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In a hurry? Save or print these Collection Connections as a single
file.
Go directly to the collection, Baseball
Cards, 1887-1914, in American Memory, or view a Summary
of Resources related to the collection.
Baseball Cards, 1887-1914 provides students an opportunity to develop their skills in working with historical images to understand the past and its relation to the present. They can examine and compare baseball cards to make inferences about the past and understand change through time. By examining the use of baseball cards as advertisements, students may explore the depth of a card's meaning, while other examinations can lead to research projects and discussions about baseball as the national pastime.
Chronological Thinking
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Much remains the same in the baseball we know today from how it was first played in the United States.
And, too, there are many changes in the game.
Students can search the collection
by position name - pitcher, catcher, etc.-
and compare what they see to modern baseball. Because baseball is a sport many students know well,
they will have the advantage of approaching an historic topic as "experts" of the field. With their
keen eyes to the game's detail, they will find they can identify even slight changes in the game. Through their investigation,
students will experience what scholars look for when studying other fields. Have students document the techniques they
use to compare the past and present.
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[Trying to catch him napping], 1911
Turkey Red Cabinets.
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Historical Comprehension
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Browsing the collection by player,
team, league, city, or card set,
students can determine what life might have been like at the turn of the century.
Who were the people playing baseball? How old were they? Where did they live and work? Were they all white men?
In answering these questions students can discuss what inferences they are making from the images and what assumptions they are bringing to their analysis of the images.
How do their own experiences of baseball and baseball cards influence their interpretations of the cards and, thereby, of life at the
turn of the century?
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[Slim Sallee], 1914,
Fatima.
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[McDowell], 1888,
S.F. Hess Newsboys League.
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After acknowledging these assumptions, students can create a list of research questions to
confirm or negate their reasoning.
They can determine whether these cards represent all the baseball players of the time. Were some players and teams
excluded from the card sets? What were the social and cultural factors of this historical time period that resulted in these exclusions?
By reading about the
collection they can determine if this is a complete collection of all the baseball cards of the period and understand the motivations
of the original collector and of baseball card publishers. Does this collection provide a broad enough representation to allow for an accurate comprehension
of this period? What other materials would assist in understanding this period?
To further their comprehension, students can read the special presentations
"Early Baseball Pictures, 1860s - 1920s" and
"Baseball, the Color Line, and Jackie Robinson, 1860s-1960s".
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Historical Analysis and Interpretation
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Early baseball cards were issued by tobacco companies to promote sales. By 1887 cigarettes were sold in
"slide and
shell" boxes that did not need the reinforcement of the stiff cards. Advertising was, at this point, the primary
function of the cards.
Browse the collection by player,
team,
league,
city, or
card set,
to read the back of the cards and the advertising that appears there. For example,
the 1887 Buchner Gold Coin
card at right says "Continue to save the Wrappers They are Valuable." What other ideas are expressed in the advertisements?
Does the use of a baseball card to convey these advertising messages affect the message itself? If so, in what ways?
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[Ned Williamson], 1887,
Buchner Gold Coin
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Students can analyze the tobacco companies' decision to use this medium for advertising.
Why did tobacco companies think baseball images would help sell their products?
Were they targeting certain audiences?
Did the tobacco companies have anything at stake in the success of baseball?
Students can discuss where advertisements appear today. How do advertisers
use sports to promote their products? How have the advertisements changed from the ones seen in this collection?
Students can research what laws regulate tobacco advertisements. Search on tobacco in the current
legislative information contained in THOMAS
to see what issues surround the sale and promotion of tobacco today.
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Historical Issue-Analysis and Decision-Making
As early as 1866, people referred to baseball as the national pastime. Author Charles A. Peverelly in his
1866 book The Book of American Pastimes, offers this explanation of why people in America took to the game:
"The game of Base Ball has now
become beyond question the leading feature of the out-door sports
of the United States ... It is a game which is peculiarly suited to
the American temperament and disposition; the nine innings are played
in the brief space of two and one half hours, or less. From the
moment the first striker takes his position, and poises his bat,
it has an excitement and vim about it ... in short, the pastime suits the
people, and the people suit the pastime."
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Union prisoners at Salisbury, N.C., c1863
Otto Boetticher ; lith. of Sarony, Major & Knapp, N. York.
Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s-1960s
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Do students agree with the author's reasoning? What are the strengths and weaknesses of his argument?
Are there other factors that contributed to baseball's prominence?
To what extent do these factors continue to affect the popularity of baseball?
Students can broaden the discussion to their own experience of fads and trends. What have they seen rise in popularity
in American culture? Which have remained and which disappeared? Can they explain why? Students can debate
what modern trends they predict will continue or fade away. Remind students that while this is an entertaining
discussion for the classroom, investors stake much money in trend analysis. Have students consider how these investments
themselves may affect the trends.
Historical Research Capabilities
The baseball cards in this collection reflect the photography and printing capabilities of the time.
Students can research how printed materials were created in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
A written report can be illustrated with images from the collection.
Search the collection by year or browse the chronological list of
card sets to see how the techniques advanced. Students
can compare the cards here to modern baseball cards, as well.
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