Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Mort Tadder Photos


Mort Tadder was the Orioles' team photographer from 1961 through 2003 when he retired at 74. During those years he shot thousands of pictures of Oriole players, stars and otherwise. 

I can't remember how I got my first Tadder 8x10 B&W Oriole portrait. I can tell you that I bought many through the years from the team and from memorabilia dealers through the mail back when I was an active collector. The Orioles would send a list of available prints if you sent a letter asking for info on mail order souvenirs. I have a couple of hundred most of which are from the early/mid 60's through about 1980.  

I kept the in binders in roughly chronological order. They make a nice timeline of the Oriole roster and uniform styles. Most, but not all, have the "Tadder" word-mark in a corner of the print. Most, but not all, have the player's name below their portrait. The typography of the printed name changed through the years.

Mort Tadder did much more than just these portraits. As the 'official' team photog he shot the team's yearly picture, game action and more. I have quite a few of his other work, particularly his team photos, but the portraits are what I collected the most. He also shot the Colts while they were in Baltimore and was acclaimed for his shots of the Beatles during their Baltimore stop on the 1964 tour. He also worked with visiting clubs.

Mort's son Tim Tadder has inherited his fathers knack for photography and has a business in Southern California. He does sports photography and much more.









Some of his other pictures including an iconic Baltimore moment:











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