File:WestSidePark 1908-08-30-with-caption.JPG

Summary

This is a photo taken at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Side_Park" class="extiw" title="en:West Side Park">West Side Park</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago,_Illinois" class="extiw" title="en:Chicago, Illinois">Chicago</a> on August 30, 1908 between the two teams that would contend for the National League pennant right down to the wire, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Cubs" class="extiw" title="en:Chicago Cubs">Chicago Cubs</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Giants" class="extiw" title="en:San Francisco Giants">New York Giants</a>. This rendering is a blend of two versions of the photo. One version is from the Library of Congress collection. The other is from a book printed ca. 1909 that contained various Chicago views, and contains a detailed (if somewhat puffed) caption but with some flaws in the photo itself that detract from its appearance.

Note that the book's caption calls it "West Side Ball Park" and the hand-written caption on the print says "National League Park". Both names are correct in a given context. The term "National League Park" was self-defining, as distinguished from the "American League Park" on the south side. "West Side Park" (also sometimes given as "West Side Grounds") was the name known to the fans and the writers of that era.

The photo appears to have been taken using a "fisheye" lens, which tends to distort the proportions. The version in the 1909 book was sliced off just below the umpire's feet, which fit the book better but also hid much of the distortion, providing a relatively undistorted panorama.

The various right angles painted in foul territory were part of the rules at that time, defining the boundaries of where the game's non-participants were to stand. The one remnant of those lines that still exist in the rules today are the coaches' boxes.

Licensing

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