T206 Research – Page 5 – That T206 life

The Rebuilt T206 Howe McCormick Collection

Luke March 12, 2017 March 12, 2017

I am thrilled to present a new guest-article, written by Ed McCollum. I have been wanting to tell this story since back before I started this website. I brainstormed a list of 50 or so ideas for articles and this was right at the top of the list. Ed’s rebuilt Howe McCormick Collection is my favorite T206 project. It’s an incredibly unique labor of love. Initially, I figured I would write the story, but after chatting with Ed about the project, I thought it would be really cool if Ed wrote the story himself, assuming he was willing. Luckily for us, he was. Enjoy! – Luke

My first card with a Howe McCormick stamp on it came as quite a disappointment.

It was 1991, and I was in the process of building a complete set of T206s, while along the way trying to find as many of the different tobacco brand backs as I could afford. When a Hindu-backed George Davis, listed in VG-EX condition showed up in the classifieds of Sports Collectors Digest, and at a very reasonable price, I jumped on it. Three weeks later, when the card finally arrived, it had this huge, ugly stamp across the back with someone’s name and address. A call to the dealer convinced me that you couldn’t get an otherwise VG-E condition rare-backed card at that price, unless it had some flaw. So in the binder it went with all the others.

Jump to 2007. I was still working on that complete set, but the realization that I would never finish it had set in. Still, every night I’d look online for cards I didn’t have that might fit my budget. A George Hunter card with a Piedmont back and what looked like the same stamp caught my attention. I hadn’t thought about that stamped card in years, but pulled out the binder, and yes, it was the same. So why not bid on this one, and have two cards with the same stamp? I bid and won.

Within a matter of days, a post appeared on the net54baseball.com website asking people to show their cards that had either unusual marks or stamps on them. I posted my two, telling of the gap in years between finding them, and soon had several emails from other members, stating they had one too, and would I want to trade or purchase from them? After all, why not find out how many we could find? And that started my project in earnest.

By the 100-year anniversary of the issue of the T206 set in 2009, I had 132 cards with Howe’s stamp on the back. I’d sold my original set of almost 200 cards and used the funds from their sale to fund my new set. And since the mark on the back was a qualifier for a lower grade from any grading company, the new cards I was acquiring came at a lower cost than many I would have needed to complete a real set of T206s.

Curiosity had also gotten the better of me, as I tried to figure out exactly who was Howe McCormick? Through the years, and with the help of other collectors, I’ve been able to piece together that Howe was born on July 31, 1895 in Gainesville, Florida to parents who owned a market. The market, which was both the family business and home, did a booming business in tobacco. Hopefully that explains how a 14-year old would have so many cards. Draft records show he enlisted in the Army in 1919, was discharged two years later to the same address, but by the 1930 census, he was a married father of one, and he had a different home address.

It wasn’t until 2013 that I finally found a photo of Howe online. Listed as a sophomore, he was shown in the Alachuan year book for 1913 (Gainesville High School), both in the class photo and as part of the school band. Finally, photographic proof of the man whose cards I was still continuing to find with great regularity.

In 2015, I was finally able to make contact with a second cousin of Howe’s who still lives in Florida. Howe’s grandfather was a rather important minister in the early days of Gainesville, and the family and the church he founded have stayed in close contact. With the help of a net54baseball.com board member, I was able to contact the church, who connected me with the cousin. He was able to verify some of my information, such as Howe’s death in 1976, his wife’s death four years later and the identity of their child, who had changed the spelling of her name during a show business career. I later found that she died just two years before I started to collect nothing but her father’s cards.

The cousin was also kind enough to share the only three photos his family had of Howe, including a photo of the store interior, showing the uncle that Howe was named after, and lots of tobacco products seen sitting on the shelves.

Through the years, I’ve also discovered Howe had two different stamps he used to mark his cards. Found on almost all the cards is a two-line stamp, with his name in all capital letters, followed by the address of the store/home. But on three of the cards, a stamp appears using his first name (Ulrich), H as his middle initial, his last name, followed by the word Agent. The second line reads Saturday Evening Post, and the third line gives the home address. Apparently, Howe was an entrepreneur, selling magazines while a youth. Perhaps one evening he used the rubber stamp from his business on the back of the cards, instead of his personal stamp. Interestingly enough, those three are all in green, while all the others are in some shade of faded black.

As of now, early March 2017, I have 311 cards in my rebuilt collect collection of Howe’s cards. 273 are Piedmont, 16 are Hindu, and 22 are Old Mill. There are another 30 that I know exist, either in the collections of others the cards have significant meaning to, or that have been lost in auctions where I couldn’t manage the high bid. And about once a month, a new one surfaces, meaning I still need to check the Internet and auction sites daily.

If you happen to have any cards with Howe’s stamp on the back, I’d really like to hear from you, whether you are interested in selling or just letting me know so I can add your card to my data. Please contact Luke on this site.

Written by Ed McCollum

Is the George Davis Sovereign 350 a Hoax?

