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WASHINGTON’S BIRTHDAY SOUVENIR CARD, LITTLE FALLS, NY ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION BASKETBALL TEAM (U.S.A.)
At first glance, this card may appear to be a cabinet card, but it's actually a printed photo and text on card stock (the photo is not glued down, but rather printed directly onto the card), that measures similar to a postcard or trade card of the era with comparable cardstock thickness. The bottom is missing from the card, but a reverse image search confirmed this is a photograph of the 1900-1901 Athletic Association Team out of Little Falls, New York. The card appears to be distributed as a souvenir in February of 1901 in celebration of Washington's Birthday. This example measures 5.375" x 4.5", although it looks as though it was originally closer to square in it's entirety, with what appears to be approximately and inch missing from the bottom.
Basketball was introduced to the Mohawk Valley and Little Falls shortly after its inception by Lambert Will, the physical education director of the Herkimer YMCA. A team was formed by the Little Falls Athletic Association in the mid 1890s, when peach baskets were still used as hoops. Thanks to a Mohawk Valley article about the team, we know the players names that are featured on this card: Alec MacCallum, "Banty" Moyer, Leland Petrie, Arthur Cunningham, Frank Ottman, and Francis Edwick.
The Little Falls team would play with the other local teams of the era: The 23rd Street Team of New York City, the All-Americans of Troy, the Celtics of Patterson, New Jersey, the Syracuse Stars, and the Buffalo Germans, a team that was later inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. The Athletic Association team's popularity faded and they disbanded around 1903, although basketball continued in the area with the Little Falls High School team.
Measurements: 5.375 x 4.5"
1901
