4. Book Review: Nebraska Indians; Fun and Frolic ...
The McFarland Press has added an interesting new title to its Historical Baseball Library series. It is actually two titles in one book--both originally written and published as booklets by Guy H. Green about the Nebraska Indians barnstorming baseball team of the early twentieth century. The original booklet titles were:
1) A Complete History of the Nebraska Indian Base Ball Team (1903)
2) Fun and Frolic with an Indian Ball Team (1904).
Both (and especially the former) are very difficult (and expensive) to find in their original editions. This new McFarland edition also includes an appendix that contains an article, "Experiences with and Indian Ball Team," that Green wrote and was printed in the Nebraska State Journal in 1908.
Green's works detail the athletic success and humorous escapades of the most famous American Indian barnstorming baseball team. Altogether, the team played well over 1500 games during Green's management. The games were played throughout the midwest and east coast with a winning percentage greater than 75 percent.
Guy Green was an attorney, journalist, businessman, Presbyterian evangelist and baseball entrepreneur. While he is best remembered today as the owner-manager of the barnstorming Nebraska Indians, he also founded Green's Japanese Baseball Team in 1906 and Green's Native Hawaiian Baseball Team in 1913. He died in Kansas City in 1946.
The recent release is edited by Jeffrey Beck, associate dean of graduate studies and professor of English at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City. Beck's narrative not only combines the reprinting of the original century-old booklets, but includes a comprehensive introduction that provides historical background and perspective about Green as well as the team and their barnstorming adventures that spanned a well over a decade.
Beck's 250-page book is illustrated and includes a detailed index.
Vintage collectors have been aware of cards and memorabilia related to the Nebraska Indians team including a variety of postcards (see example at left), cabinet photos, handbills and other interesting items. Note: the postcard is obviously used with the sender's card-related message written on front and mailed in June, 1907. Only three months earlier (March 1907), the USPS began allowing messages to be written on "divided" postcard backs. The back of this card, however, uses an earlier "undivided" postcard template.
Lincoln, Nebraska resident and Old Cardboard subscriber Dan Bretta has one of the leading collections of Nebraska Indians baseball-related items and is currently preparing an article describing his research for a future issue of the magazine. A Set Profile for the Nebraska Indians postcards can also be found on the Old Cardboard website.
Guy H. Green (edited by Jeffrey P. Beck), The Nebraska Indians and Fun and Frolic with an Indian Ball Team (McFarland & Company, Publishers, Jefferson, NC and London, 2010).
5. News Briefs (A Digest of Recent Hobby Happenings)
Checklisting Mislabeled Cards. A Partial Checklist of vintage cards in which the player named on the card is not the player pictured has been added to the Old Cardboard website. There are no doubt many other such examples. The list is organized by major card groups and now contains over 50 mislabeled cards--all from sets produced before 1950. We welcome any corrections or additions to the list. Please send all feedback to editor@oldcardboard.com. We will update and expand the list accordingly. Note: For more information about checklisting mislabeled cards, see the Editor's Notebook section of Old Cardboard magazine Issue #23.
See You at National. Brett and I look forward to seeing many of our friends and subscribers at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Baltimore. It's only a couple of weeks away with a convenient new venue well located for East coast collectors. If you have a few extra minutes and we don't bump into each other on the floor, please feel free to call Lyman (512-466-5358 cell) or Brett (512-466-5372 cell) so we can arrange to meet in person. We'll plan a full report in the August eNewsletter.
Lyman and Brett Hardeman
Old Cardboard, LLC.
Old Cardboard, LLC. was established in December 2003, to help bring information on vintage baseball card collecting to the hobbyist. Produced by collectors for collectors, this comprehensive resource consists of three components: (1) Old Cardboard Magazine, (2) a companion website at www.oldcardboard.com and (3) this eNewsletter. The Old Cardboard website contains more than 500 pages of descriptive reference information for baseball card sets produced fifty years ago or longer. Each of these set summaries has a direct set-specific link to 
auctions and a similar link to 
's powerful search engine for further research. The website also includes a Show and Auction Calendar, an eBay Top 50 Vintage Sellers List, and much more. As a result, the Old Cardboard website makes a great "Alt-tab" companion for vintage card shoppers and researchers. Old Cardboard eNews provides current hobby news, upcoming shows and auctions, and updates to the website and the magazine. It is published around the middle of each month. For a FREE subscription to the eNewsletter, or for subscription information on Old Cardboard Magazine, please visit the website at www.oldcardboard.com. If you find this information resource helpful, please tell your friends. We need your support and your feedback. Thank you.
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