Luke March 9, 2017 March 5, 2017

For awhile now, I’ve been keeping an eye out for a George Davis Sovereign 350. It’s a front/back combo that has been thought to exist, but to have printed in very limited quantities. The SGC Pop Report lists one Sovereign 350 back for Davis (an SGC 80) and PSA’s Pop Report shows zero copies. In addition, a collector has been actively searching for this card via the Buy/Sell/Trade on net54baseball.com for a few years, with no success.

This recent post by Jon Weil on the net54 forum brought up an interesting question:

I looked through the population reports and found eight cards from the T206 Resource list that both PSA and SGC show no record of having graded. We previously had mentioned the Fred Clarke, Frank Chance red portrait, and Jack Chesbro. Here’s the list of the eight “pop zero” Print Group 1 Sov 350 (forest green) cards that T206 Resource classifies as “confirmed.”

Frank Chance Red Portrait Chi Cubs
Jack Chesbro Portrait NY Highlanders
Fred Clarke Portrait Pittsburgh
Tim Jordan Portrait Brooklyn
Ed Killian Pitching Detroit
Ed Konetchy Glove High StL Cardinals
Tommy Leach Portrait Pittsburgh
Jim Pastorius Ready to Throw Brooklyn

Can anyone out there confirm independently that any of these eight cards exists?

On a related note, SGC’s pop report shows a single graded copy of George Davis, while PSA shows no graded copies. I’m wondering if SGC might have made an error. Has anyone else ever seen a George Davis with a Sov 350 back?

He brings up a lot of good questions here. The theory that the Davis Sovereign 350 could just be a data entry error makes a lot of sense. As a general rule, poses from Print Group 1 that were printed with both Sovereign 150 and Sovereign 350 backs are much more plentiful with the Sovereign 350 back. This has made the Davis somewhat of a curiosity. If it does exist, it’s the only Sovereign 350 back that is a true rarity. Yesterday, Jon was able to ask a representative for SGC if there is any way to double-check their records to make sure the SGC 80 Davis Sovereign 350 was indeed a 350 back. He was told that unfortunately, they do not scan cards they grade and they have no way of going back and looking at the card.

The other cards listed above are also very questionable inclusions in the Sovereign 350 checklist. Since we know that Sovereign 350 tends to be more plentiful than Sovereign 150 for Print Group 1 poses, all of those poses above should be relatively easy to find with a Sovereign 350 back. That is, if they exist at all. So far, no one has come forward in the net54 thread with proof of the existence of any of the above cards with Sovereign 350 backs. We know that T206resource.com has these cards listed as confirmed, with the exception of Fred Clarke portrait. They have Clarke portrait listed as a “Probable No Print” in the Sovereign 350 checklist, but in the T206 Master Checklist, it is confirmed to exist. Hopefully, a deeper look into all nine of these subjects will help us get to the bottom of this. T206resource.com is an invaluable tool for back collectors, and I’m not trying to nit-pick their work. Their checklists are extremely reliable, and they allow collectors to have conversations like this using a common rubric. However, in this case I think it’s fair to wonder if these Sovereign 350s with zero Pops might be data entry errors on their part. The SGC Pop Report below for Art Devlin shows a typical distribution of Sov150 v.s. Sov350:

Personally, I’d be surprised if Davis or the other 8 poses listed above exist with Sovereign 350 backs. I am about 99% sure I’ve not seen any of them, but to be fair I’ve only been actively looking for a few years. If evidence that any of these cards do exist surfaces, I will be sure to write an article with an update. I hope they do show up, so that we have some more scarce cards to hunt after.

If you own any of these cards, or have scans of any, please send me an email at luke@thatt206life.com

Did T206 Artists Cut Some Corners in the 350 Series?

Luke March 1, 2017 March 2, 2017

T206 350 series solid backgrounds — 350 Series (Print Group 2) Solid Backgrounds

Many collectors organize their T206s alphabetically by the player’s last name. Others group them by teams. I tend to think about the set and organize my cards according to print group. When you look at the set in this way, some patterns emerge. Throughout the set, the portraits have varying degrees of background shading. The 150-350 series has the highest percentage of portraits with shading in the background, but there are still plenty that have a single color background. Most of the portraits in the 350 series utilize only a single, solid color, but there are some with a more nuanced, shaded background. Because each Print Group includes multiple examples of portrait cards with solid backgrounds, I will not focus on portrait for this article.

In the 150-350 series (Print Group 1), every color imaginable was used. The action shots all have some variety to the backgrounds, and are often quite stunning. There is a feeling of cohesiveness throughout. Print Group 1 clearly exhibits more attention to detail than than the 350 series (Print Group 2). Print Groups 1, 3, and 4 are quite similar in style and appearance. Many cards in Print Group 2 have a single, solid color as the background. Print Group 1 only has a single card like that (Donlin seated). The Conroy below comes close, but the artist took a little extra time to add texture so you know he is fielding a ball on the grass. The solid backgrounds of the 350 series always made me feel like they rushed the artistic process, and maybe they did. The solid backgrounds still make for some beautiful cards, but I prefer a little more detail.

