Orval Overall, Chicago Cubs, 1910

Photographer: Library of Congress, Charles Conlon, George Grantham Bain Collection.

Photo Subject: Orval Overall, baseball player for Chicago Cubs, throwing baseball in front of grandstand at New York’s Polo Grounds.

Fun Fact: Before 1916, the last time the Cubs won a world championship, Orval Overall was the pitcher who clinched it by shutting down Ty Cobb and the Detroit Tigers in 1908. In the final game, he struck out four batters in one inning, the first and only time that feat was accomplished in a World Series play. Overall’s baseball career was cut short by arm trouble. He later ran for Congress but failed to gain election, and then became a successful banker in California.  

Painting Detail: Printed on 13” x 19” canvas and painted using Schmincke Mussini and Marshall’s oil paints. Finer details, like uniform pinstripes, were made using Prismacolor pencils.

Acknowledgement: Fun Fact paraphrased from Baseball’s Golden Age, the Photographs of Charles Conlon, Neal McCabe and Constance McCabe