Johnny Evers, 1913
Photographer: Charles Conlon
Photo Subject: Johnny Evers, posing for photographer Charles Conlon at New York’s Polo Grounds.
Fun Fact: Most people know of Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers and Frank Chance by way of the Franklin Pierce Adams poem, Baseball's Sad Lexicon:
These are the saddest of possible words:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,
Making a Giant hit into a double-
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Mr. Adams, a Cub fan, was also a sportswriter. On July 11, 1910, he saw his Cubs beat the New York Giants 4-2 in Chicago, and the decisive play was a double play . . . Tinker to Evers to Chance that killed a late-inning Giant rally. The first version of this poem was published the next day in the New York Evening Mail.
You might be tempted to think that this ‘trio of bear cubs’ who played together for over a decade were close friends. Their harmonious on-field play belied a feud that started with a taxi ride. The Cubs were playing an exhibition game in Indiana, and Johnny Evers hailed a cab for the game leaving Joe Tinker alone at the hotel. A fistfight ensued at second base and the two chose not to speak to each other for several years – on and off the field.
Painting Detail: Printed on 13” x 19” canvas and painted using Schmincke Mussini and Marshall’s oil paints. Fine details where created using Prismacolor pencils.
Acknowledgement: Story about Baseball’s Sad Lexicon from BaseballAlmanac. com.