Drummond, Traci

Williams, Jennifer

English

Georgia State University

Georgia State University
ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University
Selections from the University Library Blog University Library Publications
3-27-2013
Prison and Baseball in the Southern Labor
Archives?
Traci Drummond
Georgia State University, tdrummond@gsu.edu
Jennifer Williams
Georgia State University
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/univ_lib_blog
Part of the Library and Information Science Commons
This News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University Library Publications at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has
been accepted for inclusion in Selections from the University Library Blog by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University.
For more information, please contact scholarworks@gsu.edu.
Recommended Citation
Drummond, Traci and Williams, Jennifer, "Prison and Baseball in the Southern Labor Archives?" (2013). Selections from the University
Library Blog. 3.
https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/univ_lib_blog/3
Prison and Baseball in the Southern Labor Archives? 
Posted on March 27, 2013 by Traci JoLeigh Drummond 
Jennifer Williams, a Graduate Research Assistant currently working with the 
Southern Labor Archives photograph collection, has found some interesting (and 
unexpected) things while preparing photographs for inclusion in Digital Collections. 
This blog post was inspired by images found in the Andrew P. McElroy papers. Thanks 
for sharing your discoveries, Jennifer! 
 
Andrew P. McElroy, 1890 
One of the most significant challenges in archives, for both the archivist and the 
researcher, is access. Researchers must find the time and funding to visit a research 
facility in a different city, state, or country, while archivists strive to make their 
collections available to the greatest number of people. A giant step forward in this 
process has been the digitization of archival collections which allows access to 
documents and images from virtually any location, and makes great strides toward 
solving the problems for the archivist and the researcher. 
The Southern Labor Archives at Georgia State University Library is increasing efforts to 
make more of its material available online. This digitization project is not the Archives’ 
first, but it will provide access to a large number of photographs previously accessible 
only in person. The photographs come from a wide variety of collections, and each set 
has its own story to tell. One set has proved particularly intriguing: photos from 
the Andrew P. McElroy, Sr., papers. 
 The United States Penitentiary, Atlanta, Georgia 
Andrew McElroy (1863-1921) was a Scottish immigrant and stone cutter who lived in 
Tennessee and Georgia after coming to the United States in 1882. He was an active 
participant in union life, and was in fact commissioned to cut the cornerstone for 
the Atlanta Labor Templein 1910. 
McElroy’s other important achievement as a stonecutter was being put in charge of all 
stone work for the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta between 1903 and 1917. His 
involvement with the prison is visually documented in the papers through photos of its 
construction, workers, and one other area: its baseball teams. Oddly enough, the United 
States Penitentiary system had a baseball league. One photograph depicts McElroy’s 
team, the Giants, defeating the Pirates to win the league’s pennant in 1912. 
 
Federal penitentiary baseball game 
Along with covering some genuinely interesting topics, the Andrew P. McElroy 
collection lends itself to commentary on why digitization is so important. Topics like 
prison construction, prison recreation, and unconventional sporting events are all 
covered in the McElroy photographs, but a person researching those subjects would 
likely never travel to a labor archives in search of these resources. Digitization of the 
photographs allows the researcher to much more easily find what they’re looking for, 
especially when it’s in an unlikely place! 
Look for these photographs and more in the Southern Labor Archives digital 
collection(part of GSU Library’s Digital Collections). More photos will be added this 
spring! 
 
 


Prison and Baseball in the Southern Labor Archives?

ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University

Georgia State UniversityScholarWorks @ Georgia State UniversitySelections from the University Library Blog University Library Publications3-27-2013Prison and Baseball in the Southern LaborArchives?Traci DrummondGeorgia State University, tdrummond@gsu.eduJennifer WilliamsGeorgia State UniversityFollow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/univ_lib_blogPart of the Library and Information Science CommonsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University Library Publications at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It hasbeen accepted for inclusion in Selections from the University Library Blog by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University.For more information, please contact scholarworks@gsu.edu.Recommended CitationDrummond, Traci and Williams, Jennifer, "Prison and Baseball in the Southern Labor Archives?" (2013). Selections from the UniversityLibrary Blog. 3.https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/univ_lib_blog/3Prison and Baseball in the Southern Labor Archives? Posted on March 27, 2013 by Traci JoLeigh Drummond Jennifer Williams, a Graduate Research Assistant currently working with the Southern Labor Archives photograph collection, has found some interesting (and unexpected) things while preparing photographs for inclusion in Digital Collections. This blog post was inspired by images found in the Andrew P. McElroy papers. Thanks for sharing your discoveries, Jennifer!  Andrew P. McElroy, 1890 One of the most significant challenges in archives, for both the archivist and the researcher, is access. Researchers must find the time and funding to visit a research facility in a different city, state, or country, while archivists strive to make their collections available to the greatest number of people. A giant step forward in this process has been the digitization of archival collections which allows access to documents and images from virtually any location, and makes great strides toward solving the problems for the archivist and the researcher. The Southern Labor Archives at Georgia State University Library is increasing efforts to make more of its material available online. This digitization project is not the Archives’ first, but it will provide access to a large number of photographs previously accessible only in person. The photographs come from a wide variety of collections, and each set has its own story to tell. One set has proved particularly intriguing: photos from the Andrew P. McElroy, Sr., papers.  The United States Penitentiary, Atlanta, Georgia Andrew McElroy (1863-1921) was a Scottish immigrant and stone cutter who lived in Tennessee and Georgia after coming to the United States in 1882. He was an active participant in union life, and was in fact commissioned to cut the cornerstone for the Atlanta Labor Templein 1910. McElroy’s other important achievement as a stonecutter was being put in charge of all stone work for the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta between 1903 and 1917. His involvement with the prison is visually documented in the papers through photos of its construction, workers, and one other area: its baseball teams. Oddly enough, the United States Penitentiary system had a baseball league. One photograph depicts McElroy’s team, the Giants, defeating the Pirates to win the league’s pennant in 1912.  Federal penitentiary baseball game Along with covering some genuinely interesting topics, the Andrew P. McElroy collection lends itself to commentary on why digitization is so important. Topics like prison construction, prison recreation, and unconventional sporting events are all covered in the McElroy photographs, but a person researching those subjects would likely never travel to a labor archives in search of these resources. Digitization of the photographs allows the researcher to much more easily find what they’re looking for, especially when it’s in an unlikely place! Look for these photographs and more in the Southern Labor Archives digital collection(part of GSU Library’s Digital Collections). More photos will be added this spring!   

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Prison and Baseball in the Southern Labor Archives?

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