DATE SHOT: 1937 SUBJECT: Curt Davis PHOTOGRAPHER: George Burke APPROXIMATE SIZE: 8"x10" MARKS / STAMPING: George Burke photographer's stamp. Typed player ID. ORIGINAL or REPRINT: Type 3 - Second or later-generation photo, printed from a duplicate negative or wire photo process, within about 2 years of when it was shot COMMENTS / CONDITION: While bearing George Burke's original photographer's stamp, the photo appears to be 2nd generation, re-shot by Burke (for unknown reasons) from one of his original prints. See scans for further details including condition. BIO: Curtis Benton Davis (Coonskin) was born in Greenfield, MO and died in 1965 in Covina, CA. He played major league baseball from 1934 to 1946 as pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and the Brooklyn Dodgers, appeared in the 1941 World Series, and was selected in 1936 and 1939 as an All-Star. George C. Burke was born in 1874 in Pennington Gap, VA and died in 1951 in Chicago, IL. A case of mistaken identity made by the Chicago Cubs resulted in George Burke becoming the official photographer for the Chicago Cubs. In 1929, Cubs manager Joe McCarthy and Gabby Hartnett sought out the ballclub's previous photographer. They could only remember his last name, Burke, so they looked him up in the phone book. A listing leapt out at them: studio photographer George C. Burke, whose office was near Wrigley Field. Thus began the baseball photography career of George Burke, who had no prior sports experience whatsoever, and thus ended the career of photographer Francis Burke - the Cubs' time-honored official cameraman and an unwitting victim of mistaken identity. To undertake his new "big league" endeavor, Burke hired the young (age 15) baseball-knowledgeable George Brace as his assistant, and the two soon became a Chicago institution. Ever-present at Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park, Burke and Brace shot not only for the Cubs, but also for the White Sox and football's Chicago Bears. They also endeavored to amass a complete portfolio of player portraits - a daunting task made possible by the fact that Chicago was the only city with both an American League and a National League franchise from 1929 all the way until Brace's retirement in 1993. As the official photographer for the Chicago Cubs, Burke quickly became renowned for his candid pre-game photos and thought-provoking portrait depictions, and his posed portraits and action photos were published in The Sporting News, Who's Who in the Major Leagues, and Baseball Digest as well as other publications, and provided the necessary photos for numerous 1930's and later baseball card and premium issues. SKU: L13507
Item: L13507
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