Milton Douglas "Buck" West, 1st Base, Minneapolis, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1889

This 1889 photograph of Milton Douglas "Buck" West, a baseball player for Minneapolis, was made by Goodwin & Company as an advertisement for Old Judge Cigarettes. Its intention was to associate smoking with sporting prowess. The image, created in a burgeoning era for professional baseball in the United States, presents West in his uniform holding a bat, a heroic stance for the modern age. The "M" emblazoned on his shirt identifies him with Minneapolis, fostering local pride and a sense of community through baseball fandom. Produced by a cigarette company, this card reflects the commercialization of sport, where players and their images became commodities to promote consumer products. Studying photographs such as these allows us to examine the historical relationship between sport, commerce, and identity in the United States. Primary source documents, such as newspapers, advertisements, and company records, provide additional layers of understanding about the social conditions that gave rise to this form of cultural production.