Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide, No. 51

Item Information

Title:
Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide, No. 51
Description:
Edd Roush, an outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, stands to the left side of home plate in the batter's box at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio. An unidentified pitcher has thrown the ball to home plate. Roush is preparing to swing at the baseball as it is in the air moving towards him from the pitcher's mound. Roush's left heal is off the ground with his toe planted as his front right foot remains firmly planted on the ground.
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 fields
Baseballs
Roush, Edd J.
Cincinnati Reds
Batting
Batting Stance
Batting Swing
Pitching
Crosley Field, Cincinnati, Ohio
Link to Item:
https://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16122coll10/id/242
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:
Roush is demonstrating a correct batting stance that batters should follow when attempting to hit a baseball. Roush has moved both of his arms away from his body, which will allow him to have a complete, natural, free swing on the baseball. Both of Roush's arms are in the positions of right angles. The bat is not resting on his shoulders, but is instead positioned behind him away from his body. All of these techniques will allow Roush to have a natural, complete swing on the baseball which will maximize his chances for success. Roush is also demonstrating the correct batting stance since he has begun to lift his back left foot off the ground. After stepping forward slightly with his front foot, Roush has now begun to lift his back foot up in the air, pivoting off of it and hitting the baseball as he steps forward with this back foot. This is important because once Roush makes contact with the baseball, he is already in the process of transitioning from hitting to running as his back foot coming forward would be his first step towards first base. Roush would step forward with that foot and then begin his process of running immediately after making contact with the baseball. This is essential because it would minimize the time it took for Roush to reach first base, which could be the difference in him arriving safely or having the throw beat him to first base.
Edd J. Roush was born May 8, 1893 in Oakland City, Indiana. The J was his actual middle name, standing for both his grandparents since both of their names started with J. Roush played for the Chicago White Sox in 1913 before being farmed out. Angered at this, Roush joined the Federal League, but joined the New York Giants in 1916 after its demise. Roush didn't get along with John McGraw, the manager, and was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 1916. Roush spent the next ten years on the Reds, consistently hitting well and winning two batting titles. Roush had a batting average of .350 between 1921 and 1924. He was a member of the 1919 World Series championship win by the Reds, a series in controversy because of the White Sox scandal. Roush returned to the Giants in 1926, but he didn't want to play for the Giants. However, McGraw said he had regretted trading him and had always wanted him to play for him, so Roush stayed. He returned to the Reds for one final season in 1931 before retiring. Roush will be remembered for many things he did. For example, Roush rarely attended spring training, and instead worked out on his farm and returned right before the season started. Roush also was never afraid to negotiate contracts if he felt he was being treated unfairly. He was also known for his ability to throw a baseball with both his left and right hand, but would always throw with his left hand because it was stronger. Unlike most players, Roush knew how to invest and save his money, allowing him to retire and not have to get another job, like most baseball players. Roush was one of the most consistent hitters and outstanding defenders in a period of baseball where there was a lot of inconsistency. Along with this, Roush was incredibly fast, which may be why he was chosen by Mann to demonstrate proper base running techniques. Roush was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, and is often considered one of the greatest players in Cincinnati Reds history.
Leslie Mann identifies the player in Slide 51 as Edd Roush on page 16 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"
Sandoval, Jim. "Edd Roush." Society for American Baseball Research, [ https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/26fd7901 ]. Accessed 6 Feb. 2018. ___Internet Archive___. [ http://web.archive.org/web/20180206153542/https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/26fd7901].
Identifier:
LANT-BSBL-051-03
051