haven't taken the picture out of the frame, and you're not reluctant to do so, you might check the back to see if there is any notation.

murphy71605 · ‎08-06-2018

Thanks again to everyone weighing in, appreciate any leads I can get.

Also, if you haven't taken the picture out of the frame, and you're not reluctant to do so, you might check the back to see if there is any notation.

That has crossed my mind but the back is sealed up. Someone took the time to have this matted and framed and I am reluctant to to tear it open for a chance something might be there. Also, the photo is original and I can see some light creasing on the lower right side under magnication. The photo looks great framed and I would hate to disturb that.

bugler1998 · ‎08-06-2018

Are we sure this is a basketball team? Look at the shoes. The high top shoes look more like wrestling shoes. But of course, why would that ball be there? Can the OP tell if that is truly a basketball. Perhaps it is a heavy leather ball used for playing catch, Perhaps.

My review of the haircuts pin them around 1930.

In the south part of St. Louis there were athletic clubs that catered to folks of various ethnic backrounds.

lacemaker3 · ‎08-06-2018

@gypsy325 wrote:
There are two suburbs of Detroit known as Eastpointe and Ecorse. You might try the library of each one to see if they have any knowledge of oldtime athletic clubs.
Also, if you haven't taken the picture out of the frame, and you're not reluctant to do so, you might check the back to see if there is any notation.

I thought about this too, but the city of Eastpointe used to be called East Detroit until it changed it's name in 1992. If that were it in the early 20th century, it would have said EDAC.

Eastpointe is the only city/village/township that starts with "E" in Macomb County. Ecorse is in Wayne country (along with Detroit) and is the only city/township in Wayne county that starts with "E". So Ecorse is a more likely, if it is a city or township near Detroit.

I had no luck googling for Ecorse Athletic Club, though.

murphy71605 · ‎08-06-2018

From everything I can tell this is a basketball team. The ball appears to be a basketball and I have found shoes similar to those being worn listed as basketball shoes. In fact I found a pair of Keds listed under antique basketball shoes that look almost identical. Converse and a brand called Hood have similar shoes listed as basketball shoes that date a bit earlier than the 1930s.

butch799 · ‎08-07-2018

No doubt whatsoever in our tiny minds that that's a basketball team.

Amateur athletic clubs sometimes dubbed themselves with some impressive-sounding name regardless of the town in which they played. "Empire AC" or "Excelsior AC" or suchlike would be possibilities. Clubs comprised of co-workers, some sponsored by their company, sometimes used the company name for their club, so something in the vein of "Electrovac AC" or "Eastman AC" might be something to consider (darn, can't think of a single current actual company starting with an "E" as an example)...

murphy71605 · ‎08-09-2018

Your right, it could be anything. I have spent more time than I care to admit trying to come up with something. That's the bad thing about picking up items you know nothing about. There is also no guarantee that this is the Detroit area either. I found this in Northwest Indiana only about 30 miles from the Michigan border near Lake Michigan.