Photography & Ephemera

[BASEBALL]. CLARKE, Fred C. (1872-1960). Autographed response form to Chicago Cubs photographer George Brace. Chicago: October 15, 1938. 1 page (279 x 216 mm). Folds visible. Tears at edges, Soiling. Chicago Cubs photographer George Brace requests Mr. Clarke fill in the names of some of his old teammates for his personal records. Signed by George Brace. Clarke has filled in the names of eight of his former teammates, seemingly unable to recall the rest, and adds a handwritten note in pencil at the bottom which reads, “The check above is all I can remember / Yours truly / Fred C. Clarke.” Fred C. Clarke began his career with the Louisville Colonels in 1894 and in his first game for the team collected five hits in five at bats, a record still unbroken in Major League Baseball. Three years later he assumed manager duties in addition to playing, and when he joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1900 he filled the same roles. Of the nine pennants won in the history of the Pirates franchise, Clarke was player-manager for four of them. George Brace became a baseball photographer at the tender age of 16 after being taken on as an apprentice to a photographer who had been contracted to photograph the Chicago Cubs. Over the course of a career lasting 65 years Brace witnessed Babe Ruth’s legendary called shot and photographed Jackie Robinson during his debut season with the Brooklyn Dodgers, as well as construction of the scoreboard and bleachers along with the installation of the famed ivy at Wrigley Field.