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"Football team." Circa 1895-1910, location unknown. "James" written on negative. Detroit Publishing Co. glass negative, Library of Congress. View full size.
The guy on the right is holding a Medicine Ball. These guys were obviously working out at the "Gold's Gym" of 100 years ago! There is certainly an air of pugilism about these guys. Training for a fight?
Dog and owner in exactly the same pose. Awesome.
My grandfather had a set of these. They were used to increase muscle strength, swung around and held in various positions.
Back at the turn-of-the-century, these guys would've been considered big men. Today, they'd be middleweights at most.
It's interesting that the tough guy with the dog has his hand resting on his companion's knee. I guess personal space rules have changed dramatically because that would never fly nowadays!
The guys in front look like they should be on the beach saying things like "Alley oop!" and "balderdash!" while lifting barbells.
I have absolutely no doubt that the wiry little boxer in the middle could work a much larger opponent over something fierce.
That dog is adorable. One of the popular bully breeds of the time. I love the huge collar.
looks enormous. More like one of our (Aussie) rugly league balls of that era. What are the tenpin looking thingies that the bloke on the front left is holding?
[Indian clubs. - Dave]
Is the "94" an indication of the year or did it have some other meaning?
[It could be. Typically for these old glass negatives there is writing all along the margins, which usually gets cropped out. This one had another number along the top on the other side. - Dave]
The logos on their jerseys appear to be the Roman god Mercury's winged helmet.
Looks like they're about to head about for a bit of the old ultra-violence.
Given the assortment of sports equipment displayed or worn by these boys, I'd say this was an athletic club, more than simply a football club. The diminutive boxer in the center of the group, for instance. And the fellow two over from his left appears to have arrived just in time for the photo after a long night out on the town. Great assortment of characters in this photo. It was enjoyable assigning various stereotypes to each. The guy with the ball in his lap certainly has the look of a quarterback to him. Lots of testosterone in the air.
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