Month: December 2017

Why Was Carl Lundgren (Chicago) Printed With So Few Backs? And What Do Hughie Jennings and Sam Crawford Have to do With it?

Carl Lundgren’s Chicago T206 is one of the more sought-after cards in the set.  Lundgren was a very good starting pitcher for the Cubs from 1904 to 1907 (he also turned in solid seasons in 1902 and ’03), but that doesn’t have anything to do with the popularity of his Cubs card.

Here’s What We Know:

Lundgren (Chicago) was pulled early in the 350 portion of 150-350 Series Production.  It was printed with El Principe de Gales and Piedmont 350 backs before being pulled from production.  Lundgren (Chicago) fits nicely in the “Elite Eleven*” group with other poses that were pulled after being printed with EPDG backs and a small amount of Piedmont 350 backs.

The decision to discontinue the pose makes a lot of sense.  In 1907, he went 18-7 with a 1.17 ERA.  It was his fourth straight standout campaign.  However, in 1908, his innings pitched dropped to 138.2 and he posted a record of just 6-9 to go with an ERA of 4.42.  In 1909, when Lundgren (Chi) was printed with Piedmont 150 backs, he appeared in just 2 games before being sold to Toronto of the Eastern League.

We also know Lundgren was not printed with Hindu, Sovereign 150, or Sweet Caporal 150 backs.  His is the only pose in the 150-350 Series that was not printed with any Sweet Caporal backs.  Let that sink in for a second.  That’s just weird.  In fact, the only other non Southern Leaguers that weren’t printed with any Sweet Caporal backs are the Demmitt and O’Hara St. Louis cards, which were printed only with Polar Bear backs*.

And Here’s What We Don’t Know:

It’s not known why Lundgren (Chicago) was left off the Hindu, Sovereign 150 and Sweet Caporal print-runs.  I do have a theory, but it doesn’t explain everything.  Awhile back, I wrote an article about Hughie Jennings (Portrait) and Sam Crawford (Throwing) (which can be read here).  Those two poses were also left off the Hindu and Sovereign 150 print-runs.  In fact, there are only five poses in the 150-350 Series that appear with Piedmont 150 backs but not with Brown Hindu or Sovereign 150 backs:

Crawford (Throwing)
Jennings (Portrait)
Lundgren (Chicago)
Plank
Wagner, Honus

I theorize that Lundgren is somehow related to Jennings (Portrait) and Crawford (Throwing), both of which were added to the Piedmont 150 and Sweet Caporal 150/30 print runs after production of the 150-350 Series had already started.  Both Crawford and Jennings were left off the Brown Hindu and Sovereign 150 print runs (like Lundgren).  Both Crawford and Jennings were printed with SC 150/30 backs, but left off the SC 150/25 print run.**  The fact that Lundgren was not printed with an SC 150/30 back makes the connection somewhat tenuous, but the three poses do have a lot in common.

Like Lundgren, Jennings was printed with an EPDG back, although Crawford was not.  All three poses were printed with Piedmont 350 backs, although Lundgren was pulled early and the others were not.  Jennings and Crawford went on to be printed with Old Mill, Sovereign 350, Sweet Caporal 350/25, and Sweet Caporal 350/30 backs.

In my earlier article about Jennings (Portrait) and Crawford (Throwing), I put forth the idea that those two poses could have replaced Plank and Wagner when they were pulled from further production.  There’s no way to know for sure, but it does make some sense given the late arrivals of Jennings and Crawford.  Where Lundgren might fit into that scenario is not immediately clear.

The biggest unanswered question surrounding this pose is why Lundgren (Chicago) was not printed with Sweet Caporal 150 backs.  That he wasn’t is one of the more interesting T206 mysteries.  I don’t imagine that question will ever be answered to my satisfaction, but if I come up with the answer, or even a crazy theory, I’ll be sure to let you guys know.

*Southern Leaguers were printed with Old Mill Southern League backs, Piedmont 350 backs, and 34/48 players were printed with a Brown Hindu back.

**Crawford is listed as confirmed with SC 150/25 back on T206resource.com, but I know of a few people who have been looking for one for a few years (if not longer).  It either exists in extremely low quantities, or does not exist at all.  If one surfaces, it will add a very interesting wrinkle to this puzzle, but for now I am going to assume it was not printed.

The “Rosetta Stone” of T206

This week I’m excited to team up again with Jamie Blundell to tell the story of quite possibly the coolest T206 ever printed.  Dubbed the “T206 Rosetta Stone” by net54’s resident T206 Freak, Johnny V., this card is truly one-of-a-kind.  Whatever you choose to call it, it’s clearly the most impressive example of T206 Printer’s Scrap in existence.  Its simple front gives no indication of the craziness awaiting you on the reverse.

