Edward C. "Mouse" Glenn, Left Field, Sioux City Corn Huskers, from the Old Judge series (N172) for Old Judge Cigarettes 1889

This is a trade card of Edward C. "Mouse" Glenn, a left fielder for the Sioux City Cornhuskers, made by Goodwin & Company in 1889, as part of the Old Judge Cigarettes series. These cards emerged during a transformative period in American culture. The rise of commercialized sports coincided with the industrial revolution and new forms of mass media. Consider the context: baseball was becoming increasingly popular, yet racial segregation was deeply entrenched across the country. While the card features a white athlete, the history of baseball is also one of exclusion and the erasure of Black players. These cards, distributed with tobacco products, speak to the commodification of leisure and the pervasive marketing strategies of the time. Glenn is immortalized, yet the stories and contributions of countless others are notably absent. What narratives do we miss when focusing solely on the celebrated figures? How do we acknowledge the complex layers of identity and historical injustice embedded within seemingly simple images like this one?