This is an 1886 photo of the Boston Beaneaters posing at a game against the New York Giants. Note (or see below) that the player on the far left in the back row is giving the camera the finger. That’s not very mid-1880s of him! He’s way ahead of his time.
This may in fact be the earliest photo of someone flipping the bird, and it’s extra surprising because historians didn’t know the gesture had reached the US from Italy before the mid-1890s. Racy.
The rapscallion in question is pitcher Charles “Old Hoss” Radbourn, who had a solid career and supposedly inspired the phrase “charlie horse.” What a way to be remembered.
Also, let’s just acknowledge that the Beaneaters is a hilarious and excellent name for a baseball team, okay? Good talk. [Retronaut via PetaPixel]