Let’s Stay in the Dead Ball Era! Vintage Photo of 1913 White Sox in Front of Hotel Oakland!

According to a newspaper account Don found with the photo, this was the “1st team” and was managed by Jimmy “Nixey” Callahan; while the “2nd team,” which included regulars such as Eddie Cicotte, Jim “Death Valley” Scott, Doc White, Reb Russell, Jack Fournier, and Ping Bodie, was managed by Kid Gleason. 

As fans of the Dead Ball Era, we always enjoy trying to figure out who the players are. Don and I worked on the names. We couldn’t get them all, but we got a bunch:

L-R: Unknown, Frank Lange, Unknown, maybe Babe Borton, Harry Lord, Pop-Boy Smith, Morrie Rath, Big Ed Walsh (HOF), George Mogridge, John “Shano” Collins, Jimmy Johnson, “Butcher Boy” Joe Benz, Red Kuhn, Trainer Bill “Doc” Buckner. In the car is Ray “Cracker’ Schalk.

Here’s a couple interesting observations:

• Check out the neat team bus, vintage 1913. On the door it says: “ACME Auto Taxi Car.”
• Ironically, Morrie Rath was the Reds’ batter hit by Eddie Cicotte in the 1919 Black Sox World Series as Cicotte’s signal to gamblers that the “fix was on.”
• George Mogridge went on to have a 15-year major league career, with some decent years with the Yankees, Senators, and Braves, including a win in the 1924 World Series for the World Champion Senators.
• Shano Collins and Ray Schalk were still with the team at the time of the infamous 1919 “Black Sox” scandal, but they were always considered clean.
• Hall-of-Famers in the photo are Ray Schalk and Big Ed Walsh. 
• Trainer Doc Buckner was one of the first African-American trainers in the game.
• Not sure who the little girl is, possibly a child of Ed Walsh.

Gary Livacari