21 Reasons Why Baseball Used To Be Super Weird

Learning about America's pastime from bizarre and beautiful old photos.

Posted on May 14, 2012, 18:17 GMT

1. Some players would forget to let go of the ball.

2. Some players had to deal with trainers who only knew how to do one thing.

3. Some players had magical powers.

4. Some players' magical power was "generosity,"

5. ...for others, it was "working it."

6. Some players played indoors.

7. Some players were great at posing for "action shots."

8. Some players modeled their techniques on literature like "Oliver Twist,"

9. ...or "Peter Pan."

10. Some players took the phrase "keep your eye on the ball" way too seriously.

11. Some players had glorious mustaches.

12. Some players liked to chill in "cool-guy" poses.

13. Some players even achieved the elusive "double cool-guy" pose.

14. Some players were clearly scared of the ball.

15. Some players looked like serial killers.

16. Some players helped Rick with the Nazis in Casablanca.

17. Some players were actually just Casey Affleck as a time traveler.

18. Some players got to play for this guy, who later built Jurassic Park.

19. Some players had heads that were way too small for their bodies.

20. Some players appreciated cool dogs.

21. All players were jealous of A.M. Wood's boss turtleneck.

All Photos Via New York Public Library's A.G. Spalding Collection

digitalgallery.nypl.org