T206 150 series action shots — Print Group 1 Action Shots

My theory is the American Tobacco Company was surprised by the success of their baseball card promotion (they weren’t referred to as T206 back then). I think they decided to keep it going, and needed a large number of cards, quickly. The 350 series consists of 208 cards, more than any other series. It stands to reason that the artwork was put together in a short period of time. Whereas the 150-350 series has one card with a solid color background, there are dozens in the 350 series. These cards still look great, but it’s also clear that they took less time to create than a similar card with a more nuanced background. Although many cards in the 350 series have plain backgrounds, there are also some of the most beautiful cards in the set in this series. Donovan, Campbell, and Dinneen all come to mind as some of the most visually appealing cards in the set. It’s possible some cards didn’t make the 150-350 series cut but were ready to be included when ATC decided to expand the set. It’s also possible certain artists just used the same style and attention to detail in all their work, and others may have cut some corners to churn out the pieces needed for the 350 series.

The 350-460 series (Print Group 3), which consists of only 63 cards, was a return to the attention to detail of Print Group 1. There are four cards in the series that have a solid color background: Joe Doyle, Kleinow catching, Wagner bat on right shoulder, and White pitching. However, the first three have blue backgrounds which look like the sky. White, which has a yellow background, is the only card in the 350-460 series that resembles the solid backgrounds of the 350 series.

The 460 series (Print Group 4) was smaller still than Print Group 3, clocking in at just 46 cards. The artwork has a similar look and feel to Print Groups 1 and 3. Howell hand at waist is the only non-portrait with a solid color background.

T206 Sweet Caporal 150 Factory 649 Overprint – An Interesting Subset

Luke February 23, 2017 February 23, 2017

I’m excited to bring you another guest article from fellow T206 aficionado Scott Gross!

T206 Sweet Caporal 150 Factory 649 Overprints are a small (only 34 total cards) back printing sub-set. They were produced in the first printing of T206s in 1909 and are part of Print Group 1 (all Print Groups are based on the fantastic web site t206resource.com). Originally, they were produced as Sweet Caporal 150 Factory 30. The Factory 30 can be seen on some cards where the Red Stripe Over Print was misaligned. In fact, sometimes this back is called “Sweet Caporal Red Stripes.”

Due to Federal Tobacco laws, these cards were shipped from Factory 30 (2^ndDistrict NY) to Factory 649 (1^st District NY). Although there are only 34 cards, there is a nice variety, which includes 7 future Hall of Famers. There are also a few commons that have interesting printing anomalies.

The following table is based on the PSA Population report, which shows the backs that were printed for each player. There are two exceptions: First, PSA has not graded a Bates with a SC 350 / 25 back. It is theorized this card “should” exist, and the other day, a knowledgeable T206 friend of mine said he has seen one. Secondly, whereas PSA has no graded Gilbert listed, he is confirmed on T206resource.com.

EPDG

Hindu

Old Mill

Pied.150

Pied.350

Sov.150

Sov.350

SC 150/25

SC 150/30

SC 150/649

SC 350/25

SC350/30

Alperman

Bates

Bransfield

Bresnahan, portait

Clarke, J.J.

Davis, George

Davis, H.

Delehanty, Wash.

Ewing

Gilbert

Goode

Griffith, Portrait

Johnson, Portrait

Jones, St. Louis

Killian, Pitching

Lajoie, Throwing

Lake, New York

Liebhardt, Glenn

Manning, Batting

Marquard, Hands Thighs

Mathewson, White

McIntire, Brooklyn

McQuillan, ball in hand

O’Leary, Portrait

Owen

Pastorius

Powers

Ritchey

Schlei, Catching

Schmidt, Pitching

Sheckard, no glove

Spencer

Wagner, Bat Left

Wilhelm, Pitch

Let’s look at what these cards have in common. Actually they ALL have a lot in common. ALL can be found with Hindu backs. That would make sense, as Hindus were also produced at Factory 649. They also can ALL be found with the following backs: Piedmont 150, Sovereign 150, Sweet Caporal 150 / 25, and Sweet Caporal 150 / 30.

Cards produced with El Principe De Gales backs are kind of hit-or-miss. The majority of them, 22, have EPDG backs. I can only assume the 12 that do not have EPDG backs just “didn’t make the cut” for this back run.

All but one player (Powers, which will be discussed later) were produced with Piedmont 350 backs. However, only ten have a Sovereign 350 back. Once again, kind of hit-or-miss who made the this cut. On one hand you have very talented and popular (future HOFs) cards like Roger Bresnahan, George Davis, Clarke Griffith, and Walter Johnson, but not Napoleon Lajoie, Rube Marquard, or Christy Mathewson. Commons-wise, Glenn Liebhardt (who was printed with Sovereign 350 back) was a very good minor league pitcher, but nothing to brag about in the majors.

