Help w/ vintage photo - Baseball or Football or?

[kjjavic]

Hello all,

I just came across this vintage photo. The photo is 5 x 7 is mounted to a board. What sport do you think this is? Also, what era? I am not that great at dating. The young men are wearing turtlenecked jerseys, so I would assume it was a cold weathered sport, and thus I guessed it is football. I guess it could be anything. The pants and footwear don't look like football at all. What do you think about time frame? I was thinking 1890's?.
Also most of the jerseys appear to have a B, on them but the woman? in the right middle row appears to have more of a D on the jersey. One child is wearing a sweater with RIEN A. C. I cant make out the possible letter before the R.

Lastly there is writing on the left side of the photo (on the left border). It actually looks like the photographer wrote it on the negative or something because it is written backwards on the photo. It is very difficult to make out, but after photoshopping it, reversing it, and messing with contrast, I can make out the 2nd of the 2 words, and it is "Buckis".
I was hoping the writing would be a location, or team name or something, but instead I am guessing its the photographers signature.

Any help/opinions would be greatly appreciated. thanks guys, KJ

[vintagesportscollector]

Re: Help w/ vintage photo - Baseball or Football or?

1890s seems like a good guess. The attire doesn't look like football or baseball, so it may not be either of those two. If they are athletic sweaters could be anything. May not even be an athletic team. Possibly a fraternity? Another guess could be Rowing...sitting in front of the boat house?? Rowing was a very big sport back then. Didn't the rowers get all the babes in the 1890s?

[mjkm90]

Re: Help w/ vintage photo - Baseball or Football or?

Probably not baseball or football. No padding, laces, or collars. Joe me be correct about crew.

Mike H.

[kjjavic]

Re: Help w/ vintage photo - Baseball or Football or?

On the vintage baseball card forum, hockey and lacrosse were suggested as possiblities. What do you think?

Also, What letter do you think lies on the players sweaters? I am not good at all with this type of vintage font. The woman appears to be wearing a D. Do you think the men are wearing a B? or a D?

The child's sweater appears to read RIEN, with a letter in the beginning and a letter at the end which is unreadable. Playing with letter combinations, one possible city I came up with was ORIENT. Orient is a city in Maine. That would fit with the East coast building look as well as the hockey/lacrosse team, but I don't see how that fits with the lettering on the sweaters.

KJ

[vintagesportscollector]

Re: Help w/ vintage photo - Baseball or Football or?

Could be hockey or lacrosse. Most, if not all ,photos I have seen of hockey and lacrosse teams from that era have lacrosse sticks or hockey sticks or other equipement in them...so I think that is a stretch.

Crew is still my best guess. Of course most crew pictures had oars in them too.

8 men crews had nine people in the boat, 8 men and 1 coxswain, and women could be coswain. Crew was also a predominantly East Coast sport.

I think the letter is a "B". Have not clue how lettering on sweaters fits in. Again, this may not be sports at all..could be some other type of social club.