John A. "Jack" Farrell, 2nd Base, Washington Nationals, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1887

This photographic print, made around 1887 by Goodwin & Company, depicts John A. "Jack" Farrell, a baseball player for the Washington Nationals. The pose, with Farrell crouched low, hands outstretched towards the earth, echoes gestures found in ancient rituals of offering or supplication. Think of the Roman augurs, seeking omens with hands similarly poised. Or even the act of sowing seeds, a primal connection to the earth and the promise of future growth. This motif of reaching, of anticipation, resonates across time. Though the context has shifted from sacred rite to secular sport, the underlying psychological thread remains. Is it not the same hopeful tension we feel awaiting a crucial play? The collective memory of mankind finds a new expression in the modern theater of the baseball field. The echoes of the past reverberating in the present.