HUGE 1902 Baseball Team Photo Allen NY Albumen Start Price USD 238.50 Current Price USD 238.50 Time Left 13 days 18 hours 14 minutes Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Thursday, October 23, 2008 End Time Wednesday, January 21, 2009 Location Rochester, NY See more about 'HUGE 1902 Baseball Team Photo Allen NY Albumen' Description SUPER Nice old ORIGINAL Photograph     HUGE - Measures 20 x 14 1/2 inches   ca 1902      Allen, New York   Fresh from local estate!       >> SEE the other baseball photo I am listing tonight. Wow - a very nice and RARE old Photo. Vintage, Antique, old, Original - NOT a Reproduction - Guaranteed!! Fresh from a local estate near Corfu / Batavia, NY, this is a beauty! Nice pose of this team, with Allen written on uniform, hat, gloves on, baseball bats, baseballs, etc. LARGE! Would look great framed. This photo came with another I have listed. ON back in writing, says: J. Will these pictures to Paul Sydnow, son of Rudolph Sydnow, A.J. Selle. The other photo I have listed came from Coruf / Pembroke area. This one says Allen, and I believe from Allen NY - Allegany County. In good to very good condition. Edges of back-matting a bit bumped, as expected. See photo below. NOTE: Looks better than shown in photo below - more clear, etc. If you collect early 20th century Americana photography history, sports, early baseball, etc.,  this is a real nice one for your paper / ephemera collection.  Perhaps some genealogy importance for someone as well. Get this one while you can! Winning bidder pays 8.50 s/h in US, insurance is extra, international s/h is more. No reserve Good luck bidding. Combine Shipping on multiple bid wins! Click the button to see my other items->->   The History of baseball in the United States can be traced to the 18th century, when amateurs played a baseball-like game by their own informal rules using improvised equipment. The popularity of the sport inspired the semi and fully professional baseball clubs in the 1860s. By the following decade, American newspapers were referring to baseball as the "National Pastime" or the "National Game." The first attempt at forming a "major league" produced the National Association, which lasted from 1871 to 1875. In response to the shortcomings of the National Association, the current National League was formed in 1876. After a series of rival leagues were organized but failed, the current American league, evolving from the minor Western League of 1893, was established in 1901. In the early part of the 20th century, known as the "dead-ball era," baseball rules and equipment favored the "inside game" and the game was played more violently and aggressively than it is today. This period ended in the 1920s with several changes that gave advantages to hitters. In the largest parks, the outfield fences were brought closer to the infield. In addition, the strict enforcement of new rules governing the size, shape and construction of the ball caused it to travel farther when hit. The first professional black baseball club, the Cuban Giants, was organized in 1885. Subsequent professional black baseball clubs played each other independently, without an official league to organize the sport. Rube Foster, a former ballplayer, founded the Negro National League in 1920. A second league, the Eastern Colored League, was established in 1923. These became known as the Negro Leagues. The Negro National League did well until 1930, but folded during the great depression. From 1942 to 1948 the Negro League World Series was revived. This was the golden era of Negro League baseball, a time when it produced some of its greatest stars. In 1947, Jackie Robinson signed a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking the color barrier that had prevented talented African American players from entering the white-only major leagues. Although the transformation was not instantaneous, baseball has since become fully integrated. In 1948, the Negro Leagues faced financial difficulties that effectively ended their existence. Pitchers dominated the game in the 1960s and early 1970s. In 1973 the designated hitter (DH) rule was adopted by the American League, while in the National League pitchers still bat for themselves to this day. The DH rule now constitutes the primary difference between the two leagues. During the late 1960s, the Baseball Players Union became much stronger and conflicts between owners and the players' union led to major work stoppages in 1972, 1981, and 1994. The 1994 baseball strike led to the cancellation of the World Series, and was not settled until the spring of 1995. In the wake of the 1994 players' strike, functions that had been administered separately by the two major leagues' administrations were united under the rubric of Major League Baseball.         Place a Bid!