Life, 1927-02-24 · page 21 of 39
Life — February 24, 1927 — page 21: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes baseball's widespread gambling culture in the early 20th century. The scene depicts a bookmaking operation disguised as a legitimate business, with various characters making bets on baseball games. The dialogue reveals the scheme: characters discuss "dropped flies" (intentional fielding errors) at "reasonable prices," suggesting players were paid to lose or make mistakes. References to the "Basemen's National Bank" mock how betting proceeds flow through financial institutions. The satire targets both corrupt players willing to fix games and the broader gambling infrastructure that profited from baseball. This reflects genuine concerns about game-fixing scandals that plagued early professional baseball, threatening the sport's integrity. The cartoon exposes how organized betting infiltrated the sport at all levels—from street-level bettors to banking systems—making a mockery of baseball as "the grand old game."
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
+e you if you play outa position any Bible liquor dealer and pur- rye Bisky, brandy or applejack i 50 per cent Ital- shake well, (The Ver- @pined even now in non-alco- beifte gin is another matter.) ecktail represents 50 per mouth, 50 per cent. Rye h of Bitters, ipes are as follows: tail: 50 per cent. Dry cent. Brandy... Perfect at. Dry Gin, 25 per cent. #25 per cent. Dry Ver- Errors Bought, Sold &B Quoted Skelly, Lf. : i The Grand Old Game mouth and an orange peel (if that’s allow- able)...Vermouth Cocktail: 100 per cent. Italian Vermouth, a dash of Bitters and an- other dash of Maraschino. . .Star Cocktail: 50 per cent. Italian Vermouth and 50 per cent. Applejack. WE hope that this serves to answer our correspondent’s request, and we wish him all sorts of luck. As to the twenty-year sub- scription, we suggest that he take out, instead, twenty subscriptions for one year. It would cost no more, and would make the circulation look better. Lire. The Correct Form EACHER: Johnny, you know better than to say that you seen something. Now what should you say? “I heard it from a fellow who scen it.” Hows trade, Jack? Tm Showing a very fine line of dropped flies, sir, at TeaSonable prices Rotten, Eddje, havent made ten dollars Since the third inning Ny Boy! Take this money to the First Basemen's National Bank a you in the way of fumbies, today? The Artful Dodger EPitor OF Beautiful Bodies: Have you got all those nude photographs lined up for the next issue? Assistant: Yes, here they are. Epitor: How many sex stories have you ready with illustrations? Assistant: Four. Epiror: Have you got plenty of spicy fillers selected ? Assistant: Yes—some unusually hot stuff. Epitor: Good. Take down this editorial on purity. Stark Realism “J ONES is the most brutally frank busi- ness man in town.” “How so?” “When he remits m payment, he writes: *You have already found the enclosed check.’ ” comicbooks.com