Charles Conlon Sold at Auction Prices

b. 1868 - d. 1945

Charles Martin Conlon (November, 1868 – 1945) was an American photographer born in Albany, New York who grew up in the neighboring city of Troy.

Conlon started his career working for New York City newspapers in the early 1900s, as a proof-reader, and took up landscape photography as a hobby. New York Evening Telegram editor John B. Foster, who also produced the annual "Spalding Base Ball Guide", asked Conlon to take photographs of the players for the well known annual. Conlon later wrote in The Sporting News that “'[Foster] came to know about my hobby—taking pictures. He said to me one day, ‘Charley, they need pictures of ball players for the Guide, and there is no reason why you can’t take pictures of the players, as well as landscapes. It will be a good pickup for you, and it will be something for a day off.’” [1]

Conlon used a Graflex View camera and large format glass plate negatives before switching to film, in all he created at least 30,000 images over his career that spanned 1904-1941.[2] Most of his archive consisted of thousands of portraits of major league baseball players, however his most famous photo is a fortunate action shot of Ty Cobb sliding into third base at Hilltop Park in 1910, upending the fielder, Jimmy Austin. This photo, and many of his images, of baseball's early stars are instantly recognizable, due to having been frequently reprinted over the years and the subject of several books, trading cards and documentaries. The Cobb photo is considered the first "action" sports photo.