Wednesday, November 19, 2008

LIFE Photo Archives Online

Life magazine has just made its entire photo archive available on Google, including millions of unpublished images that have never been seen before. Chronologically, they span nearly 150 years, from Abraham Lincoln on a Civil War battlefield to Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan on the set of their show 30Rock.

There are some fantastic sports photos here, too. This shot captures the NFL's sixteen starting quarterbacks just prior to the 1961 season. Six of these guys went on to the Hall of Fame (In the back row, Bobby Layne #22, Bart Starr #15, Johnny Unitas #19. In the front row, Fran Tarkenton #10, Sonny Jurgensen #9, Y.A. Tittle #14.

There are some great color shots, too, including the one below of a gaunt Babe Ruth making his farewell appearance at Yankee Stadium in 1948.



I also found this shot of Sonny Liston on the canvas after he's been knocked out by Cassius Clay. Most of the photographers focused on an exuberant Clay, but George Silk captured a great image of Liston rising to his knees, with what seems to be an angry gaze across the ring towards the man who just took the Heavyweight Championship away.