Photo Sleuth: 1980 Red Sox Scorebook

Written by: Jere Smith on 13th May 2009

Photo Sleuth: 1980 Red Sox Scorebook | read this item

1980soxscorebk Whenever I see a baseball photo, I can’t help but try to figure out from visual clues where and when it was taken. Especially pictures from “my day,” which we’ll call the late 70s through the early 90s. From collecting baseball cards during that time, I can tell a ballpark often with as little as some seats or part of a dugout showing behind the player. I like to do detective work whenever Cardboard Gods does a post about a card, but with that site on hiatus, I thought I’d start picking out some shots and trying to figure out which game they’re from. I’ll start with the cover the of 1980 First Edition Red Sox scorebook. Try to figure it out yourself before I give the answer if you like. Here‘s a bigger version of the pic. Are you nerdy enough?

Okay, we’ve got Rick Burleson tagging a Royals runner at second base. The runner’s number ends with a zero, and close inspection of his helmet shows that it’s 20. That would be Frank White–you can see parts of the word “White” above his number, too. The game is at Fenway Park. (No, it wasn’t played at the Old State House–though now I’m trying to figure out when that picture was taken, but I can’t find anything on the Web about a restoration to the clock in the 1970s.) You could argue it’s a spring training shot, but my instincts tell me Fenway, taken from the photographers’ well on the outfield side of the home dugout. You can even see the green of the Monster behind the Rooster’s hair where they cropped around it.

The game would be from 1979 or prior. A first edition scorebook would be ready for opening day, so it’s photos would have to be from the previous year at the latest. I’d say 1979 was the year of this photo, though, as it makes the most sense that they’d be using a shot from the most recent season. (Photos on Topps baseball cards are usually from the previous season, but beware when sleuthing–they often go back two or more years.)

Now I look at the Red Sox game log from ’79: Two home series against the Royals, April and July. Even though the background is cut out, this looks like a day game–also, most photos used are in daylight to get the best possible shot.

So I looked at each of those day games for a play when Frank White either stole second or was caught stealing second. (Burleson’s making a tag, so it’s not a force play, and would almost have to be a base-stealing situation. It might not be, but Rick is in a classic “just took the throw from the catcher” position.) White stole second in the Sunday April game and was caught stealing in the July getaway day game. Since the tag is very high, I’d say he was safe, making it Sunday April 22nd. (This also makes more sense as weekend photography is more common than shots taken on a random weekday afternoon game.) It’s the first inning (I’ve also noticed that first inning shots are common, too, giving even more credence to this conclusion), and White, after leading off the game by drawing a walk against Mike Torrez, had nabbed second. Kansas City would leave the bases loaded, and Torrez would go on to pitch a complete game, four-hit shutout. Burleson would homer in the bottom of the first, giving the Red Sox the only run they’d need in a 6-0 victory.

Short sleeves in April, you say? Game time temp: 72 degrees. (When it’s not given in the boxscore, go to the Old Farmers’ Almanac site–they’ve got a great “weather history” feature.)

So that’s my best guess. I’m 99 percent on this one. I did check the night games and the year before just in case, and 4/22/79 seems to be it.

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Topics: boston red sox rick burleson photo sleuth

Michael Maher says:

May 13, 2009 at 5:10 pm

I love your stuff on the Cardboard Gods site. Are you sure it’s not Jerry Remy here?

I’ve been eying cards that have 2 players to help figure out when a game took place since I started seeing your stuff on CG. I have 3 Topps baseball cards from I think 1981, I’m almost certain I can pinpoint the game, and even the at-bat they were taken. I have a Craig Hansen rookie card that I can also pinpoint when was taken based solely on the fact it was a night game at Fenway; he only had 1 night game appearance at Fenway before the card came out!
Jere Smith says:

May 13, 2009 at 5:28 pm

Remy and Burleson definitely had a similar look, but I keep looking at photos and I think Burleson is it. Also, this pic goes along with others I’ve seen where Burleson pulled the stirrups up so that the blue stripe didn’t show, while Remy showed stripe.

Yeah the two guys in one shot thing makes it easier. The more challenging ones are when it’s a guy in a road uniform with no one from the other team visible, because then you have to figure it out by stadium, and then figure out which game it must be, if you can.
Josh Wilker says:

May 16, 2009 at 9:13 am

Nice sleuthing.

On first glance, I probably would have guessed Remy, too, but you make a winning case for Burleson; plus, with the lefty Brett at bat, Burleson would be the one covering second on a steal, I think.