Cubs historical sleuthing: An injured catcher

Getty ImagesTo allow you to play along here, I have to show you the full version of the photo above, which is in a vertical format:

Getty ImagesWe have two easily identifiable people in this photo: Ernie Banks at the right, and Leo Durocher, who is looking at his catcher, who’s clearly in some sort of distress.

Your next clue is the baseball 100th anniversary patch on Leo’s right sleeve. That was worn only in 1969.

So, the only way to figure out when this photo was taken was the visiting player also standing over the catcher. We only see a “3” on the back of his uniform. Thankfully, in those days many teams put players’ numbers on batting helmets. You can clearly see “23” on the back of the…