Sports have a long and storied history all over the world, and we’ve been documenting that history with photographs for over a century. These vintage photographs show moments in sports history, some completely ordinary, and some documenting the greatest legends in sporting history. Vintage photographs tell the story of a number of sports, capturing moments large and small, and allowing us to look back in time at how sports have evolved over time.
Our Collection of vintage Sports Photographs
Our collection of vintage sports photographs is the latest addition to our catalogue. Every photograph has been carefully digitally restored by our skilled team, renewing these unique images and returning them to their original condition. Without the dust, dirt, fading, and other damage accumulated over the years, viewers can get right to the heart of the photographs, appreciating their beauty without having to look past the ravages of time.
Each of these vintage photographs takes the viewer back in time, sometimes over a century into the past. Each one inspires a sense of nostalgia for a sport so familiar, but also displays how much things have changed over time. From uniform styles to stadiums and traditions, vintage photographs give us a look at how sports were played long ago, allowing us to see what is still the same and what has changed.
Vintage Red Sox Photographs
Our collection of vintage sports photographs includes a number of photographs of the Boston Red Sox. Many of these photographs were taken between 1919-1930. The Red Sox are one of the most well-known teams in baseball history, with many of the sports all time greats having worn the Red Sox uniform at some point in their careers.
The legendary Babe Ruth
We have a few vintage photographs of the great Babe Ruth in our collection. A household name, Babe Ruth is known to baseball fans as well as those who know nothing about the sport. In our photograph “Babe Ruth at Bat” we see Ruth mid-swing, with a stadium packed with fans behind him. This photograph was taken in 1921, seven years after his MLB debut.
Taken a few years earlier in 1919 is our photograph “Babe Ruth, Boston Red Sox”, which shows Ruth standing in front of the dugout and starting directly into the camera.
Harry Hooper Playing for the Red Sox
Our sports collection also includes two photographs of Harry Hooper. These two images were taken moments apart in 1913, likely during a practice session. With the sun shining down on the field, these images transport the viewer back in time with the nostalgia of a summertime baseball game. Any fans of the sport will recognize that feeling and find the familiarity in it. As with the rest of the images in our collection, both of these images have been digitally restored, returning them to their original, pristine condition.
Vintage Crew Photograph
Taking a break from the baseball photographs, our collection also includes this beautiful photograph of a crew team from Cambridge on the water. Taken between 1910-15, this images depicts 8 rowers propelling the boat through the water. Taken from above, this vintage photograph allows viewers to see each of the faces of each rower, offering a personal view into the sport
How we Source our Vintage Sports Images
When sourcing our vintage sports photographs, there are a number of factors we take into consideration. Not every photograph is a great candidate for digital restoration or inclusion in our collection. Here are some of the most important things we’re looking at when searching for new images to add to our collection:
- Overall image quality. Most importantly, is it a good photograph? Is it intriguing or interesting, does it offer a unique perspective, is it visually appealing? There are many photographs of interesting subjects that are lacking in overal quality. This could include awkward framing where the main subject is off on the edge of the image, or it could be more technical issues, such as being out of focus or poorly exposed. These issues are things that can’t necessarily be fixed to a degree that would still allow us to provide the highest quality prints.
- File size and resolution. A photograph could be absolutely beautiful, but if the only available digital verion of that image is very small, allowing us to only make very small prints, are aren’t likely to include that image in our collection. As you’ll see when browsing through our images, each one is available in a range of sizes. The upper range of those sizes is determined by the file size and resolution.
- Degree of damage/fading. Our skilled technicians can fix a great amount of damage when digitally restoring photographs, but some things simply aren’t possible when the goal is maintaining historial accuracy. The biggest potential impossibility would be filling in large areas of missing detail. If those areas are in open spaces like skies, no big deal. But if those areas include fine detail, such as people’s faces, sections of building, etc, we have no way to accurately restore those areas. We could fill them in with artistic liberty, but our goal at Old Town Print Gallery is always to maintain historical accuracy as much as possible, so those aren’t liberties we’re willing to take.
Reproduction Prints of Historic Sports Photos
Each of the vintage photographs in our collection is available to be purchased as a fine art print. These prints are made using the highest quality materials, all of which are fully archival and rated to last over 100 years without fading or discoloration. These reproduction prints have a number of advantages over genuine vintage prints, and archival materials is the most significant one.
Our prints can be purchased on fine art paper or canvas. Each surface is unique, and the choice of which to order your prints on really just depends on your personal preference and style. Paper prints will need to be framed to protect the delicate surface, while stretched canvas prints are ready to hang on the wall as is, giving a slightly more painterly look.
Learn more about our materials
If you’d like to learn more about the materials we use for our prints, we’ve got a whole page about that here! We’re committed to quality, and proud to offer the highest quality prints on the market.