Napoleon Lajoie at Hilltop Park, 1909
Photographer: Charles Conlon
Photo Subject: Napoleon Lajoie with bat at Hilltop Park in 1909
Folklore: In 1909, Napoleon Lajoie was engaged in a batting duel with Ty Cobb up until the last day of the season where he went eight for eight. Those eight hits stirred a bit of a scandal, because six of them were bunts against an infield playing back on the outer edge of the infield - an obvious gift from the opposing club, the St. Louis Browns. This little plot was hatched because most players disliked Cobb and wanted Lajoie to capture the batting title. Still, Cobb won the batting title by the slimmest of margins, .3848 to .3841.
Painting Detail: Printed on 13” x 19” canvas and painted using Schmincke Mussini and Marshall’s oil paints. Finer details, like the pinstripes on the uniform, were made using Prismacolor pencils.