The front features Southern Leaguer Dom Mullaney of Jacksonville.  The back has so much going on that it’s almost impossible to pick up with the naked eye.  Here is a full list of everything printed on the back of this card:

  • Brown Old Mill back (The rarest of all T206 backs)*
  • Upside Down Miscut Piedmont 350 back showing parts of 4 backs
  • El Principe de Gales back
  • Upside Down El Principe de Gales back
  • Upside Down ghost image of Cy Young (Portrait)
  • Yellow ink pass for Cy Young (Portrait)
  • Yellow ink pass for George Mullin (Throwing)

Below is a really cool graphic made by T206 collector Chris Browne.  He isolated each individual component of the back for easier viewing.

This is one of my favorite T206s in the entire hobby.  It’s crazy to think this card survived all these years, while none of the other cards from the same sheet did so.  Someone must have salvaged the sheet this card was printed on, cut up the cards, and saved them.  My guess is the main reason this particular card survived while others didn’t is the image of Cy Young on the back.  I can imagine most of the other cards being discarded due to being both exceedingly strange and depicting a nondescript Southern Leaguer.  The presence of Cy Young on this card no doubt elevated it to a higher status within the collection it resided in.

Multi-strike backs are rare enough, but the fact this one features a Brown Old Mill back and a Cy Young ghost (not to mention everything else) makes it an unbelievable, once-in-a-lifetime card.  Since the T206 Wagner already staked claim to the term “Holy Grail”, I think “Rosetta Stone” is a fitting nickname for this incredible specimen.

Unlike many T206s whose provenance is a mystery, we can trace this card from its current owner all the way back to its original owner.

Timeline:

  • In 1970, this card was purchased by a nostalgia shop called Little Nemo’s in Queens, New York from the original owner’s family.
  • This card, along with around 180 other tobacco cards was purchased from Little Nemo’s by Tom McMorrow, the future owner of East Hampton Auctions on eBay.
  • In 2008, after owning the card for 38 years, East Hampton Auctions listed the card for auction on eBay.  In an effort to promote the listing, he made the video below and posted it on YouTube, where it still resides.  Mr. Mullaney (and friends) was won by the owner of the net54baseball.com forum, Leon Luckey, for a final bid of $9,750.

In addition to the video, Tom gave a little more information about the card’s history in the auction description, which was captured for posterity by the website, t206museum.com:

“This card was one of about 180 purchased in a shoebox from a nostalgia type store on Ascan Avenue in Queens, NY named Little Nemo’s back in the early 1970s. The store had just purchased them from original owner’s family. The collection was fairly typical for what a boy growing up in New York area would have collected back in 1911, weighted towards Hall of Famers (three Cobbs, at least five McGraw, several Matty, quite a few New York Giants in the group) all in Gd to Ex condition with a few lower grade, no reverse stock loss on any, and nothing out of the ordinary but for this one. It looked like a normal kid’s collection of baseball cards, much like the Topps cards I had collected in the 1960s. This card was probably obtained by that child back in 1911 the same way kids obtained their cards for generations, by trading, flipping, or straight out of the pack.”

-T206 Museum July 9, 2008

  • In August 2015, the Leon Luckey collection hit the auction block via Heritage.  On August 13, 2015, with a final hammer price of $19,120, the “Rosetta Stone” found a new home in the collection of Jamie Blundell.

If you’ve been reading this site for awhile, you may remember the article I wrote with Jamie about his incredible T206 Ty Cobb Back Run.  If you missed it, that article can be read by clicking on the link below:

The Greatest T206 Back Run Ever Assembled: Ty Cobb Red Background Portrait

It’s really surprising to me that the market wasn’t stronger for this card when it sold at auction.  In my opinion, it’s much more desirable than any of the other Brown Old Mill Southern Leaguers.  Don’t get me wrong, any Brown Old Mill is an amazing card, and isolating the Brown Old Mill back by itself is arguably more pleasing to the eye.  I just feel the Rosetta Stone has a mystique unlike any other card, save perhaps the Eddie Collins With Bat Proof.

Brown Old Mill Southern Leaguers are incredibly rare.  They are all hand-cut and were not distributed in cigarette packages.  The prevailing theory is the printers used brown ink by mistake, and scrapped the sheets.  The cards were then cut up and saved either by one of the printers themselves, or perhaps by kids from the neighborhood.

