Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide, No. 223

Item Information

Title:
Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide, No. 223
Description:
Del Gainer, a first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, stands with his right foot touching the edge of second base as his body faces towards first base at Sportsman Park in St. Louis, Missouri. Gainer has brought his arm across his body in order to throw the baseball towards first base.
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
Baseballs
Baseball fields
Gainer, Dellas Clinton
St. Louis Cardinals
Fielding--Second base
Sportsman Park, St. Louis, Missouri
Link to Item:
https://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16122coll10/id/229
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:
Gainer is demonstrating the proper positioning for a second baseman or shortstop when they stand on second base in an attempt to turn a double play. Gainer's right foot is placed on the middle edge in front of the base, meaning that his foot is in front of second base and is barely touching it. He would pivot upon his right foot as he steps forward and throws the ball to first base. Gainer's foot is beginning to lift off the ground as he prepares to step forward and throw the baseball. Gainer's positioning is correct because his left foot is to the side of the base, meaning that Gainer's body isn't located directly in front of second base. If both of Gainer's feet were in front of second base, then Gainer would have to worry more about the incoming baserunner sliding into him, which could hurt either Gainer or the baserunner. In this slide, Gainer's body isn't located directly in front of the base, so as Gainer throws, he can pivot his right foot so that it moves to the side of the base rather than directly in front of it. This would allow Gainer's foot to avoid an incoming baserunner. Also, it would allow Gainer to throw the ball to the side of the baserunner, who would be running towards second base. Gainer has done a good job at positioning his body so that he can tag second base and then pivot so that he can make a comfortable throw to first base without hitting the incoming baserunner. This would maximize the chances of Gainer completing a double play.
Dellas Clinton Gainer was born November 10, 1886 in Montrose, West Virginia. Gainer began his baseball career in 1909, playing Class D ball in the Pennsylvania-West Virginia League. From the beginning of his career, Gainer was known as being an excellent bunter, which may be why Mann chose Gainer to demonstrate many of the bunting slides he created. He played a couple games for the Detroit Tigers at the end of the 1909 season after the team had clinched the Pennant, and was sent to a Class B Central League in 1910 to be farmed out. He returned to the Tigers in 1911 and played with them through most of the 1914 season. However, his time with the Tigers was plagued by injuries, as he broke his wrist in 1911 and badly sprained his ankle in 1912. Gainer played more in 1913, but was a disappointment and missed some time due to repeated minor injuries. Gainer was traded to the Boston Red Sox in 1914, but was immediately injured. The Red Sox tried to get rid of him, but no one wanted him. He remained with the Red Sox until 1917, mainly being used as a utility backup player. However, in 1916, Gainer had his career defining moment as he drove in the game winning run in the bottom of the 14th inning in game 2 of the World Series. He was a member of the 1915 and 1916 World Series championship wins for the Red Sox. Gainer joined the navy for World War 1 in 1918, and spent most of the next 10 years playing baseball in the minor leagues, expect for in 1922 when he played for the St. Louis Cardinals. Gainer played into his 40's in these minor leagues. After retiring, Gainer became a Deputy US Marshal.
I used facial recognition and similar slides to identify the player in slide 223 as Gainer.
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"
Nowlin, Bill. "Del Gainer." Society for American Baseball Research, [ https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/0b74e2be ]. Accessed 30 Jan. 2018. ___Internet Archive___. [ http://web.archive.org/web/20180130152528/https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/0b74e2be ].
Identifier:
LANT-BSBL-223-03
223