OK, now let’s look at the few anomalies:

First, we have Mike “Doc” Powers. Powers was a medical physician, thus the nickname, and was mainly a back-up catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics. He has no EPDG (as suspected, just didn’t make the printing). More importantly, he has NO 350 series backs. The reason for this: He was one of the very first cards pulled from T206 production. He also has no Old Mill back (which probably was pulled early, also). This is sadly understandable in that he died on April 26, 1909, just after the production began. The romantic version of his death is he died running into the stands after a foul ball on opening day. Partly true; he actually died from complications following surgery resulting from injuries sustained on that day. His full catcher’s-gear image is a favorite of many collectors, including myself.

Three other “odd” cards are Bob Ewing, Tom Jones of St. Louis, and Tubby Spencer. Like Powers, they neither have Old Mill backs, nor do they have Sweet Caporal 350 backs. The explanation is that they were pulled from production early. Not as early as Powers, but right about the beginning of 350 Series production. This timeline is not only based on the absence of Old Mill or Sweet Caporal 350 cards (or Sovereign) but also the fact that they are very short-printed, and extremely tough to find with Piedmont 350 backs. They both fall into the category known as The Elite 11*, which all have the same back distribution.

By the way, I have collected all 34 cards. It took about a year. I can’t say any one is anymore difficult to come by than any other. That includes HOFers, commons, and anomalies. It’s a FUN and doable sub-set, give it a try!!!!!

Written by Scott Gross

* the term Elite 11 was first introduced by collector Ted Zanidakis over on net54baseball.com

Why Don’t T206 Collectors Care About Hand-Cut Cards?

Luke February 16, 2017 February 16, 2017

Ever since I started collecting T206s, I’ve always been intrigued by cards that are clearly hand-cut. Oftentimes such cards also have blank backs or are missing colors, but sometimes they look pretty normal. This Stovall above is a good example of a card that clearly was cut from a sheet by hand (the bottom border is much wider than any factory-cut cards), but looks just like any other Stovall portrait otherwise.

I’ve always been drawn to these cards and I don’t really understand why collectors don’t seem to care for them. Though the market has been down recently, collectors still clearly covet Blank Backs and cards that are missing multiple colors passes. It makes sense that the most unique examples of Printer’s Scrap would be the most valuable. However, there is a ton of demand for other semi-scarce T206s, so the lack of demand for cards like my Stovall seems odd. For example, a PSA 3 Snodgrass with Tolstoi back just sold for $106 via ebay auction. Between PSA and SGC there are 14 copies of this front/back combo graded. A PSA 3 with Piedmont back would probably sell for about $40, so the Tolstoi back was worth for a 2.5x premium. This Stovall might be the only copy that was hand-cut, and I’d probably struggle to sell it for $30.

I can hypothesize a few reasons for the lack of demand. Maybe the fact that you can’t really “prove” these cards were hand-cut plays a role in the tepid response from collectors. Perhaps people find the wavy borders distracting. And maybe there just isn’t enough variation visually between a factory-cut copy and my Stovall for people to take notice. I do find it odd that T206 collectors hunt scarcity and perceived scarcity in many different ways, but will show little or no interest in certain scarce cards or variations. I believe that a lack of interest in a certain T206 niche will often breed more disinterest. It’s fun to show off your new cards and share new pickups with friends. When you’re the only person collecting a certain thing, it can feel pretty lonely after awhile.

What do you think about hand-cut cards? Do you like them? Would you pay a premium for them? Would you rather have the Leifield above, or a normal looking Leifield batting with a semi-tough back like Old Mill? Please leave a comment and join in the conversation.

Understanding the American Beauty backs: T206 American Beauty 460 (Part 4/4)

Luke February 9, 2017 February 5, 2017

American Beauty 460 backs were released in 1911, at the tail end of T206 production. Poses from Print Groups Three, Four, and Five are represented in the AB 460 subset. As you can see, they share the same design with American Beauty 350 no frame (which I discussed in Part 3 of this series).

American Beauty 460 is the scarcest American Beauty back in terms of overall population. It ranks 13th on the Back Scarcity Rankings at t206resource.com. American Beauty 350 no frame is 15th and American Beauty 350 with frame is 21st. Individual subjects with American Beauty 460 backs are also typically more scarce than a single pose with either AB350w/f or AB350nf. There are a few exceptions to this rule (12 to be exact) that I will discuss in a moment.

Here is the complete American Beauty 460 checklist:

Many of these cards are extremely scarce. However, there are a group of 12 poses which were printed in much greater quantities with American Beauty 460 backs than the other poses in the subset:

Crandall with cap
Devore
Duffy
Ford
Gandil
Geyer
Hummel
McGraw glove at hip
Pfeffer
Sheckard glove showing
Tannehill on front
Wheat

These 12 poses were dubbed “The Exclusive 12” in 2013 by collector Ted Zanidakis in a post on net54baseball.com (which you can read here). They probably are a subject for another post, but suffice it say they are relatively easy with American Beauty 460 and Tolstoi backs, but tougher than you would expect with EPDG and Polar Bear backs.

American Beauty 460 backs sell for more than any other American Beauty backs (with the exception of the 12 players listed above). Many of the subjects who are not part of the “Exclusive 12” have extremely low known populations. If you play with the PSA Pop Report, (which I explained how to use in this post) you will find many that have Pops of zero, one, or two.

