1. Boston Red Sox Spring Training in Little Rock Arkansas
2. The Boston Royal Rooters return from Pittsburgh, 1903 World Series
3. The Boston Royal Rooters at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, 1903 World Series
4. Detroit Tigers, Champions of the American League in 1907
5. Young fans climb pole next to Huntington Avenue Grounds, 1903 World Series
6. Fans outside the Huntington Avenue Grounds, 1903 World Series
7. The Pittsburgh Pirates in the dugout at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, 1903 World Series
8. The Boston Rooters watch a foul ball, 1903 World Series
9. John McGraw and Christy Mathewson, New York Giants, 1911 World Series
10. Boston Policemen pose in dugout at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, 1903 World Series
11. Fans scaling the wall at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, 1903 World Series
12. Boston Royal Rooter beating a drum, 1903 World Series
13. Boston Rooters Batboy, 1912 World Series
14. Opening Day for the Boston Americans, 1904
15. Cubs vs White Sox, 1906 World Series
16. Boston Americans and Pittsburgh Pirates,1903 World Series
17. Interior of Third Base, Michael T. McGreevey's Saloon where all the photo hung
18. McGreevey and Red Sox players at Spring Training in Hot Springs, Arkansas
19. Michael T. McGreevey, owner of photo collection and Boston baseball fan
20. Boston Red Sox at Spring Training, Arizona, 1911
21. Boston Red Sox players on automobile tour in Los Angeles, 1911
22. First Baseman Stahl and Owner McAleer at Spring Training, 1912
23. Napoleon Lajoie and Honus Wagner shake hands, 1904
24. King George V attends his first baseball game
25. Michael T. McGreevey and the Nuf Ced Team
26. Connie Mack, Manager and owner of the Philadelphia Athletics, 1912
37. John I. Taylor, owner of the Boston Americans, ca. 1905
Information on the collection from the Boston Public Library's Flickr page:
Michael T. McGreevey, saloon owner and baseball fan, lived the classic American success story. Born the son of an Irish immigrant day-laborer, McGreevey opened his first bar in 1894. His establishment soon became the headquarters of the Boston Royal Rooters, the rabid and riotous fans of Boston’s professional teams, the Boston Nationals, also known as the Braves, and the Boston Americans, later to be known as the Red Sox. We don’t know when McGreevey hung the first photos on the walls of his saloon, creating one of the first sports bars in Boston, but by 1916, he had hundreds of baseball photos festooning his establishment.But with the passage of the 18th Amendment prohibiting the sale of alcohol and inaugurating the Prohibition Era, McGreevey was out of business. Always entrepreneurial, McGreevey looked to lease his bar and found a willing tenant in the Boston Public Library. The City of Boston signed a lease for $91.66 a month and in 1923 the Roxbury Crossing branch was opened. In the same year, McGreevey formally gave his collection of baseball photographs to the Boston Public Library. As a result of McGreevey’s generosity, the Boston Public Library now owns one of the most important collections of early baseball images in the United States.The collection consists of early Boston baseball photographs dating from 1875 to 1916. Represented are many of the most important ballplayers of the 19th and early 20th century including Cy Young, Ty Cobb, Mike “King” Kelly, Kid Nichols and many others. Also included are panoramic photos of the ballparks of the era including the Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston and the Polo Grounds in New York. The centerpiece of the collection is a series of photographs related to the first World Series in 1903 between Boston and Pittsburgh. Featured are photographs of the fans of the Boston team, the “Royal Rooters” and their leader Michael T. “Nuf Ced” McGreevey.