Moran and the Reds

A photograph from the American Memory collection through the Library of Congress.

Chicago Daily News negatives collection, DN-0003451. Courtesy of Chicago History Museum.

The photograph was taken by the Chicago Daily News in 1919. Patrick Moran, then manager of the Reds, sits closest to the camera in the middle of the frame. The summary of the photo suggests that the photo may have been taken during the 1919 World Series between the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago White Sox. Baseball fans would remember this Series as the infamous "Black Sox Scandal." Immortalized in numerous books and films like, Field of Dreams and Eight Men Out.

Home Plate, Leaving and Returning

I recently purchased Baseball and Philosophy as part of the Pop Culture and Philosophy series. Other titles include, Seinfeld and Philosophy, The Simpsons and Philosophy, The Sopranos and Philosophy, etc.

Though I'm only a few pages in, one particular passage struck me about the concept of home plate.

This selection comes from, "There's No Place Like Home!" by Joe Kraus.

"The goal is to get 'home', and yet, every batter starts off at home. As soon as you walk up to face the pitcher, you're standing at the place you're eventually trying to reach. It's not hard to imagine Jerry Seinfeld asking the question, 'So, why leave? Why not just stay at home in the first place and forget about first, second, and third bases?' The answer, of course, is that 'home' in baseball doesn't count until you've left it...Put differently, home doesn't become meaningful until you have experienced the risk that lies in front of it. Homer told us, 'home is all the sweeter when you've braved adventures to get back to it.' (page 10)

Patrick Moran Baseball Card (1912)

1912 Patrick Moran Baseball Card

This card was made while Patrick Moran played for the Philadelphia Phillies. The set is known as the "Brown Background" set because of the sepia tones in each player's portrait. There were 200 cards issued in this set.

The back of Moran's card reads,

"Paddy Moran, catcher for the Philadelphia Nationals, is 36 years of age and started out as a professional in 1897 with the Lyons team of the New York State League. He joined the Boston Nationals in 1901 and was a member of that team for five years. In 1905 he figured in a trade and landed with the Chicago team just in time to share in the prosperity of the Cubs, who won three pennants and two world's championships in the next four years. Moran was traded to the Philadelphia club in 1910 and his specialty now is coaching young pitchers. He batted .184 and fielded .984 in 1911."

Burkett and Moran

Through the American Memory collection through the Library of Congress, I found an early baseball card of Jesse Burkett. The set is known as the 1909 T204 Ramly Cigarettes set.

1909 Jesse Burkett Baseball Card

There were 121 cards issues in this set and the LoC has 56 of them in their online digital collection. What makes Burkett's presence in this set interesting is the fact that the Worcester Busters (the team he managed from 1906-1913) was a minor league team. All of the other teams featured in this set are from the major leagues.

Though not found in the LoC's collection, but elsewhere online, another familiar face was featured in this set.

1909 Patrick Moran Baseball Card

Fitchburg native Patrick Moran (seen here as P.J. Moran) was catching for the Chicago Cubs in 1909. Notice the square gold background in Moran's card, rather than the oval in Burkett's. The Cubs finished in 2nd place in 1909, winning 104 games.