Take Me Out to the Rodeo

Katie Casey was baseball mad,
Had the fever and had it bad.
Just to root for the hometown crew

On a Saturday her young beau
Called to see if she’d like to go
To see a show,

But Miss Kate said “No,
I’ll tell you what you can do:”

Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd

While most baseball fans are familiar with the lyrics of the chorus, many have never heard some of the opening stanzas listed above from the 1908 song Take Me Out to the Ballgame, played at the 1934 World Series and many after that.

After reading “Songs on Postcards,” by Edith Romaine in Postcard History this month, the article revived my interest in, and search for, all the possible postcards in a rare set or series. (Not a World Series, a postcard series.)

My search and love of postcards started around 1974, on the advice of a co-worker to use restrooms at fancy hotels when working in Manhattan. At one such hotel I came upon a postcard show and saw boxes and boxes of postcards from all over the world, I asked “Any USA postcards?”, then “New York?” and finally “Any Bronx?”.

“Yes,” was the reply, “but they are not very common and they’re expensive!”

Well, forty-eight years later and 6,581 unique Bronx postcards later, not one series can be identified as complete.

The most unusual series in my postcard collection is a real photo set of postcards of a rodeo in Yankee Stadium, Bronx New York in 1923. There were many different events at the stadium, but a rodeo?

In 1923, the New York Yankees moved from the Polo Grounds in Manhattan, that they shared with the New York Giants to the first ballpark named as a stadium. Opening day, April 18, 1923, had John Philips Sousa playing the National Anthem and Babe Ruth hitting a three run blast, defeating the Boston Red Sox, 4-1.

In the years to follow came the New York football Giants, the New York Generals and Cosmos soccer. Then came championship prize fights, an Army vs Notre Dame college football game and three Papal masses, the last by Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday, April 20, 2008.

While the Yankees were on a summer road trip, Tex Austin a long-time rodeo promotor booked his traveling rodeo into Yankee Stadium from August 15 to August 25, 1923. This would be the first and only time for a rodeo in the stadium due to Yankee popularity and the damage to the field.

Thankfully Ralph R. Doubleday, an award-winning rodeo photographer took the field with his camera in tow and created these postcards. According to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, “Doubleday is the undisputed world champion of rodeo photographers and the first in the field because in those days there were not many who would risk camera and film, not to mention life and limb, trying to get action pictures.”

One popular exhibit of Doubleday’s was his Cowgirls: Women in Rodeo.

Bonnie McCarrol on Morning Glory.
Tex Austin Rodeo, Yankee Stadium, New York City (Doubleday).

Women were very popular at rodeos and sadly, their fantastic feats of skill often resulted in injury or death. Trick riding, roping, bronco busting competitions were all performed for lesser amounts of prize money.

Calf Roping shows an interesting view of the right field stands and bleachers.

One problem with many Doubleday images is the light resolution and clarity. The cards seen here are all real photo cards with an AZO stamp box back. Each has been digitally enhanced for better presentation. Some sepia toned cards have been converted to black and white. None of the cards were mailed nor written on.