Timothy John "Tim" Keefe, Pitcher, New York, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887

This is a baseball card of Timothy John “Tim” Keefe, a pitcher for New York, made by Goodwin & Company in 1887 as part of the Old Judge Cigarettes series. These cards emerged during a period of industrial expansion and rising consumer culture. They were originally intended as a promotional item, slipped into cigarette packs, and reflect the growing popularity of baseball as a professional sport. This card is more than just a portrait of an athlete. It represents the commodification of sports figures and the intertwining of advertising with leisure. Keefe, standing confidently, becomes an emblem of masculine prowess, and the card participates in constructing his identity as both a sportsman and a public figure. The distribution of these cards helped to establish archetypes of celebrity. However, these cards also underscore questions of labor, ownership, and the economics of fame, as athletes' images were used to promote products without always compensating them fairly.