Conlon’s baseball photography put in proper focus

Posted Aug 23, 2011 by Bob D'Angelo

Updated Aug 23, 2011 at 08:45 PM

Color photography can be beautiful, but there is something compelling about great black-and-white photographs. Something about them captures a certain mood, whether it is joy, intensity or melancholy.

And sifting through the black-and-white baseball photographs taken by Charles M. Conlon is simply breathtaking. “The Big Show: Charles M. Conlon’s Golden Age Baseball Photographs” by Neil McCabe and Constance McCabe (Abrams, $35, hardback, 224 pages) is the follow-up book to the 1993 classic, “Baseball’s Golden Age: The Photographs of Charles M. Conlon.”

Charles M. Conlon took more than 30,000 photographs of baseball players and baseball action from 1904 to 1942. More than 200 portraits are contained in this compilation, put together by baseball historian Neil McCabe and his sister, Constance McCabe, who is the head of the photograph conservation department at the National Gallery of Art. Neil’s captions capture the mood of the players depicted, while Constance’s selection is diverse and eclectic. She printed the photographs from the original negatives with care and a keen eye.

A 1923 photo of the Pirates’ Walter Schmidt graces the cover, and Conlon’s most famous photograph — Ty Cobb gritting his teeth as he steals third and upends Jimmy Austin during a 1909 game — also is included in this coffee table-sized book.

Conlon, who died in 1945, used light and contrast to wonderful effect, and his photographs are simple, stark and detailed. Every wrinkle, creased forehead or baggy eye — nothing escaped Conlon’s lens.

The authors include the greats — Kenesaw Mountain Landis, Connie Mack, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Bob Feller and Joe DiMaggio. But the obscure players are the real treat. Even if one doesn’t like the photograph, the names are very distinctive: Buzz McWeeny, Pinky Pittenger, George Blaeholder, Paddy Livingston, Flea Clifton, Pid Purdy and Gabbo Gabler are a few examples.

The reader gets an excellent sense of what baseball was like during its golden age. A 1922 photo of Senators manager Clyde Milan, watching his team lose once again to the Yankees (Washington lost 10 of 11 games to New York that season), shows the anguish and misery on Milan’s face.

There’s a 1912 photo of Donie Bush during his prime with the Detroit Tigers, and his eyes simply grab you. Conlon uses soft focus around most of Bush’s features, but the Tiger stars’ eyes are sharp and focused. He literally seethes with intensity.

The placements of the photos are well thought out, too. For example, photos of a young Charlie Dressen and a young Leo Durocher as players on opposing pages is a nice touch, especially since both worked together with the Brooklyn Dodgers and later were rivals as managers with the Dodgers (Dressen) and the New York Giants (Durocher).

The design includes pages that show photos of players at various stages of their careers. There’s a young Fred Merkle, lean and hungry, followed by a lean, grizzled look at the end of his career. A youthful Earle Combs is followed by a softer, rounder and older look on the next page.

For students of baseball history, this book is a wonderful companion to the written word. Sure, there are articles to read, but Conlon’s photography is the main — and satisfying — focus.