Child smoking a cigarette during the Cardinals-Browns World Series of 1944
January 3, 2026
Child smoking a cigarette during the Cardinals-Browns World Series of 1944
33 comments
We used to be a proper country
He just pulled a 16 hour shift at the mill. Let him live a little.
dude probably had a nagging wife and his kids at home. i hope his team won
I mean you hear the stories of grandparents having smoked since they were 11, but so rarely see it
He just got home from fighting in the South Pacific
The kid behind him is clearly in the Navy
St. Louis v St. Louis!
He probably bought them at the concession stand too
That child is probably now a senator
Too bad Topps Now wasn’t around
The amount of people in the stands that lost a father or husband in WW2 is the first thing it makes me think of, mostly because I have reached the age of WW2 obsession.
I’m in my mid-40s, and my memory of 80’s baseball (which is very strong) is as far in the past now as the 80’s was to these kids.
It’s kind of crazy to think of guys my current age in 1980’s (guys who I remember well, they were my teachers and uncles and friends’ dads) easily reminiscing about wartime baseball.
Everyone stay calm, it’s toasted
I bet kid is still alive and Smoking
Peak offseason content right here.
btw – Is that a beer in his right hand?
Ngl thats a cool ass kid
That’s Lil’ Asbestos Johnson, short lived spokesboy for Winston Salem, he was placed in an iron lung shortly after this picture was taken.
I was born in the 60’s, and back in the 70’s many kids were smoking regularly. My sister began smoking at 12, I was 14 then. Our mom smoked, our mom knew she was smoking at 12 and didn’t care.
I knew others smoking at 12 and 13 out in the open too, quite a few back then.
I was 12 and 13 in junior high, 7th and 8th grade in the 70’s a good number of kids in that junior high building smoked back then, out front, waiting for the buses etc. Teachers saw, didn’t care etc. Many teachers smoked too, outside on bus duty etc.
It was a much different time back then.
Pretty sure that’s Jim Leyland.
It’s kinda weird how we had a Browns baseball team and a Browns football team
My grandfather said he started smoking when he was 10 in the 1930s. This is part of why people looked 50 at age 30 in the past.
Give the fella a break…the auto plants been busting his balls, boss sucks, wife just nagging. Let him enjoy a game and smoke. Sheesh not like it’s bad. Haha
Back when kids were allowed to be kids. /s
How else was he supposed to get the baseball cards?
Back when kids off the street could walk up and buy a ticket to the World Series.
Doctor recommended probably
Relax folks, it’s one of the doctor-recommended cigarette brands.
That kid either lived to be 44 or 104.
Kid looks like he could kick my ass
Right before dad went overseas fighting for their country he pulled the son aside and said your the man of the house now
33 comments
We used to be a proper country
He just pulled a 16 hour shift at the mill. Let him live a little.
dude probably had a nagging wife and his kids at home. i hope his team won
I mean you hear the stories of grandparents having smoked since they were 11, but so rarely see it
He just got home from fighting in the South Pacific
The kid behind him is clearly in the Navy
St. Louis v St. Louis!
He probably bought them at the concession stand too
That child is probably now a senator
Too bad Topps Now wasn’t around
The amount of people in the stands that lost a father or husband in WW2 is the first thing it makes me think of, mostly because I have reached the age of WW2 obsession.
This game was taking place during the [Battle of Aachen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Aachen)
It’s Kevin Bacon’s dad.
I’m in my mid-40s, and my memory of 80’s baseball (which is very strong) is as far in the past now as the 80’s was to these kids.
It’s kind of crazy to think of guys my current age in 1980’s (guys who I remember well, they were my teachers and uncles and friends’ dads) easily reminiscing about wartime baseball.
Everyone stay calm, it’s toasted
I bet kid is still alive and Smoking
Peak offseason content right here.
btw – Is that a beer in his right hand?
Ngl thats a cool ass kid
That’s Lil’ Asbestos Johnson, short lived spokesboy for Winston Salem, he was placed in an iron lung shortly after this picture was taken.
I was born in the 60’s, and back in the 70’s many kids were smoking regularly. My sister began smoking at 12, I was 14 then. Our mom smoked, our mom knew she was smoking at 12 and didn’t care.
I knew others smoking at 12 and 13 out in the open too, quite a few back then.
I was 12 and 13 in junior high, 7th and 8th grade in the 70’s a good number of kids in that junior high building smoked back then, out front, waiting for the buses etc. Teachers saw, didn’t care etc. Many teachers smoked too, outside on bus duty etc.
It was a much different time back then.
Pretty sure that’s Jim Leyland.
It’s kinda weird how we had a Browns baseball team and a Browns football team
My grandfather said he started smoking when he was 10 in the 1930s. This is part of why people looked 50 at age 30 in the past.
Give the fella a break…the auto plants been busting his balls, boss sucks, wife just nagging. Let him enjoy a game and smoke. Sheesh not like it’s bad. Haha
Back when kids were allowed to be kids. /s
How else was he supposed to get the baseball cards?
Back when kids off the street could walk up and buy a ticket to the World Series.
Doctor recommended probably
Relax folks, it’s one of the doctor-recommended cigarette brands.
That kid either lived to be 44 or 104.
Kid looks like he could kick my ass
Right before dad went overseas fighting for their country he pulled the son aside and said your the man of the house now
Man he looks so cool too
That kid is cooler than any of us will ever be