In this old black-and-white photograph, a Havana, Illinois baseball team engages in some sort of pregame or preseason ceremony or ritual. Sixteen team members are standing shoulder-to-shoulder near the pitcher’s mound. Half are facing the camera, situated along the first base line, and half are facing away. The entire line of men is moving in a circular manner, with the middle of the line serving as the axis point. Another player or coach is watching from near the third base line. The base paths consist of sand or dirt, and there is no fence or wall lining the boundaries of the ballpark. In the extreme left of the photograph a group of people, dressed primarily in light colored clothing and numbering in the dozens, are seated in the shade behind the third base line. Between the crowd and the field a solitary boy—perhaps a bat boy—stands in a light shirt and a dark tie. Bright sunshine casts long dark shadows from the trees in the background. Through the trees a few houses or cabins can be discerned. | |
