Thomas Francis Michael "Tommy" McCarthy, 2nd Base, Philadelphia, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887

This is Thomas Francis Michael "Tommy" McCarthy, 2nd Base, Philadelphia, a small card from the Old Judge series for Old Judge Cigarettes, produced by Goodwin & Company in 1887. Consider the world in which this card was made: the late 19th century, an era of burgeoning industrial capitalism and intense social stratification. Baseball emerged as a national pastime, offering a space for working-class men, often immigrants like McCarthy, to achieve a kind of heroic status. Yet, this image, mass-produced and circulated with cigarettes, also speaks to the commodification of the human body. McCarthy's Irish heritage places him in a complex position, navigating the opportunities and prejudices of his time. These cards are more than just baseball memorabilia, they're artifacts of a society grappling with questions of identity, class, and the rise of consumer culture. While baseball offered a field of dreams, it also reflected the hard realities of its time.