Large and detailed photograph from 1916 showing star pitcher from the Chicago White Sox Claude "Lefty" Williams looking pensive in uniform at the ballpark. He would first go to the Sox in 1916 (when this photo was taken) and bust onto the scene in 1917 and go 17-8 on his way to a World Championship. Two years later as we all know would end very differently for Williams. At 23-11, he was perhaps the best pitcher on one of the greatest teams ever assembled, the 1919 Chicago White Sox. Gamblers would get to him and seven of his teammates leaving us all to wonder what would have happened to Williams had he resisted temptation and played to win. A career that was definitely on the rise and only 27 years old when he was kicked out of baseball, we could have been looking at a Hall of Famer. Instead he would play some outlaw ball for a few years, drink heavily and finally run a garden nursery in California before dying in 1959, a forgotten man. A sad tale with this photo being a poignant reminder of the tragic tale of the 1919 Chicago "Black Sox". Photograph is an incredible portrait with deep tones and a haunting stare from the subject, it presents well with some editorial markings from publication and a crease on the upper right (also a chip on the lower right) and some scattered pinholes from editorial use. The image has a file stamp of 1919 but a note from the newspaper that this was actually a 1916 photograph on file before it was used mid-season during the Black Sox year. One of the finest early images of Williams we have ever handled and almost certainly a unique survivor!

Size: 6.5x9.5
Designation: Vintage 1
Condition: 1/5
Quality: 5/5
Overall Grade: 6/10