These two photos were sent to me by BCB reader Roger Massey, who said he found them in “an old batch of family stuff.”

Here’s the full size photo from the top of this post:

This has to be from 1933 — it’s the only year the Cubs wore uniforms exactly like that, as shown from the great “Dressed To The Nines” Hall of Fame exhibit:

Anyway, the player above is Riggs Stephenson, signing an autograph. The book shown is similar to the one many people carried back in the day for an autograph collection.

Stephenson is one of the greatest players in Cubs history, nearly forgotten today. His .336 batting average is best in franchise history (minimum 1,000 at-bats). His best year was 1929, when he hit .362/.445/.562 with 36 doubles, 17 home runs, 110 RBI, 67 walks and only 21 strikeouts. Injuries ruined the back end of his career, otherwise he’d have been a borderline Hall of Fame candidate.

Here’s the other photo I received:

That’s Woody English, who was both a shortstop and third baseman for the Cubs from 1927-36. He was the shortstop for the Cubs pennant winner in 1929 and the third baseman in 1932. His best year was 1930, when he hit .335/.430/.511 with 36 doubles, 17 triples, 14 home runs and 152 runs scored. Granted, that was a big offensive year for everyone but those are still great numbers. Injuries ruined his career, too, and he was traded to the Dodgers after 1936 and was done at age 32 in 1938.

Just another slice of Cubs history, this one from more than 90 years ago.