John E. "Scrappy" Carroll, Right Field, St. Paul Apostles, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1889

This is a baseball card of John E. "Scrappy" Carroll, right fielder for the St. Paul Apostles. It was made in the late 1880s as part of the "Old Judge" series by Goodwin & Company, a cigarette manufacturer. These cards existed as promotional items, tucked into cigarette packs during a time of burgeoning baseball fandom. Carroll, like many athletes of his era, became a public figure through this kind of early advertising. Consider the era: Reconstruction was ending, and industrialization and immigration were transforming America. Baseball emerged as a unifying cultural force, offering a shared identity in a fractured nation. Carroll’s image—serious, professional, yet also approachable—reflects the ideals of masculinity being forged on the field and in popular culture. It’s a carefully constructed persona, designed to appeal to a broad audience, inviting fans to participate in the spectacle of baseball and, of course, to buy more cigarettes. These cards served to popularize a sport, but also reinforced the cultural norms of the time, shaping how athletes and the game itself were perceived. It is both a relic and a powerful symbol of identity formation.