This page contains the archives to our daily photo of the day.
MARCH 3, 2009:
Today we unveil a new feature in Ballpark Digest: the photo of the day. The photo may come from a team, our staff, or — as is the case today — a photo archive. This photo from the Library of Congress’s Bain News Service Collection is of Herman "Germany" Schaefer (1877-1919), one of the great and amusing stars from baseball’s Dead Ball Era. This particular photo is from April 1911 during a visit to New York City as a member of the Washington Nationals. After beginning his career as a semi-pro in Sioux Falls, S.D., Schaefer signed with the Western League’s Kansas City team before joining the Chicago Cubs in 1901. After stints with the original St. Paul Saints and Milwaukee Brewers, he returned to the big leagues for good in 1905. He was one of baseball’s original characters, always playing for the crowd’s approval. He was also known for stealing first, moving from second base in an attempt to lure a pitcher into a rundown. You can read more about Schaefer’s exploits at the SABR Biography Project, in an excellent bio from Dan Holmes.
MARCH 4, 2009:
The Palace of the Fans was home to the Cincinnati Reds between 1902 and 1911. The 12,000-seat ballpark was ahead of its time in many ways — it featured a steel-and-concrete construction at a time when most new ballparks were built largely of cheaper wood — and it was a party-oriented ballpark, with beer gardens (dubbed Rooters Rows by fans) down each line. It also featured one of the most distinctive grandstands ever built for a Major League team, with classical columns constructed in the style of the influential World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893. This photo from the Library of Congress’s Bain News Service Collection is of the demolition of the Palace of Fans, taken on Nov. 14, 1911. Replacing the Palace of the Fans: Crosley Field. This photo is part of our new daily photo posting; let us know what you think of it.
MARCH 5, 2009:
Spring training was a much different experience in 1912: players gathered far away from home — in the case of the Boston Red Sox, Hot Springs (Ark.) — and spent a few weeks working out before embarking on a long, barnstorming trip via train back home. Players were judged on their performances in these exhibition games; they were real games, not like the glorified and somewhat meaningless scrimmages that pass for spring training today. This photo from the Library of Congress’s Bain News Service Collection was taken sometime in March 1912, the year the Red Sox won the World Series over Christy Mathewson’s New York Giants. This photo is part of our new daily photo posting; let us know what you think of it.