Thank you as always to t206resource.com for the use of their checklists.

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

Luke February 2, 2017 1 Comment

Completing any back run that includes Broad Leaf 460, Red Hindu, and/or Lenox is a daunting project. Attempting to complete a Ty Cobb Red Background Portrait back run is sheer lunacy. But that’s just what T206 collector Jamie Blundell set out to do in 2013.

The story actually starts in December of 2011. A Cobb portrait with Drum back was auctioned off via ebay and Jamie’s bid held up. Any time you get a Drum, the thought of a back run inevitably comes to mind, since you’ve just added one of the toughest possible backs (at least so I’ve heard, no Drum for me yet). The idea did occur to him, but at that point the rest of the cards he would have to acquire still seemed too far out of reach.

Fast forward to Spring of 2013. Jamie was killing some time scrolling through posts on the net54baseball.com forum. He stumbled upon a test page where another collector had uploaded scans of 17 different Red Background Ty Cobb Portraits, all with different backs. Upon seeing all those different Cobbs lined up together, he was fixated on the idea of putting together a Cobb run of his own. Jamie made the following checklist of every Red Background Ty Cobb:

SC 350 25
SC 350 30
SC 460 25
SC 460 30
SC 460 42
SC 460 42 OP
Pied 350
Pied 460 25
Pied 460 42
Sov 350
Sov 460
Old Mill
Polar Bear
Tolstoi
Cycle 350
Cycle 460
American beauty 350 Frame
EPDG
Carolina Brights
Red Hindu
Black Lenox
Drum
Broadleaf 460
Blank Back
T213 Type 1
T213 Type 2
T213 Type 3
T213 Type 3 Overprint
T214 Victory
Cobb back

To say that list is intimidating would be a severe understatement. However, he already had one of the toughest cards on the list, and was about to add another. In April 2013 a Cobb portrait with Lenox back showed up on ebay, but it was in a GAI holder, and it sat there for a few days despite a low Buy It Now price. Jamie decided to take a gamble on it and immediately sent it to SGC, who agreed with GAI’s assessment that the card was authentic and unaltered.

“That was the defining moment.. my first two Cobbs were the Drum and the Lenox… and at that point I decided to make a run at it.”

Over the course of the next 5 months, he added 14 more to the run including the very tough Cycle 460.

April 2013 – Polar Bear
May 2013 – SC 350-460 Fact 25, SC 350-460 Fact 30, SC 350-460 Fact 42 w/ Overprint, T213 Coupon Type 2
June 2013 – Tolstoi, Piedmont 350, SC 350/25, SC 350/30, SC 350-460 Fact 42
July 2013 – Sovereign 350, Old Mill, Cycle 460, Piedmont 460 25

September 2013 was an absolutely huge month for the back run:

Sept 2013 – Cycle 350, Red Hindu, T213 Coupon Type 1, American Beauty 350

The Cycle 350 is a tough card in its own right, but it was overshadowed by three extremely rare combos. The T213 Coupon Type 1 and American Beauty were acquired in separate private transactions with fellow net54 forum members. The Red Hindu trade is my favorite story. Here it is in Jamie’s own words:

“I was emailing with another collector who I knew had three Cobb Red Hindus. Yes you read that right. Only 6 known to exist, and this collector had three. I really thought the Red Hindu was one I would never get. But this collector was willing to perhaps trade me for several of my errors and rare backs. The only problem: We would have to meet face to face. No trade of this magnitude can be done remotely. As fate would have it I had a work appointment within a one-hour drive of this collector. So we agreed to meet to see if a trade was possible. I flew out a day early, met with him
and traded 15 of my cards (which included a Brown Lenox back, many tough front-back combinations, blank backs, mis-cuts, and ghost images) for one very clean PSA 1 Red Hindu Cobb. I flew home in disbelief that I’d just combined the Drum, the Lenox and the Red Hindu. I knew the Red Hindu was on the checklist of 30, but it was off of my mental checklist. I just assumed I would not get it, and if I did, it would be a very long time before I would see one for sale. The opportunity to own one so early in my quest was fantastic. So, I literally flew across country for that card.
So now I am 5 months into the back run and I have reached 20 backs. I was thrilled with my progress, but I also knew it was about to get much tougher if I wanted to continue. In my mind I was happy to reach 20. That was my personal goal. Why not keep going…”

In November 2013, after taking a short pause to breathe, Jamie began to search for the ultra-rare Broad Leaf 460. There is only one copy of this card known to exist, graded SGC 10. Finding the card was quite a challenge. Jamie scoured the internet looking for clues as to the card’s whereabouts. Eventually, he found a post on a forum from 2003 that led him to the card’s owner. He had owned it since 2005 and was understandably hesitant to part with it. In time, he decided the card would find a good home in Jamie’s epic back run. The two collectors settled on a price, and Jamie became the proud new owner. This card is the pinnacle of this incredible collection.

“This was, and still is to this day the most expensive card I have ever purchased. I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to put the Broad Leaf, Drum, Red Hindu and Lenox together in the same collection.”

