From 1929 through 1951 photographer, George Burke made it his mission to record the image of every single ballplayer who passed through the major leagues. As he was based in Chicago, this was an achievable task as teams in both leagues called the city home. Almost every game saw Burke or one of his assistants roaming the field during batting practice snapping the picture of every new face they encountered. Burke’s vast archive grew to monumental proportions and many of his pictures gained iconic status through their use on baseball cards, newspapers and magazines.
This amazing collection assembles hundreds of original George Burke prints. Out of the 351 gorgeous 4" by 6" photographs, 49 depict Hall of Famers: Rogers Hornsby, Dizzy Dean, Mickey Cochran, Mel Ott, Casey Stengel, Tony Lazzeri, Joe McCarthy, Joe Medwick, Red Ruffing, Hack Wilson, Frankie Frisch, Herb Pennock, (2) Dazzy Vance, Earle Combs, Joe Cronin, Kiki Cuyler, Leo Durocher, Goose Goslin, Gabby Hartnett, Ted Lyons, Rabbit Maranville, Earl Averill, Dave Bancroft, Phil Rizzuto, Al Simmons, and more - a who’s who of 1930’s baseball. And despite number of stars found in the collection, the real treasure are the un-sung ball players who made baseball’s Golden Era so memorable: Johnny Vander Meer of the back-to-back no-hitters is here in a beautiful action shot; there’s "Bullfrog" Bill Dietrich, PCL star Nick Etten, Blimp Phelps, Torpedo Mills, Paul "Daffy" Dean, Vince DiMaggio, and the Mancuso brothers; plus Jimmy Dykes, Johnny Murphy, Johnny Pesky, Red Rolfe, and Len Koenecke and Willard Hershberger--both of whom met untimely deaths during the season.
Every shot has Wrigley Field or Comiskey Park as a backdrop and offer a quaint look into what big league baseball looked like eight decades ago. Most of the photos have Burke's “847 Belmont” address stamp on the back along with his typed catalogue numbers and player identification. The photos are in protective sheets housed in three 3-ring binders.