DATE SHOT: 1932 SUBJECT: Mule Haas PHOTOGRAPHER: George Burke APPROXIMATE SIZE: 3-1/2"x5" COMMENTS / CONDITION: Offered is a 3-1/2"x5" colorized Burke photo (commonly known as a Bra-Mac photo) of Mule Haas, pictured in his Philadelphia Athletics uniform circa 1932. This is photo #64 in a series of 300 such photos produced by George Brace. See scans for further details including condition. BIO: George William Haas was born in Montclair, NJ and died in 1974 in New Orleans, LA. He played major league baseball from 1925 to 1938 as outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Athletics, and the Chicago White Sox, and appeared in the 1929, 1930 and 1931 World Series. After his playing career ended, Mule Haas spent seven seasons as a Chicago White Sox coach. 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: L09785
Item: L09785
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