Dec 2013 – Piedmont 460 fact 42, Sov 460, EPDG

The train kept rolling in December. Jamie traded a Blank Back Southern Leaguer and cash for the very tough Piedmont Factory 42 Cobby. Next up was the scarce and underrated Sovereign 460. A friend was working on the Sovereign 460 subset but decided to split it up and send the Cobb to Jamie for his back run.

Feb 2014 – Blank Back

“60 days after my last Cobb, and a blank back comes up for auction. This is one of two known!!! Once I confirmed the card was authentic I knew I had to acquire it. It might be my last chance at a Blank Back. As the auction wound down, I made a bid, but was outbid at 2:00 A.M. I woke up to the outbid email. Good thing because my next bid is what won the card! Went back to bed after bidding and woke up crossing off another card I never thought it would be possible to attain.”

At this point, Jamie had 25 of the possible 30 backs on his checklist. The last 5 were some of the toughest and most coveted cards in the hobby: Carolina Brights (the only card left on the checklist that is universally considered a T206), T214 Victory, T213 type 3, T213 type 3 with Factory 8 overprint, and the iconic Ty Cobb back. Some time passed, and then:

March 2015 – Carolina Brights, bought privately from a Net54 board member
August 2015 – T213 Type 3 with Factory 8 Overprint

“A huge breakthrough. I found a Type 3 Coupon. Two weeks later, I traded it with additional cash to a collector who I knew owned the only T213 Type 3 with factory 8 overprint… A true 1 of 1. I crossed off the Coupon type 3 Factory 8 Overprint but had to give up the T213 normal type 3 to get it. So that left me still needing the normal Type 3 Coupon. I figured it would be easier to find another Type 3 Coupon and needed to secure the factory 8 overprint. So I was happy to make the deal.”

At this point, the run was only missing 3 cards: Ty Cobb back, T213 Type 3, and T214 Victory. As you can imagine, it was getting extremely tough to find the cards Jamie needed. 11 months passed, and then he found another:

July 2016 – T213 Type 3

“Two net54 board members were at a regional trade show and saw one for sale. Knowing I might be interested they contacted me, bought it for me, and sold it to me. The type 3 completed the T213 Coupon run of all 4 possible backs: T213 Type 1, 2, 3 and 3 with OP.”

This brought the run to a staggering 28 cards. I have no qualms with declaring this the greatest T206 Back Run that has ever been assembled. In terms of T206 Cobbs, many people would argue that the run is complete. Collectors are kind of split as to whether the Ty Cobb back should be considered a T206 or not. I personally don’t consider it a T206 so to me, the T206 portion of Jamie’s run is complete.

This is where his collection sits today. There are still two cards on Jamie’s want-list, and they are TOUGH. Jamie plans to loan his Cobbies to the Detroit Tigers for a year or two so that they can display them, but he’s hoping to land the T214 Victory first. There are only two copies known, so it’s not going to be easy. But if this project has proven one thing, it’s that anything is possible.

The Infamous T206 Ed Walsh with Blue Old Mill Back

Luke January 29, 2017 January 29, 2017

In August of 2012, word started circulating on net54baseball.com that an Old Mill with blue ink had been found at the National. Initially most people thought it was a joke, but within a couple days a picture was posted of the card inside an SGC holder. Many long-time collectors who had inspected it in person agreed that it looked legitimate. SGC thought enough of the card to label it as a “Blue Back”. At this point, many forum members who had only viewed camera phone pictures deferred to the collectors who had seen the card in person. Still, many were not convinced. Some thought the card looked good but that the ink could have faded or been exposed to chemicals. A member posted a reprint Old Mill back which had been printed with blue ink side-by-side with the back of the Walsh (shown below). There were also a small group of posters who agreed the heavy and even rounding of the corners gave them pause, as many artificially aged reprints exhibit suspiciously even corner rounding.

In December 2012, the card showed up for auction via Huggins and Scott. It debuted with a hefty $15,000 minimum bid. It sold but only received one bid. The story died down a bit after that. In November 2013, the card showed up for auction again, this time via Heritage Auctions. It sold for $14,340 this time. Forum posters noted how the new owner had listed it on Heritage’s website with a $30,000 price tag. At this point, the card kind of fell off the face of the earth. People stopped talking about it, and it hasn’t been offered for sale since. When the discovery was first publicized, collectors everywhere pulled out their Old Mill backs to give them another look, just in case they might have a blue back. Nobody found one. It’s hard to imagine that only one single card from a factory-cut sheet would have survived. It’s absolutely possible of course, just unlikely. If you look closely at the edges of this card, you can make the case that it was originally hand-cut. If it was, that would make a lot of sense. If a sheet was printed with blue ink and then scrapped, you would expect most cards on the sheet would have remained in the garbage and star players like Walsh would be most likely to survive.