A few Brown Old Mill Southern Leaguers have sold publicly in the years since Jamie won the Rosetta Stone.  I was surprised to see a couple of them sold for more than the Rosetta Stone:

Sid Smith SGC A sold for $24,000 in REA Spring 2015 auction

J.R. Helm SGC A sold for $14,400 in REA Spring 2016 auction

Dutch Revelle SGC A sold for $20,400 in REA Fall 2017 auction

I want to thank Jamie for sharing the story of this amazing card, and for providing me with much of the info presented above, which helped me put together the ownership timeline.

*Or the 2nd rarest if you consider the Ty Cobb back to be a T206

T206 Brown Hindu Power Rankings (Top Ten)

Based on the feedback I’ve received from other Top Ten lists I’ve published, it seems like people enjoy them.  So, I decided to put one together for my favorite back.  Besides being one of the most aesthetically pleasing backs in the T206 set, Brown Hindu is notable for being the only back that is unique to the 150-350 Series*.  There are 136 poses in the Brown Hindu Subset.  Brown Hindu is the most valuable back for almost all of these 136 poses (with a handful of exceptions noted below)**.

I’ve attempted to list these these cards in terms of demand (current market value) from highest to lowest.  I started with 17 poses and worked it down to ten.  The other 7 are listed as honorable mentions below.  As always, this is a subjective list and some readers may disagree with an exclusion or two.  Overall, I think it’s about right though.

Without further ado:

1.  Walter Johnson (Portrait)

2.  Cy Young (Portrait)

3.  Christy Mathewson (Portrait)

4.  Christy Mathewson (White Cap)

5.  Nap Lajoie (Portrait)

6.  Joe Tinker (Portrait)

7.  Mordecai Brown (Portrait)

8.  Johnny Evers (Portrait)

9.  Ed Walsh

10.  Addie Joss (Portrait)

Honorable Mentions:

-Evers (Cubs on Shirt)
-Brown (Cubs on Shirt)
-Chance (Red Background Portrait)
-Lajoie (Throwing)
-McGraw (Portrait)
-Tinker (Hands on Knees)
-Waddell (Portrait)

*Sovereign 150 also technically falls into this category, but because Sovereign backs were printed throughout the set.  Therefore, I feel Sovereign 150 has more in common with Old Mill and EPDG than Brown Hindu.

**The exceptions to this rule include the following “Elite Eleven” poses:

  • Dahlen Boston Piedmont 350
  • Ewing Piedmont 350
  • Ganley Piedmont 350
  • Jones, Tom Piedmont 350
  • Lindaman Piedmont 350
  • Schulte Piedmont 350
  • Shaw, Al Piedmont 350
  • Spencer Piedmont 350

Why was George Mullin (Throwing) Pulled From T206 Production Early?

We know that George Mullin’s horizontal (or throwing) pose was pulled early in the Piedmont 350 print run and subsequently left off the print runs of Sovereign 350 and Old Mill entirely.  What we don’t know is why.  Mullin Throwing is a member of the “Elite 11” subset.  The Poses in this subset share the same characteristics:

  • They were printed with El Principe de Gales backs.  In my opinion it is likely that most, if not all of the Elite 11 poses were printed for the entire EPDG print run.  That is debatable though, and some collectors feel these poses were pulled early from the EPDG print run.
  • They were all certainly pulled early from Piedmont 350 production
  • None of the 11 poses were printed with Sovereign 350, Sweet Caporal 350, or Old Mill backs

Many T206 back collectors have memorized the list below.  Something I don’t think many people have considered is, “Why is Mullin included in this group?”  All the other poses make sense, but Mullin sticks out like a sore thumb.

The “Elite 11”
  • Dahlen (Boston)
  • Ewing
  • Ganley
  • Jones, Tom
  • Karger
  • Lindaman
  • Lundgren Chicago
  • Mullin horizontal
  • Schaefer (Detroit)
  • Shaw, Al
  • Spencer

I’ll give a quick rundown of the reasons American Tobacco Company would have had for pulling each of the other 10 members of the “Elite 11” from Piedmont 350 production early.  After that, we’ll take a look at why Mullin’s early exit from the Piedmont 350 print run is particularly curious.

Bill Dahlen 
Released by the Boston Doves on October 23, 1909 and joined Brooklyn the following year.  The artwork on his card was changed to reflect his new team and Dahlen (Brooklyn) took the place of Dahlen (Boston) for the remainder of the Piedmont 350 print run and SC 350 Sov350 and Old Mill print runs.

Bob Ewing
Traded from Cincinnati to the Philadelphia Phillies on January 20, 1910.

Bob Ganley
Selected off waivers by the Philadelphia Athletics on May 18, 1909.

Tom Jones
Traded to the Detroit Tigers on August 20, 1909.

