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Baseball Exhibit and programs at UGA's Russell Library



CONTACT: Jill Severn, 706/542-5766, jsevern@libris.libs.uga.edu

VINTAGE BASEBALL CARDS ON EXHIBIT AT UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA'S
RICHARD B. RUSSELL LIBRARY FOR POLITICAL RESEARCH AND STUDIES

ATHENS, GA -- The Richard B. Russell Library is presenting a major exhibition to highlight
one of its most popular collections, Sen. Russell?s baseball card collection, one of the
largest private collections of turn-of-the-century tobacco cards held by a public institution in
the United States.

?Legends of the Dead-ball Era: Vintage Baseball Cards from the Richard B. Russell
Collection? will focus on the specific character of the game of baseball during this time
period (1900-1919), known as the dead-ball era.

In June, a special event is scheduled highlighting America?s pastime.

On June 11, a lecture, "Remembering Georgia Baseball: A
Twilight Double-Header Featuring Dan Magill and Terry Kay," is
scheduled.

Magill, long associated with UGA athletics, will discuss early baseball at UGA. Author Kay
will discuss his thoughts and experiences with baseball and the game?s place in his writing.

The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Russell Library auditorium of
the main Library. The Russell Library is located on the west side of the main
library on the University of Georgia?s north campus. Parking is available in the north
campus parking deck on South Jackson St. The event is free and open to the public

Coming in July, (date forthcoming) Tim Darnell will discuss his book, ?The Crackers: Early
Days of Baseball in Atlanta,? published in April by Hill Street Press. Darnell?s book is the
first history of six decades of the Crackers?the team that defined baseball in the South.

Throughout the summer and fall baseball-related film screenings and other lectures will be
held.

 ?The tobacco cards in the Russell collection offer a rare, private glimpse
into the youthful passions of a very public figure,? said Albert Kilchesty, curator
of the exhibit. ?We are pleased to offer the public an opportunity to enjoy these
delightful objects.?

The Russell collection contains more than 1,000 baseball cards produced by the American
Tobacco Company. The majority of cards come from the T-206 ?White Border? series, the
largest tobacco card set of the early 20th century and the one containing some of the most
prized cards in the collecting world.  Some of the rarest T-206 cards are included in the
Russell collection, including an extremely scarce misprint of a Joe Doyle card, one of less
than six known to exist, and an equally uncommon Ty Cobb portrait featuring the slogan, ?Ty
Cobb, King of the Smoking Tobacco World,? on the reverse.

The exhibit will be available through Nov. 22. The Russell Library will be open on Saturdays
from 10 a.m. ? 3 p.m., in addition to regular hours, for the exhibit, which, in addition to the
cards, will consider the rules of fair play that most players honored and some ignored, the
way in which equipment and its performance shaped strategy, the skills that made a player
a star. Also featured in the exhibit is an exploration of baseball?s connections to American
culture and imagination.

 ?Baseball during the dead-ball era was far more of a team game than
it was to become during subsequent periods where a single blow by one
player could determine the outcome of the game,? said Kilchesty.  ?With its
emphasis on teamwork, self-sacrifice, and shrewdness, the dead-ball game
would have constituted an ethical world in miniature for the pre-adolescent
Russell, one from which he would learn many lessons applicable to later
political life.?

Richard Russell Jr. served in public office for more than 50 years, including 38 in the U.S.
Senate, becoming one of the most influential people in 20th century American politics. The
Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies is dedicated to the support of
scholarly research in modern political history with the collections of more than 100 public
officials, influential citizens and political and public policy organizations.

Like many young men born at the turn of the 20th century, Russell developed a lifelong
passion for baseball.  In addition to playing the game with friends and school chums, the
young Russell was a ?crank? of the first order, devouring baseball statistics from
newspapers and annual publications with the same intellectual curiosity that he would later
display as a politician and legislator. According to his biographer Gilbert C. Fite, while in
office Senator Russell ?almost always managed to listen to the World Series over the radio,
and in later years, he watched the games on television.?

The baseball card collection is available for research at the Russell
Library and a selection of the cards will be featured on the library web page by mid summer
(www.libs.uga.edu/russell). A media kit including scanned images is also
available via the web site.

The UGA athletic association and alumni association have provided
funding for these programs.

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