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Stan the Man – John Falter – 5/1/54

Stan the Man
John Falter
May 1, 1954

Not only did these St. Louis kids have to miss school (awww!), they had to sit and pose with Stan the Man Musial. What a rough life. The lucky youngsters wound up with forty Musial autographs. “Wow!” one said in awe. “Will we clean up selling these at school!” We’re sure at least one of them has wished he’d kept it.

Yogi Berra – Earl Mayan – 4/20/57

Yogi Berra
Earl Mayan
April 20, 1957

Who doesn’t love Yogi Berra? Long before he became famous for maiming the English language, Berra was catcher for the New York Yankees. Artist Earl Mayan got him to pose in Yankee Stadium for this cover. Love the fan faces! The editors informed us they were friends of the artist and “were real nice-looking people till he asked them to look like baseball fans.”

Family Baseball – John Falter – 9/2/50

Family Baseball
John Falter
September 2, 1950

While we admire the pros, there’s nothing like a family baseball game. It’s 1950 and Uncle Baldy can’t decide whether to pitch or throw to Aunt Sally in the yellow dress on second base and catch the guy out. We have to say Aunt Martha’s batter’s stance is interesting. The editors speculated that the umpire was selected “because he has a natural chest protector”. Well, a natural belly protector, anyway.

Sliding into Home Place – Fischer – 4/16/10

Sliding into Home Place
Anton Otto Fischer
April 16, 1910

It’s no surprise that they played baseball in 1910, as we see in this cover. What surprised us was the artist – none other than Anton Otto Fischer. Mostly famous for his masted ships rolling over foaming waves, Fischer also was great at painting people. This slice-of-landlubber-life captures the action perfectly. Interesting catcher’s mitt!

Oregon Baseball – Clymer – 4/21/51

Oregon Baseball
John Clymer
April 21, 1951

Artist John Clymer was known for his beautiful landscapes. Sure, he manages here to paint Oregon in all its spring glory, pink blooms, Mount Hood and all. But the eye is drawn here to the fine pitching form of Miss Pigtails and the concentration of the batter. The trees may be budding and the grass greening, but kids’ thoughts turn to baseball. It must be spring!

Classic Covers: Baseball The Saturday Evening Post

People fought the bitter cold in January; went to school and baseball games; and went swimming in July. Well, the bathing suits were a little different …

Teacher catching student
Worth Brehm
March 19, 1910

Life in 1910

Northerners can relate to an artist named Robert Robinson, who did the most delightful paintings of old gentlemen (some say old geezers, but we prefer to be nice). This gent is peering through fogged-up specs at a temperature that seems to be hovering around 14 degrees. We’re not sure where his is. Minnesota, Michigan, New York? But we do know the cover is from January 8, 1910.

It’s getting a bit chilly in the classroom, too. The schoolmaster is about to descend on an unwitting student. Unlike the 2010 teacher, we suspect this one was unconcerned with a “politically correct” punishment. In other words, the boy probably got walloped.

Baseball Player
Robert Robinson
October 1, 1910

Yes, folks, there was baseball in 1910! And it made the cover of The Saturday Evening Post with an engaging cover (also by artist Robinson) of a catcher wondering “where’d it go?!” Check out the nifty catcher’s mitt.

Man mowing lawn
J.C. Leyendecker
August 6, 1910

In summer, Americans not only played baseball, they mowed lawns, too. (Sound familiar?) The gent in the August cover from famous artist J.C. Leyendecker is working away with a push mower, unaware of how “green” his method of grass control is. Who knew lawn care 1910 style would be fashionable again 100 years later? Although we suspect few of us are mowing our lawns in a vest and tie these days.

Girl swimming calling to friends
Harrison Fisher
July 16, 1910

And we don’t mean to be scandalous, but we cannot leave without warming you up with illustrations of ladies’ swimwear—1910 style, of course. The girl on the July cover is calling out to friends while swimming. You can tell the sleeves and proper head covering of her swimming costume is not holding her back.

Woman in bathing costume
Henry Hutt
August 13, 1910

A full view of swimming attire follows the next month with a Henry Hutt painting. As you can see, fashions may come and go, but our favorite American pastimes remain in tact.

Classic Covers: 100 Years Ago The Saturday Evening Post