Favorite Cards: Philadelphia Quakers

1887 Kalamazoo Bats N690 #20 - Jim Fogarty, James McGuire

Despite the wording on the card, McGuire is the one catching and Fogarty is batting.

The Quakers are today's Phillies. The Quakers name was used from 1883 until 1889. The Phillies name appeared in 1884 and took over fully in 1890. The Phillies name is short for Philadelphias, so in essence, the team is known as the Philadelphia Philadelphias.

What makes this card so striking is the use of photography that doesn't look like it was shot in a studio. The majority of cards from this period were very obviously staged inside a studio. This picture, while still staged appears to be taken inside either Recreation Park or the brand new (in 1887) Baker Bowl.

Either way, it offers a fascinating look at players in their element, at a time where photography of this nature was rare on a baseball card. This time period usually produced the previously mentioned studio shots or painted pictures on tobacco cards.

Cards measure 2¼” by 4″ and are on thick cardboard. The set is unnumbered, but the cards are unofficially numbered by alphabetical order, as usual with unnumbered cards. Players shown in the set are from New York and Philadelphia only. Backs can be found blank or with advertising.

I am a sucker for any photograph of players in uniform and inside their parks from the 1970s and earlier. It's a revelation that photographs of this nature exist from the nineteenth century. This is my favorite example of a Philadelphia Quakers card.