William Waterfield "Wild Bill" Widner, Pitcher, Cleveland, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1889

This card, created by Goodwin & Company, features William "Wild Bill" Widner in his baseball uniform. The stance of the figure – weight shifted, one arm raised, the gaze concentrated – echoes that of classical sculptures of athletes and warriors, capturing a moment of potential energy. Consider the act of throwing, here immortalized. It is a gesture of offering, yet also of controlled force. We see resonances of this reaching back to antiquity, like the discus throwers of ancient Greece or the sower in Millet’s paintings. This gesture transcends the specifics of baseball; it speaks to something deeply human, a will to project, to send forth. The motif reappears in religious contexts; the act of bestowing a blessing, or even the depiction of Christ casting seeds, resonates with similar cultural meaning. The image evokes the emotional and psychological connections across different times and places. It’s a cycle, a human story retold across time.