BASEBALL IS HIS CALLING CARD Sports photographer Gregg Forwerck takes the pictures that shape the sports card industry BY KURT DUSTERBERG
PHOTOS COURTESY OF GREGG FORWERCK
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f you grew up a baseball fan, there’s a good chance you collected some baseball cards as a kid. Whether you remember the era of swapping for your favorite major leaguers with your buddies on summer afternoons, or you meticulously filed rookie cards in sleeves and binders, the hobby holds a special place for countless fans. For more than 30 years, Gregg Forwerck has been the man behind those cards. Since 1989, he has been snapping the pictures that have graced Topps cards and other brands, reimagining the hobby with some creative flair along the way. And it’s not just baseball. Forwerck has documented the prospects, the stars and the journeymen from pro football and hockey too, enjoying a front-row seat for some unforgettable moments. In 1989, Forwerck tracked Deion Sanders when he returned a punt for a touchdown for the first time in his NFL career. When Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan walked off the field after his final win in 1993, he captured the end of an era. And when Americans were captivated by Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa’s pursuit of the single-season home run record in 1998, he was along for the chase. Forwerck, who lives near Charlotte, spends a lot of his time in the Triangle. He has served as the Carolina Hurricanes team photographer since their arrival in 1997 and also works for North Carolina State University as a football photographer. But it’s the three decades of sports cards that will be his legacy. With close to 100,000 images making their way onto sports cards, Forwerck’s portfolio is unrivaled. Not bad for a kid from Toledo, Ohio who started collecting baseball cards as an 8-year-old.
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GREG FORWERCK PHOTOGRAPHS PLAYERS FOR THE CACTUS LEAGUE IN ARIZONA.
How did you first get the attention of the Topps company?
How have things changed in three decades of photographing the players?
I was managing a Rally’s [restaurant]. I didn’t really have any credentials. I had photographed as many things as I could possibly come up with, but I didn’t have any formal training. I wanted to photograph professional sports and I couldn’t figure out how to get into it. Topps did all the sports, and I thought that would keep me busy all the way around the year. So I called this guy and he said, “I get this call every day, but if you want to be persistent, keep calling.”
There was a time where we were really focused on getting good, clean stuff on veteran players. Then collectors started saying, “We want to see these prospects, and we want to see multiple cards of them.” So we started producing more of that and spending more time tracking down those players for a good decade. Then we started focusing on the prospects who aren’t even going to get into a big league uniform this year. Over the years, those prospect cards have become a little more creative. They’re not just posed pictures and game action. I probably was the guy who started it. I don’t know anybody else who does it. I did a very memorable one at Duke Chapel with [Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox star] Manny Ramirez. He was playing in Kinston and he was coming to Durham to play at the old stadium [Durham Athletic Park]. Their hotel was really close, and I was thinking of a place that wasn’t baseball, and I wanted to get him in street clothes. I thought Duke Chapel would be the place to do it. It got voted as one of the top 100 baseball cards of all time.
Many of the photos for the cards are taken during spring training in Florida and Arizona. How do these photos all come together? On photo day, you’re trying to pose them in baseball poses. You’re always thinking about what the player would be proud of in a photo. You’re not thinking about the collector’s standpoint. I’ve always noticed that Latin guys, the infielders, those guys want to show off their gloves. You work through the poses that you know. Some guys’ shoulders are wider, so you might want them pointing the bat.
