Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide, No. 236

Item Information

Title:
Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide, No. 236
Description:
Rabbit Maranville, a shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates, stands in foul territory at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as he holds his glove out in front of him slightly around head level while keeping his feet spread shoulder width apart. There is an unidentified ramp in the background located behind him.
Creator:
Mann, Leslie
Date:
1922
Format:
Photographs
Location:
Springfield College Archives and Special Collections
Collection (local):
Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide Collection
Subjects:
Baseball
Baseball caps
Baseball fields
Maranville, Walter James Vincent
Pittsburgh Pirates
Fielding--Fly Balls
Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Link to Item:
https://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16122coll10/id/145
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:
Maranville is demonstrating the correct way for fielders to field fly balls that are not hit directly over their head. For whatever reason, Maranville wasn't able to judge the exact location of the fly ball hit towards him. Some fly balls are more difficult to judge than others. For example, fly balls hit really high up in the air are easiest to judge than those fly balls that are more hit on a line drive. If possible, Maranville should attempt to position himself directly under the fly ball like in lantern slide 235, but this isn't always possible to do. In this slide, Maranville's body is behind the actual location of the baseball, so Maranville has appropriately adjusted his body in order to catch the fly ball. Maranville has brought his glove forward to the location of the baseball in order to catch it, while maintaining eye contact with the ball in order to ensure that the baseball lands in the pocket of his glove and that he doesn't drop the baseball. Maranville has also brought his left foot forward, which will allow him to maintain his balance when he catches the fly ball.
Walter James Vincent Maranville was born November 11, 1891, in Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1911, while playing shortstop in a semipro circuit, he was signed to a contract with the New Bedford Whalers of the New England League. In 1912, while playing in this league, the daughter of a family he was friends with gave him the nickname Rabbit, which would stick throughout the rest of his life. In 1912, he was purchased by the Boston Braves, who were known as the Boston Nationals at the time. He gained fame for the peculiar way he chose to catch fly balls. He settled under the ball unconcerned and didn't raise his hands in the air above his head. He would then place his glove at waist level and would let the baseball fall into his glove. This, of course, was interesting and dangerous as the ball could land on his head unprotected, but was also a very successful method for Maranville. He became the starter for the Braves in 1913, and was part of the Miracle Boston Braves 1914 season. Maranville was known for his fielding, and formed one of the most formidable duos with Johnny Evers from 1914-1917 on the Braves, with Evers as the second baseman and Maranville as the shortstop. In fact, in 1914, Maranville finished second in the MVP voting only behind his teammate Evers. When the Braves were making their comeback run on the chase for the Pennant, Maranville hit a walk-off homerun against Babe Adams on August 6th in the bottom of the tenth inning, despite being hungover from the night before. Maranville admitted to Adams years later he never saw the ball and the home run had been complete luck. Maranville was not a power hitter, and thrived in the Dead Ball era because of this and his exceptional fielding. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1921, playing with them until 1924 before moving to the Chicago Cubs and Brooklyn Dodgers. Throughout his life, Maranville was an alcoholic, but he quit in 1927 to continue playing baseball, joining the St. Louis Cardinals in 1928 and returning to the Braves in 1929. He became a connection between the Deadball Era and the new Live Ball Era of baseball upon his return. Maranville played into his 40's, but he broke his ankle in 1934 when sliding into home plate, which would end his career. He attempted to come back in 1935, but played in only 23 games. Maranville died when he was 63 from coronary sclerosis. His death occurred a few weeks before he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Leslie Mann identifies the player in slide 236 as Walter Maranville on page 44 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 (transparecy); 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"
Leyden, Dick. "Rabbit Maranville." Society for American Baseball Research, [ sabr.org/bioproj/person/ba80106d ]. Accessed 21 Mar. 2018. ___Internet Archive___. [http://web.archive.org/web/20180321161211/http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/ba80106d] .
Identifier:
LANT-BSBL-236-03
236