Albersheim's 2015 January Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/24/2015
John Gransfield Kling (d 1947) was a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs (the Chicago Orphans until 1903), Boston Rustlers & Braves, and Cincinnati Reds. He acquired the nickname "Noisy John," because he kept up a constant chatter on the field; some baseball historians have noted this was part of his skill in waging "psychological warfare" on his opponents. Between 1906 and 1910, the Cubs won four National League pennants and two World Series titles, and Kling was said to be one of the reasons why. And unlike many ballplayers of his day, he didn't smoke, drink or chew tobacco. Staying in good shape as a result was said to contribute to his baseball success.
While he loved baseball, Kling was also devoted to the game of pool. In 1902, for example, one reporter called him the best pool player of any active baseball player. He often played for purses as high as $300, a sizable amount in that era. During this time, he also ran his own billiard room in his native Kansas City. During the early 1900s, his pool-playing career was regarded positively by sports reporters—in one article, he was praised as a baseball player who was not idle during the off-season; he was said to have "doubled his diamond income" by being an accomplished pool player.
Speculation about whether Kling was Jewish has persisted over the years. One source says he used the name "Kline" early in his career, a surname that is sometimes (but not always) Jewish. And although he was married to a Jewish woman in a ceremony conducted by a Reform Jewish rabbi, there are questions that have never been fully resolved. Interestingly, the major Jewish newspapers never questioned Kling's Jewishness: writers and reporters frequently referred to him as Jewish, in articles from the 1920s through the 1970s. The Boston "Jewish Advocate" was among those that asserted his real name was John Kline, and said he had even played baseball under that name; one writer said he was "the first of the Jewish [baseball] pioneers" (Harold U. Ribalow, "Johnny Kling Showed the Way," Jewish Advocate, 12 April 1951, p. 22). But even earlier, the story of Kling's Jewishness was given a vote of confidence by New York Giants owner-manager John McGraw, who knew Kling and referred to him as a Jewish ballplayer in a 1923 article, "Jewish Baseball Players Wanted" (American Israelite, 9 August 1923, p. 6). Among contemporary authors who believe he was Jewish is Dr. Gil Bogen, who wrote a book about Kling's life. But some researchers dispute this, and years after his death, his widow Lillian, who was definitely Jewish, seemed to deny that her husband was ever Jewish. In a 1976 Esquire magazine article, sportswriter Harry Stein published an "All Time All-Star Argument Starter," consisting of five ethnic baseball teams. Kling was the catcher on Stein's Jewish team. (A reader, however, wrote in and pointed out that Kling was not Jewish but his wife was; and suggested Harry Danning instead.)
This original photo of Kling during his playing days with the Reds measures 6.5” x 8.5”. There’s some minor wear and tear with creases mostly around the corners. There are some editorial markings (orange X’s) on the front. On the reverse written in pencil is “83” circled in the top left corner and below that across the middle is written “Catcher Johnny Kling of Cincinnati 1913 Jan 13/35 May.” Also, in pencil is written “61/2 x 2 3/8” and there are some horizontal and vertical lines drawn in pencil. In addition, there’s an orange B (probably crayon) circled in the center of the verso and an ink date stamp of May 27, 1913.