Ed Karger
Purchased by St. Paul on June 9, 1909.  He was then traded to the Boston Red Sox on July 26, 1909.

Vive Lineman
Played his final game in the Major Leagues in 1909.

Carl Lundgren
Played his final game in the Majors in 1909.

Germany Schaefer
Traded from Detroit to Washington on August 13, 1909.

Al Shaw
Played his last Major League game in 1909.

Tubby Spencer
Played just 28 games with the Boston Red Sox in 1909 and did not play in the Majors in 1910.

As you can see, there is a clear reason behind the early exit of each of the other 10 members of the “Elite 11” from the Piedmont 350 print run.  But what about Mullin?  He doesn’t share any characteristics with the 10 players above.

In 1909, he was at the top of his game.  He appeared in 40 games, compiling a record of 29-8 to go with a 2.22 ERA.  He led the American League in both Wins and Win Percentage.  In the 1909 World Series, he appeared in four  games, posting a record of 2-1 to go with a 2.25 ERA.

In 1910, he turned in another strong campaign, appearing in 38 games with a record of 21-12 and an ERA of 2.87.

Unlike the other 10 players, there is no obvious reason why ATC would have pulled Mullin’s (Throwing) pose from production.  In fact, shortly after pulling this pose, they began printing his (Portrait) in the 350 Only Series and followed that with his (With Bat) pose soon after as part of the 350-460 Series.

Mullin’s (Portrait) features his name spelled as “Mullen”.  One possible explanation for the early exit of his (Throwing) pose is ALC thought it had spelled his name wrong on the (Throwing) pose.  This scenario makes some sense, as ALC spelled his name “Mullen” just months after pulling the (Throwing) pose from production prematurely.  Not too long after that, they began producing his (With Bat) pose and again spelled his name “Mullin”, so I’m not sure we can say anything definitively about ALC’s thoughts with regard to the spelling of his name.  In addition, there is precedent for ALC making a minor name change when dealing with a star player’s card (Sherry Magee’s “Magie” card).  I would think George Mullin would have qualified as a star in the same way Magee did in 1910.

When I first got the idea to write this article, I hoped that Pat Romolo’s Piedmont 150 Plate Scratch research would shed some light on the topic.  The Plate Scratch sheets that Pat recreated explain why the “150 Only” subjects were pulled from production early.  I hoped I’d find something similar when I looked for Mullin (Throwing) on Pat’s Plate Scratch sheets.  Unfortunately, the recreated sheet doesn’t offer any clues.  Mullin (Throwing) is located in the top left corner of the sheet above.  The image above is too small to show detail, so please click on the link below:

Piedmont 150 Plate Scratch “Sheet 3” featuring Mullin (Throwing)

The graphic below shows a small section of the sheet where Mullin is located.  As you can see, Schaefer (Detroit) is located two to the left of Mullin.  When I first saw Schaefer, I thought there might be a pattern.  However, those hopes were quickly dashed by Mullin’s proximity to Donlin (Seated) and L. Tannehill, which were not pulled from production.

We may never know the exact reason for Mullin’s early exit, but like so many pieces of the T206 puzzle, it’s fun to try and piece it together.

Pulled From T206 Production Early: Mike “Doc” Powers

In this series of articles, I’ll take a look at the poses that were pulled early from T206 production and the reasons behind their early exits.  Most poses were pulled early either due to a trade, demotion to the Minors, or retirement.  Sadly, the reason Powers was removed from further production is more tragic.

On Opening Day of the 1909 season (April 12th), Powers was injured when he crashed into a wall while chasing a foul pop up. In the 7th inning, he collapsed but recovered enough to stay in the game until it was finished.  As soon as the game ended, Powers was taken to the hospital.  The initial prognosis was optimistic.

The only thing that occurred to cast a shadow over the joy of the fans was the seizure of “Doc” Powers with acute gastritis in the seventh inning. The redoubtable catcher, however, refused to abandon his post behind the plate and though suffering intense agony, pluckily stuck to it until the end of the game. On the verge of collapse, he was taken to Northwest General Hospital where last night it was stated by the physicians attending him that he would probably be able to don a uniform again in a few days.
–Philadelphia Inquirer April 13, 1909

Unfortunately, things soon took a turn for the worse.  It was discovered that Powers was suffering from a rare medical condition called intussusception.  Intussusception is a disorder in which a part of the intestine slides telescopically into an adjacent part.  It results in a blockage that can prevent food and fluids from passing through.  Worse still, it cuts off the flow of blood to the blocked part of the intestine.  In Powers’ case, over a foot of his intestine had become gangrenous due to lack of blood flow.  Surgeons removed the gangrenous section and for about a week, it looked like he might fully recover.  Unfortunately, a new blockage was soon discovered, leading to another -this time more intrusive- operation which was performed on April 20, 1909.  For a few days, the outlook was again positive, but on April 25th it was decided that a third surgery was necessary.  This surgery revealed that Powers was suffering from acute dilation of the heart.  Though he was given blood transfusions and oxygen, there wasn’t anything the doctors could do to save him.  On the morning of April 26, 1909 Mike Powers passed away.

