The Big Show: Charles M. Conlon's Golden Age Baseball Photographs

Charles M. Conlon created iconic images of baseball’s glorious heyday, taking about 30,000 photographs of the sport from 1904 to 1942. In The Big Show: Charles M. Conlon’s Golden Age Baseball Photographs, soulful, striking shots of Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, and hundreds of other major leaguers are paired with captions meticulously based on contemporary reports and quotes from the players themselves. In their own words, colorful characters spill the beans about famous scandals, divulge quirky characteristics, and tell little-known stories.

In 1993, Abrams’ acclaimed Baseball’s Golden Age first celebrated Conlon’s photographs. Research in the Conlon Collection of the Sporting News later uncovered a cache of brilliant, rare photographs. Showcasing this windfall, the book—a must-have for baseball fans young and old—is the definitive collection of America’s best baseball photographer’s work, offering a moving depiction of past baseball greats.

Praise for The Big Show:

“With The Big Show: Charles M. Conlon’s Golden Age Baseball Photographs, edited by Neal and Constance McCabe, the photographer gets a well deserved day in the sun. The more than 200 portraits here capture the soul of the early game—whether the subjects be stars or . . . something less. The players have been long forgotten. Conlon’s photographs should not be.”

—Sports Illustrated 

“In 1993, [Neal and Constance McCabe] produced Baseball’s Golden Age: The Photographs of Charles M. Conlon (Abrams). The book was a revelation in black and white, a time machine to the era of wooden ballparks, legal spitballs and manual typewriters . . . Nearly two decades later, Neal and Constance McCabe have teamed on a worthy and riveting sequel titled The Big Show: Charles M. Conlon’s Golden Age of Baseball Photographs (Abrams). The book features more than 200 photos (this time digitally produced from the glass negatives), as well as Neal McCabe’s fascinating captions.”

—Los Angeles Times

“This beautifully rendered study from the McCabes—the brother/sister writing team who produced Baseball’s Golden Age—offers a superb range of photos and intelligent prose, covering the many forgotten men of baseball, as well as some giants.”

—Publishers Weekly 

“The captions by Neal and Constance McCabe are revelations in themselves.”

—Washington Post

“This is one beautiful baseball book.” —New York Post