cuban giants, 1903

As a follow-up to John Thorn’s essay about the small Catskills resort community of Fleischmanns, New York, and its turn-of-the-century semipro team, the Mountain Athletic Club, John also sent this amazing photograph of the 1903 Cuban Giants (who played the Mountain Tourists on August 10 of that year). 

Based on other photos (including this one, of the 1902 Cuban Giants), we can identify most of the players, as follows:

Standing L to R: Eddie Day, John M. Bright, Bill Galloway.

Seated, middle row: Lem Williams, unknown, John “Pop” Watkins, Wallace Gordon, William Kelley.

Seated, front row: “Toad” Satterfield, John García, Nate Harris, Clarence “Clem” Sampson.

The player I have identified as Galloway here also looks a little bit like the pitcher Abbott (no first name yet known), shown here in another Cuban Giants team photo:

Whereas here are a couple of photos of Galloway:

 

And here is a closeup of the guy in the 1903 Cuban Giants photo above:

Abbott seems to have joined the Cubans late in 1903, whereas Galloway was a regular all year long, so he would seem the likelier candidate.

Aside from that, the only unidentified player left is the guy sitting in the middle row between Williams and Watkins holding the ball, which was a common pose for pitchers in team photos at the time.  In the box scores you can find, in addition to the players already identified, pitchers named Jones and Brown, so they would be the top candidates for now.

Lemuel Russell Williams, by the way, first joined the Cuban Giants that year (1903), probably at the behest of fellow Geneva, Ohio, resident Wallace Gordon.  After his baseball career he returned to Ohio and in the 1920s played an important role helping to organize the Tate Stars and other Cleveland Negro league clubs.  (His biographical information at the Seamheads DB hasn’t been updated yet, but will be soon.)

Comments

[John Thorn]

Yup, the photo was taken at Fleischmanns on the day of the game referenced in "Mangled Forms," August 10, 1903.

[Gary Ashwill]

Thanks for the information on Abbott! No idea when the Cuban Giants photo was taken, though I can ask John. It does look like it could have been at Fleischmanns.

[JR]

The pic of Abbott is very interesting. It seems like there is something wrong with his left eye. By the way, the 1903 Cuban Giants picture is fantastic. Was it taken on August 10? The background certainly suggests that it was.

[JR]

Abbott = James (Jim) Isaac Abbott, born 12/15/1884. In December of 1923, Abbott accidentally shot and killed a man in Pittsfield, MA (where he seems to have made his home). Interestingly, his WW1 draft card notes that he had an eye injury that could disqualify him from serving.