Chicago White Sox at Washington Senators, either July 28, 1925 (Game 1 of doubleheader) or September 19, 1925 (Game 2 of doubleheader). The White Sox won both games, and Ted Lyons was the winning pitcher in each.

On the high 5...it's much more likely he was holding both hands up high as a signal to his teammate that the throw was going to be late, so don't slide. A common signal everyone still uses from Little League to the pros.

Look, Schalk's giving Mostil a high-five. I didn't realize people did that in the 1920s.

There were whispers of a relationship between Red Faber's (first) wife and Johnny Mostil, but in researching my book "Red Faber: A Biography of the Hall of Fame Spitball Pitcher" (McFarland & Co., 2007) I determined that it was not Mrs. Faber but Mostil's own girlfriend/fiancee who was the source of his discontent. But there was a teammate connection. Seems that Mostil's girl dumped him for White Sox player Bill Barrett. Eventually, Barrett married her.

Johnny Mostil (nickname "Bananas") played his entire career for the White Sox, for most seasons as a center fielder. By all measures his career was undistinguished.

However, two incidents stand out. In 1927, in a hotel room in Shreveport, Louisiana, "Bananas" took a razor to himself, inflicting 13 deep cuts on his wrist, neck and arms. At the time, the attempted suicide incident was blamed on either neuritis, a disease that caused Mostil great pain and suffering, or the fact that he had been discovered having an affair with the wife of Red Faber, a White Sox pitcher and teammate; this, too, was believed to have had the potential to cause him great pain. Whatever the reason, Mostil missed most of the 1927 season.

In 1929, Mostil broke his right leg tripping on home plate as a base runner, on the front half of an uncontested double steal. The break ended his active playing career.

Interestingly, Johnny Mostil's Razor is the title of a blog maintained by "Doug," which discusses all things related to neuritis. OK, no, actually it's a blog devoted to the Chicago White Sox.

Denny Gill
Chugiak, Alaska

Probably a bat boy. A barefoot bat boy!

Who is the guy in the background? He's on the field but not in uniform. Could it be a ball boy? Did they have ball boys in those days?