There is no question that the front of this card is legit. It shares some printing flaws with a few other Walsh cards printed in 1910. T206 back collector Scott Stiffler posted this comparison of his card (the SGC 40) with the Blue Old Mill to show the print anomalies that the two cards share. They both have a weak border on the left and right sides and little red dots on the “I” in Chicago and on his forehead. The Piedmont 350 below exhibits the same weak border on the right hand side as well as the red dot at the top of the “I”.

Controversy is likely to follow this card until another Old Mill with Blue Ink is found (if that ever happens). I tend to trust the advanced collectors who have held it and pronounced it the real deal. I also trust that SGC would have done their due diligence in making sure the card was not re-backed or altered in any way that could be detected. My biggest concern about the card personally is this: If it were re-backed, it would probably look just like this because the person who did it would want to round the corners to try and smooth the edges and avoid detection.

I’d love to see it in person someday. Until then, I’ll remain the slightest bit skeptical, like most others who have only seen the scans online.

Tough T206 Polar Bears??? Certainly!!!

Luke January 26, 2017 January 26, 2017

A Guest Blog Article from Fellow T206 Junkie Scott Gross

First off, I’d like to thank Luke for allowing me to write this brief article as part of his great new T206 blog. We are both T206 fanatics, and enjoy all aspects of this fantastic set. There is always something new to learn, especially when it comes to advertising backs.

As far as basic adverting back rarity goes, even the newest collector knows Piedmont and Sweet Caporal backs are the most common. Of course, there are some exceptions, and “exceptions” are some of the most interesting aspects of T206 collecting. Next up on the back list, most would say Polar Bear is the most common.

Polar Bear cards were distributed uniquely in the T206 world in packs of loose tobacco. Therefore, many cards have very distinct tobacco stains. They were first distributed in early 1910 as part of the second round of T206 printings, known by many as Print Group 2.

OK, now to the gist of this article: Are all Polar Bear subjects as common as thought? Most are. But this means some are not!

Subjects printed in Print Group 2, mentioned above (350 Subjects Only) and Print Group 3 (350-460 Subjects) are relatively common. However, subjects released in Print Group 4 (460 only) can be quite tough to find. 460 Only printing was in early 1911. My theory is that this was when Polar Bear brand was slowing down and/or ending their affiliation with T206 cards.

Now for some numbers. There were only 46 new cards added in the 460 Only printing: 39 common players, and 7 Hall of Famers. As an aside, a disproportional number (15) were NY Giants. That would make sense, as the Giants were the popular team of the day.

Here is a list of the 460 Only, along with the number of Polar Bear cards graded by PSA (using PSA populations as a relative example of distribution):

Abbaticchio, Ed (Blue Sleeves)	16
Ball, Neal (Cleveland)	12
Bell, George (Follow Thru)	11
Bergen, Bill (Catching)	11
Bescher, Bob (Hands In Air)	14
Bridwell, Al (Portrait – With Cap)	15
Camnitz, Howie (Arm At Side)	8
Camnitz, Howie (Hands Above Head)	10
Crandall, Doc (Portrait With Cap)	13
DeVore, Josh	11
Doyle, Larry (Portrait)	7
Ford, Russ	11
Frill, John	13
Gandil, Chick	19
Geyer, Rube	10
Herzog, Buck (Boston)	16
Howell, Harry (Hand At Waist)	9
Hummel, John	18
Lake, Joe (St. Louis – Ball In Hand)	15
Latham, Arlie	26
Merkle, Fred (Throwing)	18
Meyers, Chief	20
Murray, Red (Portrait)	10
Needham, Tom	13
Oldring, Rube (Batting)	9
Overall, Orval (Hands Waist Level)	10
Payne, Fred	14
Pfeffer, Francis	8
Schaefer, Germany (Washington)	18
Schlei, Admiral (Batting)	19
Schlei, Admiral (Portrait)	20
Schulte, Wildfire (Back View)	7
Seymour, Cy (Portrait)	25
Sheckard, Jimmy (Glove Showing)	10
Smith, Happy	15
Stovall, George (Batting)	13
Tannehill, Lee (Tannehill On Front)	15
Wiltse, Hooks (Portrait – With Cap)	23


Chase, Hal (Holding Trophy)	29

Chance, Frank (Batting)	15
Duffy, Hugh	17
Marquard, Rube (Pitching)	30
McGraw, John (Glove At Hip)	24
McGraw, John (Portrait – With Cap)	17
Tinker, Joe (Bat On Shoulder)	17
Wheat, Zack	21

Looking at only the common players (excluding Chase, who will be discussed later), the average number is 14. Now, there are some players with noticeably higher numbers. But notice which ones: NY Giants (Latham, Merkle, Meyers, Schlei, Seymour, Wiltse). Once again, due to the popularity of these players, they may have been relatively over-printed. If you remove these Giants, the average would drop to about 12.

In order to get these numbers to make sense, we have to look at Polar Bear card populations from the 350 Only and 350-460 printings. What I have done is select a random number of these Polar Bears cards. Actually they are the ones I have in my collection. The average population of 45 of these non-460 Only cards is 21.

