07-06-2018 07:33 AM
Hi. I have a total of 7 antique photographs. They are marked on the back "VELOX". I am just hoping for any information on these. Perhaps who the players are? Are they authentic? Do people send these to PSA for authentication?
I only have identified one player. New York Yankee Catcher Benny Bengough who was on the Yankees from 1923-1930, a good friend of the Babe and won 3 World Series Chamionships and was part of the Murder's Row Team from 1927.
One is marked with pen on the back and says"Mark Koenig". This does not seem to look like the guy to me? One appears to be a Couch from the Cincinatti Reds? One player in a throwing stance literally resemble Showless Joe Jackson to me?
Anyways, if you have any insight please share. Thanks I appreciate it!
07-06-2018 04:28 PM - edited 07-06-2018 04:30 PM
Cool pics. A few years ago, when this forum was allowed to be lively and friendly and had dozens of knowledgeable regulars all posting daily, you'd already have had all your answers. Nowadays, it may take some time, so be patient...
Bengough is identified correctly. Throwing guy has slight, vague resemblance to Jackson, but we say it ain't Joe, so... The Cincy guy should be solved soon. Some of the others may be tough, because we suspect they're in minor-league uniforms (first and fourth photos).
If answers don't come soon enough, we strongly recommend you sign in and ask at net54 baseball (we're not allowed to link to them). Yes, PSA does authenticate photos, although the n54 guys could probably tell you just by looking at a scan.
07-07-2018 12:49 PM
Cincinnati guy might maybe possibly be manager Jack Hendricks.
We stand ready to be corrected.
07-07-2018 01:08 PM
By the way, "Velox" is the trade name for the photographic paper on which the images are printed. The stamp you show indicates the images were printed in the 1940s or '50s, although obviously the negatives used to produce those prints were much older. Check out David Rudd's "cycleback" website (again, we're forbidden to link) for more info on dating and classifying photographic prints.
Also, could you provide a better view of the photo at the bottom center of your array -- the pic of the guy throwing, with what appear to be trees on the right in the background?
07-07-2018 04:26 PM
07-07-2018 11:37 PM
Thanks for adding that closer look.
Assuming that Bengough pic is indeed Bengough, the uniform details place that photo between 1923 and 1926. If (a big if) we've identified the Cincy guy correctly as Hendricks, that photo's from between 1924 and 1929. Is there any reason to believe all the photos you have were taken in the same year (or two) as all the others, or any reason to think they weren't?
07-08-2018 05:33 AM
Hey I just want to take a moment to thank you for your help seriously nice to get info and share info 🙂 but as for the dates? I have no idea my Dad found these at an estate sale about 15 years ago but they were all together from the same place/collection.
07-09-2018 08:33 AM
Dude, you're welcome -- we really just wanted to get some conversation started on this and spark some input from other more expert voices on board here. No one else has chimed in though, and since we hate a mystery, our own curiosity got the better of us, so we dug a little and found a little. Now we've got guys from another forum looking at your pics and opining. More answers forthcoming...
07-10-2018 12:36 PM
Dude, we were asking about the dates because it would make sense that personal snapshots found together would have been shot at about the same time, and if that's the case, it could help in identifying the subjects of the other pics.
So far, we have a confirm on Bengough 1923-26, our own unsubstantiated guess on "Hendricks 1924-29," and input from other collectors on a few other shots. Your last added photo -- righthanded thrower with trees in background -- might be Yankee pitcher Hank Johnson, circa 1925-26. Your second pic, looking up at guy with faded B on shirt, might be a member of the 1924-26 Boston Braves or the 1920-21 or '24 Brooklyn Robins. Your fifth pic -- 3rd baseman tagging kid in sweater -- looks to show an early 1930s White Sox player.
Which photo is marked "Koenig" on the back?
07-10-2018 01:10 PM
The one marked Koenig is the one with the Yankees guy throwing with the trees.. I believe is was improperly identified?
07-10-2018 01:13 PM
07-10-2018 05:06 PM
Hawk-nosed, rock-chinned Mark Koenig? We're no experts on facial recognition, but we're not seeing Koenig in that photo. We'll double-check with our other sources, though...
07-10-2018 05:15 PM
Haha yes I agree that can't be him it is a mistake I wish they would have wrote it in pencil instead 😊
07-13-2018 09:52 AM
A little more input, from baseball collectors and historians far more expert than we are, suggests one player as a longshot candidate for the subject of one photo, and adjusts our thinking as to which team he played for.
This concerns your second photo, the looking-up-at-the-guy-with-the-missing-B-on-his-shirt. We're now leaning to the idea of that guy being not at all a Boston Brave but possibly a player for a 1920s minor-league affiliate of the Braves -- or, less unlikely, a player or farmhand for the 1920s Brooklyn Robins (not yet known as the Dodgers). The candidate, who bears some resemblance to your photo guy but also shows enough discrepancies to make a match doubtful, would be Pete Kilduff, which would date the pic to most likely 1920 or '21.
07-28-2018 01:51 PM
stopped in just to say 'hey' to 'butch'...good to see you're still around helpin' folks out 'butch', hope all's well with you. I may be wrong, but I think the guy in the dark uniform with the 'G' on it is Robert DeNiro in character for some movie!