George Edward "Stump" Wiedman, Pitcher, Detroit Wolverines, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887

This is a baseball card from the Old Judge series, made by Goodwin & Company in 1887, featuring George Edward "Stump" Wiedman, a pitcher for the Detroit Wolverines. These cards were originally included in packs of Old Judge Cigarettes, reflecting a time when tobacco companies used popular sports figures to market their products. Wiedman, a prominent athlete of his era, is presented here as a symbol of American masculinity and sporting prowess. His confident stance, holding a baseball bat, would have resonated with a public eager to embrace heroes during a period of rapid industrial and social change. But what does it mean to package this image with a known carcinogen? And to do so at a time when medical knowledge was not commonly shared? These images and their mode of distribution ask us to consider the ethics of commerce, celebrity, and health. This baseball card serves as a window into late 19th-century America, capturing its obsessions, aspirations, and the complex relationships between commerce, identity, and public perception.