Rare 1902 Columbia University Lions Basketball Team Cabinet Photo Manhattan NYC for Sale

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Rare 1902 Columbia University Lions Basketball Team Cabinet Photo Manhattan NYC For Sale

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Rare 1902 Columbia University Lions Basketball Team Cabinet Photo Manhattan NYC:
$974.99

This rare 1902 cabinet photo features the Columbia University Lions men\'s basketball team, just one year after its 1901 founding, making this piece a fascinating piece of college history.

Approximate size of the photo itself: 11 inches x 9 inches

Approximate size of the photo and paper backing: 12 inches x 12 inches

This cabinet photo could\'ve also been taken in 1903 and 1904, which are also years Frank O\'Connell played on this team. I\'m dating this at 1902 because he looks younger in this cabinet photo than some other photos, and by his placement in this cabinet photo, he isn\'t in a place of prominence yet, as in 1902 he was a center (then centre) position, and not yet a team captain, which he is in one of the reference photos presented. Frank is identified in this cabinet photo by a previous owner, likely the original owner.

The other players in this cabinet photo could be some of the following players, who all played around the time this cabinet photo was taken: the Benson Brothers, Von Sholly, Heine Elias, Ted Allen, Frank Goodman, Dan Meenan, Dave Armstrong, Jack Ryan, Howard Osterhout, Bob Mahon, Art Alexander, Fisher, Trusenbach, Rogers, Mark Hurley, and C.W. Cuthel, with the last five being the most likely, as the last five all certainly played basketball with Frank O\'Connell.

Frank O\'Connell was a champion college athlete, and later he went on to be a New York City sportswriter and editor at the NY Morning Telegraph.

Frank died in 1927 under suspicious circumstances at the age of 44. He showed himself to have a full social life and was often out and about in New York society. He rubbed elbows with the rich and famous, even counting famous writer Jack London as one of his best friends. His 1903-1904 Columbia University Lions team finished the season with a 17-1 record and was retroactively named the national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation and the Premo-Porretta Power Poll.

The first reference photo is a newspaper clipping from the The Jersey City News (Jersey City [N.J.]), January 10, 1902. It\'s a fascinating article that discusses the reinstatement of the exact basketball player in the cabinet photo in this listing, and in fact, the very one identified: Frank O\' Connell. It is an interesting read.

The second reference photo is a newspaper clipping from The Washington times (Washington [D.C.]), December 18, 1922, where is discusses how Harry A. Fischer, who coached Frank O\'Connell on this team, went on to be the coach at West Point. This news paper article praised the coach\'s talents because of what happened with this Columbia basketball team.

The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth reference photos are from newspaper clippings of an unknown year.

The seventh reference photo is a newspaper clipping from the New-York tribune (New York [N.Y.]), January 25, 1902. In it, it says:

\"Columbia and Princeton will each play their second basketball match at Princeton to-day in the intercollegiate championship series. Columbia\'s team will be made up of Earle and Ellas, guards; O\'Connell, centre, and Marston and Goodman, forwards. Four of the five \'varsity players are unable to compete to-day. Fisher and Allen because of a faculty ban, and Townsend and Von Sholly because

of illness.\"

Overall, the Columbia Lions men’s basketball team began varsity intercollegiate competition in 1901. They were retroactively recognized as the pre-NCAA Tournament national champions for the years 1904 and 1905 by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll, and also for the years 1904, 1905, and 1910 by the Helms Athletic Foundation.

In 1905, teams from the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin traveled to New York to challenge the Eastern League champion Columbia University. Columbia’s Blue and White Five defeated both Midwestern teams, and the idea of an intercollegiate championship was born.

Add this amazing piece of college basketball history to your collection today.

Please inspect the pictures, as they give the best representation of condition.This item has a fair amount of damage that any buyer should be aware of before purchasing. Amount other possible condition issues, these are what I spotted: There are two cracks going for a few inches along the left side, one from the middle left heading toward the upper center and another going from lower-middle left toward the center. There is a streak going from the middle left toward the center, but that doesn\'t seem to be a crack. That might have been a result of the original photography.

Also, the edges all the way around are cracked and exposed. Three out of the four corners are in various degrees of missing.

This is not a mint condition piece. There are numerous flaws on it. It is not unexpected, however, for it to be in such a condition considering that it\'s around 122 years old.

The black paper backing and the paper with the words \"Columbia University\" seems much newer, likely someone who mounted the cabinet photo onto it for display. I left it on there so that the customer has the choice on whether to leave it on or off. The black paper is crumbled in the lower left and right-hand side.