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I have come into possession of an unusal photograph of what appears to be a college sports team.
The athletes are not sporting any kind of insignia or regalia, so identification is nearly impossible.
The style of the photograph, and the knickers, suggest that the photograph was made before 1914. It could be as much as twenty years earlier.
These photographs are troubling to me; they are like the reminders of "Death" that pious folks would employ in meditation during past centuries.
Each of these smiling, healthy young men is dead.
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Comments: 36
We have a picture of my father-in-law when he played football in high school, circa 1936. I look at his young, strong, smiling face and have great difficulty seeing the octogenarian that he's become. I just feel saddened when I think about it.
I know that you have spent months sorting through relationships and events in the lives of people no longer alive, Kate.
It doesn't surprise me that many early "unifoms" were hand made.
I saw the football on the ground, but was at a lose about making any identification of the geographical area.
The men appear to be college-aged, but I am stymied at the lack of any institutional insignia.
I know that you do, Ina. It's one of the things we share ( in addition to good beer).
It is very hard sometimes to connect the elderly people we know with the images of their young, healthy, vigorous selves.
It is hard for the elderly to keep all the phases of their lives in order, too!
I often feel the same way, Kate.
I like to think that our "connecting" and sharing information about people who are gone might help to extend their 'life" a little bit.
My friend, "Bubbles" McSorley, left some improtant papers with me while she was traveling with her interpretive dance troupe.
Alas, after her arrest in that raid in Peoria, she fled to Alcapulco and has not been seen since.
This picture was among the things left behind.
(I don't know.)
I can relate to that, Kate.
It is not grief that I feel about vanished lives - more of a longing to know them and to comprehend their lives.
Like you, I do not waste time pondering "what ifs" about my own life.
The best place to live!
These vintage pictues are sobering, Ron.
We have an emerguing consensus around rugby, Beaker.
You, John, and Ron have identified that sport.
A prodution of "A Chorus Line" or "42nd Street", John?
Alas, after her arrest in that raid in Peoria, she fled to Alcapulco and has not been seen since.
I remember Bubbles and her ebullient spirit. I wonder what might have happened if she had kept her promise and returned to the gazebo that warm summer evening so long ago.
"Bubbles" has been the common denominator (in more than one way) in all the "what ifs" of my long life, Phoenix.
Suggested soundtrack for this line of thought: The Tennessee Waltz.
Phoenix - Thanks so much for that earworm. I so owe you for that.
One seldom sees the words "Bubbles" and "flat" in close proximity.
It does look like a strong line, Sharon.
If you believe every story that you hear about Bubbles, which I don't, she had wide knowledge of all manner of 'sports".
Indeed. It is true, though, that a life without Bubbles would be unsupportable.
The troubles always originated with Bubbles imbibing the bubbly.
Perhaps it exceeds her.
I have no guesses with regards to the young men in the photo. My immediate reaction was to remember how my father would comment on such images: "Those were the days! We played real football then." Dad loved Hofstra for reasons I no longer recall, and seemed to hold their team up as a gold standard.
I can't get curious enough about sports to look into it, but perhaps you or Kate would know why Hofstra's team would loom large? Were they champions at some point?
Glad to see you, Dannielle and Galahad.
Phoenix has a lot of insight into the mysterious character of Bubbles.
I did not mean to overlook your comment, Sheila.
Thanks for stopping by.
Sorry to have missed your comments, Martin.
Bubbles was introduced to Gather in a very funny comment thread largely created by Ivy, who is now departed from Gather.
I will try to find the original article that inspired it.
And thanks to you Peter, they may be gone but they are not forgotten. :-)
These unknown photos intrigue me and offer a good chance to practice my genealogical detection skills. :-) Just a few quick thoughts on this one though( I spent way too much time on the soldiers :-)....
These guys have the physique styled more towards men and not boys. However, farm boys could be strapping in those days but farm boys usually didn't get the opportunity for very much leisure or a great deal of education.
Education in those days meant coming from a background of money. Judging from the condition of their clothes, I'd say this theory holds fairly. They don't look work weathered or lacking a hearty dinner either. All clean shaven and well kept. Being able to afford a photo says something in itself.
The boy on the far left must be the captain of the team. He is first in line but also his jacket is “special” and different from all of the others to distinguish him. He also distinguishes himself as different from the positioning of his arm. All of the others have their left hand on their hip while he is the only one using his right. His body language says that he believes himself to be the top dog. He looks more serious than the others as well.
Setting is not formal so this could mean a college team. But this could be misleading. However, these guys look more like college boys out to have fun and not serious professionals ready to kick some football butt. It might be easier to identify if they were professionals of the day.
The football...Size does matter. Hasn't the football been redesigned several times since the old days to make it smaller and more aerodynamic? A good clear shot of the ball might help to narrow the date on the pic. However, if they were playing with an older ball, this would blow that theory. I would say that the football is in good shape and doesn’t look tattered. A team with money would probably have one of the latest greatest designs. A good solid study of football history might help define further clues along this line. I’d start with the US as the football craze bloomed at a much later date than in other European countries.
Their features are mostly dark in color. English, Irish and German features tend to run lighter in color. Their color is not so dark that it may be Italian or Spanish(however, European Spanish are sometimes lighter skinned). The clothes don’t hold to a foreign theory either. All are similar in height but this could be because they are hand picked. This could still be used as a possible clue of common nationality. A comparison of teams from the same time period and from different countries may give a clue. Comparing their dress and informal uniform style might also help discover the region.
The photo was taken in a colder climate. That would rule out most southern areas and tropical regions. It’s hard to say if this photo was taken in the US. However, if one were to get a clear shot of the types of trees in the background (hardly possible in this photo), identifying them might help identify they regions that could be an option. This could even help pinpoint the search to a particular area if these trees only grew in one place.
IF this photo could be identified as taken in the US, I would look at the colleges of the day in the northeastern region of the country. There tended to be more educational institutions there as well as more folks with more than a few bucks. Obviously you would only want to check the colleges that had football teams. It would be very time consuming but you could study the yearbooks to see if they include team photos and perhaps come up with a direct match. If not, a list of football alumni for each college and individual photos may be compared with the boys in this photo. This might solve their identities all together. However, without having a solid identity of the specific country, you may have wasted a lot of time to no great cause.
Last but not least, there are local newspapers to peruse. Tons and Tons of them! A team with an abundance of pride like these boys would probably not have any qualms about showing off for the local rag...IF you could figure out where that was.
Bottom line is that it may very well be possible to identify these guys. The problem is without a specific clue as to where they came from, it may become a lifetime’s work.
Me? A few quick thoughts?? Yeah right! Heheh! :-)
"The boy on the far left must be the captain of the team."
He may also be distinguished as special by being the guy who comes from the family with the most money. Hence, he was chosen captain based on social caste (still a factor in those days). It may be easier to start with him and try to identify him as an individual then let the rest of the other fellows fall into place.