The Schulte Chicago Proof is one of my favorite cards. I referenced this card in an earlier post titled “Examining the T206 Joe Tinker Hands on Knees “Chicago” Variation”. That article is worth a read, but the gist of it is that a few copies of Tinker hands on knees have been found with “CHICAGO” printed across his chest, and “CUBS” printed over “CHICAGO”. When the Tinker was discovered, the Schulte Chicago Proof was already known to the hobby.
In 1997, Keith Olbermann wrote an article for the Vintage & Classic Baseball Collector magazine entitled “How Many Cards in the T206 Set?”. The article included a scan of the Schulte Proof, which Mr. Olbermann owns. The article is available online courtesy of t206resource.com. You can read it here. The existence of the Schulte lent legitimacy to the Tinker when collectors were initially skeptical of it.
Schulte front view has always been a favorite of T206 collectors, as evidenced by the premium paid for it over other “commons”. I use quotations around that word because Schulte was an incredible ballplayer. He was one of the elite sluggers of the era and his 1911 season is the stuff of legend. He scored 105 runs to go along with 30 doubles, 21 triples, 21 home runs. He knocked in 107 runs and posted an OPS of .918.
To me, Schulte front view has quite a bit of mystique due to the fact that there are two different 1-of-1s featuring Schulte. The proof is the only one in existence, but it may not even be the most famous Schulte front view front/back combo. One of the biggest mysteries of the T206 set is the Piedmont 350 Schulte Front View. For a long time, it was assumed that Schulte was a 150-Only Subject. When the lone Piedmont 350 was found, it threw that idea out the window. That card is probably the biggest head-scratcher in the entire set in my opinion. It doesn’t fit any pattern, and it’s crazy that only one survived. I wrote an article about that card, titled “T206 Wildfire Schulte Front View Piedmont 350 – Is It a 1 of 1?” which can be read here.
The proof and Piedmont 350 are out of reach for most of us, but we can settle for trying to find a Schulte front view with Hindu or Sovereign 150 backs. Both are quite tough to find, but by no means impossible.
