Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide, No. 26

Item Information

Title:
Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide, No. 26
Description:
Jack Fournier, a first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, stares directly at the camera with his front right foot planted firmly on the ground while only the toe of his left foot is planted. Fournier holds a bat horizontally on the left side of his body with both of his hands.
Creator:
Mann, Leslie
Date:
1920–1925
Format:
Photographs
Location:
Springfield College Archives and Special Collections
Collection (local):
Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide Collection
Subjects:
Baseball
Baseball caps
Fournier, Frank Jack
St. Louis Cardinals
Batting
Batting Swing--Follow Through
Link to Item:
https://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16122coll10/id/59
Terms of Use:
Rights status not evaluated.
This work is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike License (CC BY-NC-SA).
CC BY-NC-SA icon
Publisher:
Springfield College
Language:
English
Notes:
Even though the ball was thrown and hit at waist level, Fournier is still able to maintain a level batting swing. Fournier doesn't swing down at the ball despite it being in a lower position than it is in some of the other similar lantern slides where the ball is thrown at shoulder level. It is still possible for Fournier to have a successful, level swing on a ball that is thrown at waist level. Fournier is able to adjust his bat while keeping it on a straight level even when the ball is pitched slightly lower at waist level. Keeping a level swing increases the strength of Fournier's swing as he doesn't swing down at the ball.
Jack Frank Fournier was born on September 28, 1889. He was a first baseman who played for the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Brooklyn Robins, and Boston Braves. Fournier batted left handed, but fielded with his right hand. Fournier was one of the best hitters to ever play baseball, but he was also one of the most inconsistent hitters ever. There were years when Fournier was feared by every pitcher he faced, and there were other years where Fournier batted terribly. This inconsistency is something that may have caused Fournier to be on so many different teams throughout his career. Along with this inconsistent hitting, Fournier was also one of the worst fielders ever. Despite playing first base, a position that relatively has fewer errors than other positions like shortstop and second base, Fournier was an error machine, even racking up 25 errors in 97 games one year. Because of his poor fielding ability, Fournier relied solely on his hitting to be successful, and was able to become a successful player in the batting leagues because of his self-confidence and his belief that he was a good hitter. He finished his career with a very respectable batting average of .313, which is especially impressive considering his inconsistencies and seasons where he hit poorly. Off the field, Fournier was often a violent man, being charged for assault numerous times. Overall, Fournier was a very good hitter in many seasons in the major leagues, but was also one of the worst fielders in MLB history.
Leslie Mann identifies the player in Slide 26 as Jack Fournier on page 8 of his manual titled the Fundamentals of Baseball.
Good condition;
This digital image is made from two separate digital scans; one scan of the lantern slide (reflective); one scan of the image (transparency); the two images were then combined in Photoshop to create the final image.
Lantern slide from the Leslie Mann baseball instruction course, "The Fundamentals of Baseball"
Greene, Nelson. "Jack Fournier." Society for American Baseball Research, [https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/81af331c. Accessed 10 Oct. 2017]. _Internet Archive_. [https://web.archive.org/web/20171010183045/https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/81af331c]
Identifier:
LANT-BSBL-026-03
026