Pete Gillespie, Left Field, New York, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887 - 1890

Goodwin & Company produced this photograph of Pete Gillespie, a left fielder for New York, as part of the Old Judge series of baseball cards, which were included in cigarette packs. It was a time when the burgeoning popularity of baseball intertwined with the aggressive marketing of tobacco. Gillespie, caught mid-motion, embodies the physicality and grace associated with the sport, yet it's crucial to remember that the narrative of baseball at this time often excluded people of color. While players like Gillespie were becoming public figures, the color line was firmly drawn, reinforcing racial segregation. The photograph, then, is a complex artifact, celebrating an individual achievement within a system of inequality. The commercial nature of the image—an advertisement for cigarettes—reminds us of the powerful forces shaping leisure and consumption in the late 19th century. Consider, as you look at Gillespie, the stories of those whose opportunities were unjustly limited.