DATE: 1931-50 ORIGINAL or REPRINT: Type 2 Original - Printed from the original negative, but in a later period TEAM: Philadelphia Athletics SUBJECT: Earle Mack PHOTOGRAPHER: George Burke APPROXIMATE SIZE: 3-1/2"x5-1/2" MARKS / STAMPING: Handwritten identification of photo's subject. Has standard postcard back but remains postally unused. NUMBER OF PHOTOS: 1 COMMENTS / CONDITION: Offered is an approximately 3-1/2"x5-1/2" real photo postcard of Earle Mack, pictured in his Philadelphia Athletics uniform circa 1931-50. The original photo was taken by George Burke in 1931-50, but this card was produced some time later (no earlier than the 1950's judging by the standard Kodak back). Comes from a large collection of such postcards that we will be listing over the coming months, all having standard postcard backs but being postally unused. 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 item being sold. If you have any questions about a particular piece, please ask before the auction ends. BIO: Earle Thaddeus Mack (born Earle Thaddeus Mc Gillicuddy) was born in Spencer, MA and died in 967 in Upper Darby Township, PA. He went to college at Niagara University and the University of Notre Dame. He played major league baseball from 90 to 94 in a total of 5 games as catcher, 3rd baseman and st baseman for the Philadelphia Athletics. As a minor league player in 90, Mack batted .35 in 26 games. From 93 until 95, Mack served as player-manager of the Raleigh team in the Class D North Carolina State League. He returned in the same capacity for the Charlotte franchise in 97 until the league folded (no doubt a war casualty) on May 30. Mack then became player-manager of the Hanover (Pennsylvania) Raiders of the Blue Ridge League, another Class D circuit. Mack achieved some success as the player/manager of the Moline (Illinois) Plowboys of the Class B Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League (often called the Three-I, or Three-Eye League). In 92, his team, with almost no legitimate major league prospects, won the Three-I pennant. Mack's final season as a minor league manager was 923, returning to the Blue Ridge League and managing the Martinsburg (WV) Blue Sox to a 67-30 record and the pennant. His father, the manager and part owner of the Athletics, hired him as a coach and assistant manager in 924. During the 937 and 939 season, Mack managed the Athletics when his father (by then in his mid-70s) was ill. It was widely expected that when his father retired, Earle would manage the team and Connie Jr. (Earle's younger half-brother) would run the front office. This was not to be. In May 950, he was moved to the position of chief scout and replaced as coach and assistant manager by Jimmy Dykes - a disappointment, as he had hoped to succeed his father as permanent manager of the Athletics. In spite of this, he was able in August, with his brother Roy, to gain control over the franchise, purchasing shares from Connie Jr. While Roy and Earle Mack announced that their father was free to manage as as long as he wanted to, Connie Mack announced his retirement only seven weeks later at age 88. The team was heavily mortgaged, though, and continued to perform poorly both on the field and at the box office. Eventually, the Mack brothers were forced to sell, and the team relocated to Kansas City in 954. SKU: GB11032
Item: GB11032
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