Charles Radbourn
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Charles Gardner Radbourn, nicknamed "Old Hoss", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball. He played for Buffalo, Providence, Boston, Boston, and Cin
Radbourn, c. 1886–1891
The 1884 Providence Grays. Radbourn is standing at the far left.
Radbourn's plaque at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Radbourn pictured giving the finger in 1886, the first known photograph of the gesture
The finger
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Giving someone the finger, also known as flipping the bird or flipping someone off, is an obscene hand gesture. The gesture communicates moderate to extreme contempt, and is roughly equivalent in mean
Charles Radbourn
…stiff-leggedness that the condition forces on those who are experiencing it. Radbourn is also known for being the first person photographed gesturing the middle finger. In 1886, an image was captured of him "flipping off" a member of the New York Giants in a team photo. 300 win club…
An example of "giving the middle finger"
The Cynic philosopher Diogenes, pictured by Gérôme with the large jar in which he lived; when strangers at the inn were expressing their wish to catch sight of the great orator Demosthenes, Diogenes is said to have stuck out his middle finger and exclaimed "This, for you, is the demagogue of the Athenians."
Ukrainian postage stamp featuring a Ukrainian soldier in battle dress flipping off the Moskva