The popular version of the story depicts Powers as the first Major League Ballplayer to die from injuries sustained during a game.  There is even a story that Powers himself posited a bad cheese sandwich he had eaten before the game was to blame for his intestinal problems.  Though being a doctor himself, I’m sure he understood what had in fact happened once he was in the hospital receiving treatment and undergoing surgery.

The “romantic” notion that he died as a result of an on-field injury dominates the stories written about him, even to this day.  The truth is the injury merely brought his pre-existing condition to the attention of the doctors and surgeons at the hospital.  Wikipedia still lists the cause of death as complications following the on-field injury.

In an attempt to clear up misconceptions and set the record straight about what really killed Mike Powers, the Philadelphia Inquirer published the following on April 28, 1909:

At the conclusion of the ball game on Monday, April 12, Powers was found to be suffering from interssusseption [sic]39 of the bowel, which can probably be better described in homely language as like the tuck put in a man’s shirt sleeve to shorten it when it is too long.

Interssusseption is a condition found most frequently in children and in individuals who have more or less gaseous intestinal distension, and can occur while peacefully lying in bed as readily as while strenuously exercising. The mortality is usually very high; it being regarded as a generally fatal condition.

The need for an operation on Powers was manifested by the fact that he had a mass in the right lower portion of his abdomen, giving excruciating pain, and the opening made into the abdomen over the site of the mass revealed the fact that the lower end of the small intestine had slipped into the colcum [sic] or upper end of the large intestine, rendering about fifteen inches of intestine devoid of blood supply by pressure, and consequent gangrene of this portion of the intestine.

Efforts to reduce this interssusseption or, in plainer language, to restore the intestine to its normal condition, were unavailing, and the fifteen inches of intestine involved were cut out and the ends of the severed intestine were united, with the result that the obstruction was removed and the patient’s symptoms for a week were such as to lead all to believe in his ultimate recovery. At this time, however, symptoms of obstruction recurred and it was found necessary to perform a second operation. An artificial anus was then established in the abdominal walls at the seat of the original operation, when the obstruction completely disappeared and the patient improved and partook of nourishment satisfactorily until Sunday morning, the 25th instant, when suddenly he developed acute dilatation of the heart with collapse. During the day a considerable quantity of liquid was introduced into his circulation directly through openings in his veins; oxygen was administered continuously, but under neither did he respond and death resulted at 9:14 a.m. Monday.

Philadelphia Inquirer, April 28, 1909.

The funeral was held at St. Elizabeth’s Roman Catholic Church on April 29, 1909.  Doc Powers was buried in Saint Louis Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky shortly thereafter.

The Athletics and Major League Baseball in general were stunned and saddened by Powers’ passing.  Connie Mack called Powers the “most popular man of the Athletics”.  Mack soon asked American League President Ban Johnson for permission to stage a benefit for Powers’ family.  Johnson agreed, and the Athletics began preparations for “Doc Powers Day”, which was held on June 30, 1910 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.  Doc Powers Day consisted of a skills competition followed by an exhibition game between the Philadelphia Athletics and an All Star team made up of players from other MLB clubs. Tickets cost between 10 cents and a dollar.  Tris Speaker, Hal Chase, Jimmy Austin, Harry Hooper, Jake Stahl, Hippo Vaughn, and Germany Schaefer played for the All Star team.

The event was a huge success.  When all was said and done, Doc Powers Day had raised approximately $8,000 for his widow and family.

SABR produced an excellent biography of Powers which tells the real story in it’s entirety.  They go into much more detail than I do here.  I highly recommend checking it out:

A Ballpark Opens and A Ballplayer Dies: The Converging Fates of Shibe Park and “Doc” Powers

Footnotes:

39. The disorder was spelled differently in 1909 (“Interssusseption”) than it is today (“Intussusception”). The original spelling as it appeared in the surgeon’s report is used in the quotation as extracted from the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Sources:

http://sabr.org/research/ballpark-opens-and-ballplayer-dies-converging-fates-shibe-park-and-doc-powers

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Doc_Powers

“Fully 35,000 Fans See Athletics Beat Boston in First Game of Season,” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 13, 1909.