This image was shot by a fan on October 10th at the 1912 World Series at Fenway Park. It depicts the crucial moment of game 3, with the Giants’ Rube Marquard facing Boston’s Larry Gardner in the bottom of the ninth. The postcard states it is the second game, but it surely meant the second game at Fenway Park as the facts below clearly establish it as the third game of the World Series.

Here is the game description of the bottom of the ninth inning of the third game.

We can tell from the scoreboard that it is the ninth inning and that the Red Sox trail the Giants 2 to 0. Boston is listed on the top line of scoreboard, as was tradition at that time, and so we can tell that Boston is at bat. If we enlarge the “Batter” portion of the scoreboard we can see that there is 1 out and “5” is at the bat. “5” would correspond to the 5 hole hitter who would be Gardner.

Now let’s look at the players on the field in light of the play by play description in the NYT ariticle. Marquard is on the mound and Gardner has just ripped one down the line at first, you can see Merkle diving for the ball in vain and the 1st base coach indicating it is a fair ball. Lewis is running from 1st base and looking back over his shoulder to make sure the ball wasn’t fielded. He was ultimately held up by Wagner at third and Gardner was held to a double by this caution. This would prove pivotal as Marquard managed to get out of the inning allowing only Lewis to score to preserve a 2 to 1 victory.