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cypress4289

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  1. Yes, I agree with you about the extremely special nature of the ground where West End Park stood. Hopefully, this print will serve as the recognized tribute to the ball park and the origins of sports in Houston, arguably one of the greatest sports cultures ever.
  2. The series of 4 games, 1908-1911, played in Houston during carnival (called "No-Tsu-Oh) between "Varsity", as UT 's football team was known as, and the "Farmers", as A&M was known as, was not the beginning of the football rivalry. They had played each other 14 times before with UT holding a significant 12-1-2 advantage. But the 20 photos included in the print are the best condensed representation of the origins of the football rivalry between the two. There are a few photos of the games, here and there, before the Houston series, but we do not see such a concentration of images as is seen here in the print that exist prior to 1908. The Houston games were the first time that A&M stood even with Varsity, splitting the series 2-2. And indeed much of the divisiveness between the two schools as a result of the games played in Houston set the tone for the intensity of the rivalry into the future. There were any number of controversies and disputes that contributed to this arising from the Houston games. One involved A&M supporters planting a large "championship" banner for the 1911 season atop the grandstands at West End Park in declaration of their assumed win, even though the game with UT had still yet to be played and the victor would then be able to lay claim to that distinction. As things tend to work out when making such assumptions about victory, UT won the game and Varsity supporters captured the banner to use in their celebration in the streets of Houston. The football scene in Houston contributed to this series played in Houston. Feldhake, Jones and Captain Dyer had played football at Houston High School before their days at UT. And Carlin for the Farmers had been a newspaper boy while growing up in Houston.
  3. Below is a link to a facebook page that concerns a recently released print concerning the UT vs. A&M football series played at West End Park, 1908-1911. The narrative information reveals that the 20 live-action photos of the games are the earliest known images of live-action football being played in Houston, and that the panoramic view of West End Park at the top of the poster is of the 1910 game which set a state record of 10,000 for attendance at a football game. The complete view of the ball park brings it to the public eye for the first time in a century. Here's the link: http://www.facebook....ackandwhitegold
  4. If you're downtown and/or attending an Astros game, drop by Home Plate Bar & Grill, across the street from the main entrance to Minute Maid Park, and you'll be able to see "Houston Baseball:1888-1931", on exhibit there now. Say hi to Nick Haran, the friendly proprietor of Home Plate Bar & Grill.
  5. An additional note: The "logo" for "Houston Baseball" at the top of the poster has a baseball, and on this baseball are logos of the schools and/or teams that have photos represented in the poster. Every effort was made to utilize original material in "creating" these individual logos. For instance, the San Jacinto HS Bear logo uses a bear that is taken from the sweater of a San Jacinto HS Pep Squad member from 1928. The Houston HS logo uses a tiger head from the scrapbook of a 1928 Houston HS student along with "HHS' taken directly from a baseball uniform. And the Buffs logo is displayed, using one of the disks that portrayed the Buffs logo/silhouette as it was placed on interior facing of Buff Stadium between the first and second levels.
  6. Native Houstonian Randy Foltin has just published an epic art history poster ("Houston Baseball: 1888-1931") that brings the origins of Houston baseball from a century ago to the public eye for the first time ever. Over 35 images are displayed, each rare to extremely rare, making this the definitive collection on this topic. The photos are encased within a graphic frame that uses authentic material and baseball icons to capture the spirit of the age. This stands as Houston's most notable sports history creative contribution, and is a significant addition to the culutural heritage of the area. The poster measures 5' in height and 4' in width in order to give each of the photos optimal viewing opportunity. Among the treasures contained within is a photographic reconstruction of West End Park, ca. 1911. As only photographic fragments of the structure were known to have existed, Mr. Foltin's research uncovered sufficient images to photographically resurrect the old ball park that had really been forever lost to time such that it is now being seen for the first time in a century. The photographic record, along with an architectural/engineering sketch of the park's layout, makes the image a very close approximation of the actual grandstand. In the images provided it is the large panoramic view in the upper 1/3 of the photos, extending from the main body of the photos and then running left into the black frame. This image measures approximately 21 inches in length. The large panoramic image at about the mid-point, extending from the main body of the photos and then running right into the black frame is East End Park. This is a live action photo from 1926 between the Houston Monarchs and the Southern Pacific team. East End Park was where the black teams played during this time of segregation. At the extreme right of the image are row houses, and a capacity crowd attended this game. Team photos of the Monarchs and Southern Pacific are inserted at the lower righthand corner of the image. The upper 1/3 of the images in the poster are mainly of the Houston Buffs from 1905-1912, and below the West End Park panoramic image are three live action Buffs' photos ca. 1911. Other images displayed represent Rice University, Houston HS (including 2 live action photos from 1916), Heights HS, South End JH, San Jacinto HS, Massey Business College, company teams/players from Levy's Department Store and Mistrot-Munn's, two images from Camp Logan, and a special treasure from Dizzy Dean, a member of the 1931 Buffs. The poster will be available as a lmited-edition 100-copy signed and numbered print. The one existing print is on display at the Cy-Fair HS library. Anyone interested in viewing the work, please contact Cy-Fair HS librarian Patrick Reilly in advance.
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