DATE: 1934-35 ORIGINAL or REPRINT: Type 1 Original - Printed from the original negative within about 2 years of when it was shot TEAM: Chicago White Sox SUBJECT: Vern Kennedy PHOTOGRAPHER: George Burke APPROXIMATE SIZE: 4"x6" MARKS / STAMPING: George Burke photographer's stamp with NRA code subtext. The National Recovery Administration (NRA) was an agency established by U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt. NRA coding was enacted on June 16, 1933, and ceased on May 27, 1935 when overturned by the Supreme Court, dating this particular print of Burke's image to that approximately 2-year period. NUMBER OF PHOTOS: 1 COMMENTS / CONDITION: This is one of a large accumulation of vintage sports photographs, slides and negatives that we will be listing over the coming months. Wear on these, if any, is mostly confined to minor corner and edge wear, but see scans for further details including condition. We do not deal in stock images or modern reprints, and all scans shown are of the actual vintage photograph, slide or negative being sold. If you have any questions about a particular piece, please ask before the auction ends. BIO: Lloyd Vernon Kennedy was born in Kansas City, MO and died in 1993 in Mendon, MO. He played major league baseball from 1934 to 1945 as pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns, Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies and the Cincinnati Reds, and was selected in 1936 and 1938 as an All-Star. Kennedy died in Mendon, Missouri, at the age of 85 after a shed roof collapsed on him. George C. Burke was born in 1874 in Pennington Gap, VA and died in 1951 in Chicago, IL. A case of mistaken identity made by the Chicago Cubs resulted in George Burke becoming the official photographer for the Chicago Cubs. In 1929, Cubs manager Joe McCarthy and Gabby Hartnett sought out the ballclub's previous photographer. They could only remember his last name, Burke, so they looked him up in the phone book. A listing leapt out at them: studio photographer George C. Burke, whose office was near Wrigley Field. Thus began the baseball photography career of George Burke, who had no prior sports experience whatsoever, and thus ended the career of photographer Francis Burke - the Cubs' time-honored official cameraman and an unwitting victim of mistaken identity. To undertake his new "big league" endeavor, Burke hired the young (age 15) baseball-knowledgeable George Brace as his assistant, and the two soon became a Chicago institution. Ever-present at Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park, Burke and Brace shot not only for the Cubs, but also for the White Sox and football's Chicago Bears. They also endeavored to amass a complete portfolio of player portraits - a daunting task made possible by the fact that Chicago was the only city with both an American League and a National League franchise from 1929 all the way until Brace's retirement in 1993. As the official photographer for the Chicago Cubs, Burke quickly became renowned for his candid pre-game photos and thought-provoking portrait depictions, and his posed portraits and action photos were published in The Sporting News, Who's Who in the Major Leagues, and Baseball Digest as well as other publications, and provided the necessary photos for numerous 1930's and later baseball card and premium issues. SKU: GB6023
Item: GB6023
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