1919 Completely unique new discovery showing the crowd and photographers on the first base-line at Redlands field, ready for the start of the first game of the World Series between the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago White Sox. The Series would go down in history as the most famous of all time, for all the wrong reasons. At this exact moment, there was a buzz in the air of anticipation as the game was about to start. Both teams are listed on the scoreboard and the fans and photographers have swarmed the field to take pictures and prepare for the battle. In film footage of the pre-game, you can match the signs and even some of the groups of people that in this image, including the kids with their coats laid over a fence on the first base sideline and the signs over the walls at the top of the image. This is the first time this photograph has been offered for sale and it comes fresh out of a scrapbook with 4-5 other images from the series that will all be listed here in separate lots, but together in one auction for provenance. It is important to mention also that the scrapbook itself was featured in a Ken Burns documentary on Jack Johnson as it also has images of the Heavyweight Champion in the book and also important that this image was taken by a black fan who attended the games from Chicago and was a member of the White Sox Rooters! The photo is crystal clear and will get a Type 1 from PSA with ease, showing even smallest details in its silver gelatin production. There is a small scissor mark at the top left from when the image was cut to a smaller size to fit into the scrapbook, but it would otherwise be in perfect condition. In purely its historical context, this is one of the most important baseball images we have ever offered!

Size: 2.75x5.5
Designation: Vintage 1
Condition: 4/5
Quality: 5/5
Overall Grade: 9/10