The 1931 Promotional Photos

Charles Akers

As Gilkerson's team ventured farther and farther west, new promotional photos of the Union Giant players appeared in newspapers across Utah, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.  For nearly a decade, Gilkerson had mainly used the same old team photo to promote the Union Giants (see header) despite the fact that none of the players pictured (other than Clarence "Pops" Coleman) were still with the team.  

1931 was different however.  Maybe Gilkerson wanted to show off the new uniforms which for the first time were emblazoned with his name across the chest.  Below it, an oversized U G stood in for the team name.

Or perhaps it was just a new approach to promoting the team in an area of the country where the Union Giants had never been before.  Most of the new photos were of individual players and emphasized the "stars" of that year's club.  

If there was a full team photo taken, it was not used in the press.  Instead a picture of Charley Akers, Walter "Steel Arm" Davis, Cristóbal Torriente or Owen Smaudling would appear in the local newspaper a few days before the Union Giants arrived.

Ackers, the Union Giants' shortstop, was always described as the comedian, the Nick Altrock of the club.  Steel Arm Davis was promoted as the slugger, the Babe Ruth of Negro baseball.  Torriente was simply the Cuban pitcher, a southpaw.  Smaulding, who had attended the University of Washington and the University of Idaho and was already known to sports fans in the West, was given the nickname "Speedball."

Steel Arm Davis

Cristóbal Torriente (Two different photos used)

Owen Smaulding

There was also a small group photo used that year, the "Murderers' Row" of Gilkerson's Union Giants, that included two additional players. In the center of the photo was catcher Richard "Subby" Byas and third baseman Alex Radcliff along with Davis and Akers on each end.

 

Steel Arm Davis, Subby Byas, Alex Radcliff, Charley Ackers

Based on the buildings that are barely visible behind the players in each of the photos, it seems that they were all taken at the same unknown location.  In one of the Torriente photos it looks as if there are mountains in the background which suggests the pictures were taken while the team was already on the road, somewhere in the West.

We have to assume that other players were photographed at that same time.  It is a shame more weren't used.  The Union Giants had a number of fine players in 1931, including Red Haley, Army Cooper, Dink Mothell, Hurley McNair, Jimmie Lyons, Jimmy Claxton and Joe Lillard (aka Joe Johnson).

In fact, the 1931 club was one of the last great Union Giant teams.  On November 7th, the Chicago Defender reported that the Union Giants had 100 wins out of 126 games played that season.  The paper provided a number of hitting and pitching stats as well.

According to an article printed in the Rock Island Argus a few months later, their win total for 1931 had miraculously grown to 131 wins with just 22 losses and 4 ties. 

Unfortunately for Gilkerson, most of the photographs from 1931 would be outdated by the next season.  Out of all the players used to promote the team, only Akers and Smaulding returned to the Union Giants in 1932.