Rare pair of original pre-war photographs showing RAF Halton baseball players and a visiting United States baseball team, circa 1938.

Offered together are two fascinating original photographic postcards connected with an RAF Halton baseball match involving an American team.

The first photograph shows the RAF Halton baseball team, with the players wearing distinctive “RAF HALTON” uniforms.

The second shows the opposing American baseball team in uniforms prominently marked “US”.

Of particular interest is the handwritten inscription on the reverse of the RAF Halton photograph, which reads approximately:

“1938? … versus U.S. Olympic Team. I was umpire then! ‘BASEBALL’”

The inscription is associated with Ben Perry (who is seen in his RAF uniform second from left in the Halton team photo), providing an important personal connection with the event and indicating that Perry acted as an umpire.

The two standout players in the US team were:

Whitey Platt (1920–1970) — An outfielder who played five MLB seasons (1942–49) for the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Browns. He finished with a .255 average, 256 hits, 13 home runs and 147 RBI. He also served in the U.S. Navy during WWII.

Mike “Lefty” Schemer (1917–1983) — A first baseman who played for the New York Giants in 1945–46. In his short MLB career he hit an impressive .330, with 36 hits and 10 RBI. He had represented the USA in the 1938 Amateur World Series before turning professional.

The photographs provide an unusual record of the history of baseball within the Royal Air Force immediately before the Second World War, as well as sporting links between Britain and the United States during the late 1930s.

The American photograph also has a handwritten annotation to the reverse.

These are original period photographs and not modern reproductions.

They are being sold together because of their obvious historical relationship and surviving provenance.

Historical significance

Baseball was played at RAF establishments during the inter-war period, but surviving photographs documenting matches involving RAF personnel and visiting American players are considerably less common than conventional RAF sporting photographs.

The combination of:

RAF Halton team + American team + matching period + handwritten identification + named umpire provenance

makes this a particularly interesting little archive for collectors of RAF history, baseball history, Anglo-American sporting history and pre-war aviation memorabilia.

Important attribution note

The description of the American side as the “U.S. Olympic Team” derives from the handwritten inscription on the photograph. Although the 1940 Olympics did not include Baseball in its schedule, the US Manager - Leslie Mann (seen standing to the right in the team photo) - was a great campaigner for its inclusion and the British Press cited them as the US Olympic squad during their tour of the UK. 

Both photographs shown are included in the sale.