Vintage Baseball Images

George Pinkney by Gilbert & Bacon, Philadelphia, c 1880s (New York Public Library)

George Pinkney played major league baseball from 1884 to 1893, for teams such as the Cleveland Blues, Brooklyn Grays/Bridegrooms/Trolley Dodgers and the Louisville Colonels. He is the player whose record for most consecutive innings played (5,152, from 1885-1890) was broken by Cal Ripkin, Jr. in 1985. (Note that this was a different statistic than the consecutive-games record Ripkin set when he bested Lou Gehrig’s streak of 2,130 in 1995.) Interestingly, I have seen Pinkney listed as both a left- and right-handed hitter in different places (but not a switch hitter) — perhaps explaining (or explained by?) the photos from each side of the plate?

George Pinkney shown batting from the left side of the plate in this circa 1880s cabinet card

C.M. Gilbert and William Bacon were well-known photographers in Philadelphia beginning in the 1870s; their studio was located at 830 Arch Street, with a second (from 1886) at 1030 Chestnut Street.