Welch and Gleason, Philadelphia Athletics, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1888

This small card, made by Goodwin & Company around 1888, presents baseball players Welch and Gleason, a seemingly simple scene laden with deeper significance. Note the bent figure of one player, his hand touching the base. This act of reaching, of grounding oneself, echoes through centuries. Consider the ancient gesture of touching the earth, a symbol of connection to the maternal, to the foundational forces of life itself. In this baseball card, it speaks to the player’s desire to secure his position, to claim his territory on the field, evoking a primal, almost subconscious drive. This reaching isn't just about baseball; it’s a repetition of human striving, a reaching back to something fundamental. Like the supplicant figures in religious art, or the hero grasping for victory, the baseball player’s gesture taps into our collective memory of struggle and triumph. It is the emotional charge of this act – the strain, the hope, the groundedness – that resonates with us. Thus, the symbol transforms, carrying echoes of ancient rituals into the modern arena of sport, reminding us that the past is never truly gone, but subtly informs our present.