In the process of taking a photograph of Jim Delahanty at Hilltop Park in 1910, Charles Conlon got more than he bargained for. Standing just a few feet away and captured in uniform from head to toe appears to be young hit king Ty Cobb! If the figure of Cobb alone was blown up, it would be one of his greatest Conlon images we have ever seen, it is actually really good. What we have is a beautiful photograph that Conlon took of Jim Delahanty in uniform, but with all due respect to Jim, Cobb in the background is the gem here and the significance of a 1910 Cobb photo by Conlon (even if not the primary subject) can not be overstated! This image then got us thinking, how many times would Conlon have shown up at Hilltop Park each year to take images of opposing teams? Our guess is probably just once, maybe twice. It stands to reason then that this photo of Cobb might have been taken on the same day and just hours before Conlon took the most famous photograph in baseball history. There is no way of knowing this of course, but it is fun to think about and has a high likelihood of being true!
Size: 8x10
Designation: Vintage 1
Condition: 2.5/5
Quality: 5/5
Overall Grade: 7.5/10