Snapshot

Bill Murray had it easy in “Groundhog Day.”  All he had to do was repeat February 2^nd over and over until he got it right.  That’s just Hollywood fantasy.  In real life, you make it to February only to find the days start going backwards into January.  Or so it can seem on a Saturday when snow and clouds combine to blanket my world in a most depressing shade of gray.

If nothing else, eBay helps keep me from going totally bonkers.  Most every day, I do searches on the White Sox and Comiskey Park to see if any interesting photos turn up.  (I’m also doing this with B-17 bombers, but that’s a different story.)  Yesterday in the mail I got a piece of the past purchased in order to get me to the future, or at least April.

It’s a snapshot, barely measuring 3-1/2” by 2-1/2”, of Comiskey Park; according to the stamp on the back, the film was developed July 19, 1941, in Denver.  Now, that doesn’t mean the picture was taken earlier in the month or even that year, it could’ve been anytime between that date and August 14, 1939, the first night game at 35^th and Shields.  The light towers show clearly in the snapshot.

So do the onion-domed ticket booths that lined 35^th street in front of the main entrance.  So does the unpainted brick façade and so do the words “Comiskey Park Home of the White Sox” that crowned the entrance.  There’s a cop directing traffic and cars as big as boats passing by.  Fans look to be entering the park, maybe even the companion of the person who took the photo.  Or they could’ve walked into McCuddy’s tavern, across the street on the south side of 35^th Street.  The picture had to be taken from in front of McCuddy’s.

It would seem likely that the picture was developed not long after it was taken; in other words, this is a shot of Comiskey Park during the 1941 season, the year Joe DiMaggio hit in 56 straight games and Ted Williams batted .406.  The Sox could do no better and no worse than .500 on the season, 77-77.  They were a team that hit all of 47 homeruns while leading the American League with a 3.52 ERA.  Did I mention the 106 complete games?  Talk about a different time.  

The Sox were in town from July 5^th to the 20^th, during which time they faced the Indians, Senators, Yankees, Red Sox and A’s.  Suppose our friend(s) went to one or more games between the 5^th and 16^th; three days would’ve been enough to get to Denver by train and get the film developed.  Who wouldn’t want to see local heroes Luke Appling and Ted Lyons face off against the likes of Lou Boudreau; DiMaggio; Williams; and Jimmy Foxx?

I know I would, especially against the visiting Yankees.  DiMaggio started his 56-game streak against Eddie Smith of the Sox on May 15^th; at Comiskey in July, the enigmatic one went 7 for 15 in games 50-54 of the streak.  DiMaggio, Appling, the summer before Pearl Harbor—all in a snapshot found on eBay.