Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide, No. 97

Item Information

Title:
Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide, No. 97
Description:
Branch Rickey, the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, stands in his normal coaching position at third base before the pitcher throws the baseball. He stands inside the third base batter's coaching box with his hands on his knees, prepared to make any decisions for his incoming baserunners.
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
Baseball fields
Rickey, Wesley Branch
St. Louis Cardinals
Coaching
Base Running
Coaching Signals
Sportsman Park, St. Louis, Missouri
Link to Item:
https://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16122coll10/id/87
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:
Because of the way Rickey is standing, it is apparent that there is a baserunner on second base. Rickey wouldn't need to be this focused on the field before a baseball is thrown otherwise. For example, if a player on his team like Rogers Hornsby was batting and no one was on base, Rickey could look forward at Hornsby because he doesn't have to worry about any baserunners. The first base coach will guide Hornsby to first and second base, and the baserunner becomes Rickey's responsibility only when they hit second base. Most players, especially in this era, were not big power hitters, and even in baseball today, triples are rare. If the player hits a home run, they obviously wouldn't need any coaching, so the only reason Rickey needs to be so prepared is if there is a runner on first or second base. The coach at third base shoulders the responsibility of the base runners, and judges their appropriate course of actions based on what he sees on the field. He has to keep everything in mind and make a decision about what the baserunner should do in different scenarios. Rickey therefore prepares to possibly make a decision about whether a baserunner should run, slide or stay by gazing onto the field and judging the locations of the players on the field.
Wesley Branch Rickey was born December 20, 1881, in Flat, Ohio. He was named after John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist religion, and he lived in a deeply religious household. He went to Ohio Wesleyan University, becoming a coach at the college, and briefly played in the Major Leagues, appearing in 120 games over four seasons. However, Rickey’s appearances were brief since he refused to play baseball on Sundays because of his religion and since he also refused to play until he finished his college coaching duties. In addition to this, he was known as a poor hitter and an even worse catcher. His poor arm resulted in the Washington Senators stealing 13 consecutive bases when he was the catcher. Rickey eventually gave up during the game and didn't even attempt to throw the baseball to the base that the runners were attempting to steal. After almost dying from a severe case of tuberculosis, Rickey went to law school and received a degree, but only had one client and accepted a job as a general manager and scout for the St. Louis Browns. Rickey moved to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1917 becoming president and manager, but gave up the presidency shortly after receiving it. Rickey was not a good manager for the team, as they struggled tremendously with him until he was removed in 1925. His ability to manage was questioned even more since Rogers Hornsby led the team to the Pennant in 1926 as a player coach. Rickey, however, thrived in the front office throughout the rest of his career, remaining with the Cardinals until the early 1940's. He is most famously known however for signing Jackie Robinson, the first African American baseball player, to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945. Overall, Rickey is in the Hall of Fame today partly because of his front office abilities but mainly due to being responsible for the signing of Jackie Robinson and breaking the color barrier, despite a poor baseball coaching and playing career.
Leslie Mann uses a coach to demonstrate the coaching techniques in lantern slides 97-100. In slides 98-100, the player's face is more identifiable and it appears to be Branch Rickey. Also, at the beginning of his manual titled the Fundamentals of Baseball on page 3, Mann lists all the players who appear in his manual and Rickey and Sugden are the only coaches. The player is clearly not Sugden based on facial recognition, most likely making it Rickey.
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 image were then combined in Photoshop to create the final image.
Lantern slide from the Leslie Mann baseball instruction course, "The Fundamentals of Baseball"
McCue, Andy. "Branch Rickey." Society for American Baseball Research, [ https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/6d0ab8f3] . Accessed 5 Mar. 2018. ___Internet Archive___. [ http://web.archive.org/web/20180305181504/https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/6d0ab8f3 ].
Identifier:
LANT-BSBL-097-03
097