If I could find my Stats book from college long ago, I could do some statistical analysis on these numbers. But I’ll let them stand as is, and speak for themselves. The 460 Only average is 14 versus Non-460 Only at 21. I’ll conclude that 460 Only Polar Bear cards are tougher to come by.

In fact, there are some of Polar Bears being as tough to find as corresponding Tolstoi backs:

Player Polar Bear Tolstoi

Camnitz, Howie (Arm At Side)	8	6
DeVore, Josh	11	14
Doyle, Larry (Portrait)	7	8
Howell, Harry (Hand At Waist)	9	8
Pfeffer, Francis	8	9
Schulte, Wildfire (Back View)	7	7
Sheckard, Jimmy (Glove Showing)	10	12
Tannehill, Lee (Tannehill On Front)	15	19

Next up: Prince Hal Chase. Although Chase is not in the Hall of Fame (a definite candidate, but too much gambling baggage), he was arguably one of the most popular players of the time. He has 5 T206s. Of the five cards, no Polar Bears were printed with his Pink Portrait or White Cap cards. Looking at his Polar Bear cards, there is a notable drop in his 460 Only Holding Trophy:

Blue Portrait – 56

Dark Cap – 40

Holding Trophy – 29

Finally, Hall of Fame Polar Bear 460 Only. Now, with these HOFs, there appears to be a substantial decrease in the number of Polar Bears.

Chance, Frank (Batting)	15
Duffy, Hugh	17
Marquard, Rube (Pitching)	30
McGraw, John (Glove At Hip)	24
McGraw, John (Portrait – With Cap)	17
Tinker, Joe (Bat On Shoulder)	17
Wheat, Zack	21

Average: 20

Compare this to my Non-460 Only HOFs with Polar Bear Backs (which, I think, is a nice, random group):

Jimmy Collins (Minneapolis)	25
Rube Marquard (Pitching Follow Through)	29
Hughie Jennings (Both Hands Showing)	31
Joe Tinker (Bat Off Shoulder)	42
Johnny Evers (With Bat Chicago On Shirt)	49
Hughie Jennings (One Hand Showing)	54
Mordecai Brown (Chicago On Shirt)	56
Ty Cobb (Bat Off Shoulder)	63
Cy Young (Cleveland) (Glove Shows)	67
Walter Johnson (Pitching)	73
Frank Chance (Portrait Yellow Background)	80

Average: 52

Once again, quite notable that 460 Only Polar Bears (avg. 20) are rarer than Non-460s (avg. 52). Also, many are comparable to corresponding Tolstoi difficulty when it comes to tracking them down:

Player Polar Bear Tolstoi

Chance, Frank (Batting)	15	11
Duffy, Hugh	17	17
McGraw, John (Portrait – With Cap)	17	25
Wheat, Zack	21	19

So next time you run across a “common” Polar Bear, double-check if it’s a 460 Only print. It may not be as “common” as you think!

Written by Scott Gross

*thank you as always to the folks at T206resource.com for sharing their spreadsheets with us, and all T206 collectors

The Top 10 National League Pitchers of 1909 (in terms of WAR)

Luke January 22, 2017

Over 100 years have passed since the T206 set was produced. History has a way of simplifying events and legacies, sometimes to our detriment. T206 collectors generally put their cards into one of three categories: Hall of Famer, Southern Leaguer, or common. That last umbrella is far too large. If you haven’t studied the players, teams, and statistics of the deadball era, you would look at an Orval Overall card next to a Newt Randall and put them both in the “common category”. If you know who the Hall of Famers in the set are, you are well on the way to knowing who the best players of the era were. But, as I hope to show, there are a ton of other stars and interesting players whose stories have largely been lost to time. In this series, I’m going to take a look at the standout players from 1909, 1910, and 1911. You’ll know a lot of the names, but hopefully you’ll also learn something about some “common” player cards you own.

1. Christy Mathewson – 9.2 WAR for pitchers

“Matty” had a ridiculous season. His 1.14 ERA led the NL, and his 25 wins were second only to Mordecai Brown. He was first in hits per 9 (6.27) and walks per 9 (1.17). He threw 8 shutouts and finished 26 games. In 1909, ATC released his “Portrait” and “White Cap” cards, and “Dark Cap” followed in 1910.

2. Mordecai Brown – 8.7 WAR for pitchers

In a lot of seasons, he would have been the best pitcher in the NL. He sported a 1.31 ERA to go with a 27-9 record. He threw more innings than anyone, and it wasn’t even close. His 342.2 dwarfed Mattern’s 316.1. Mordecai matched Matty’s 8 shutouts and led the NL in complete games with 32. He even found time to lead the NL in saves with 7! In 1909, his “Portrait” and “Cubs on Shirt” cards were released. “Chicago on Shirt” was produced in 1910.

3. Nap Rucker – 7.8 WAR for pitchers

Rucker turned in an amazing season for the hapless Brooklyn Superbas. His record of 13-19 was underwhelming, but advanced metrics show how dominant he really was. Brooklyn went 55-98 that year, so wins were at a premium. His 201 strikeouts were good for 2nd in the NL, and his 309.1 innings thrown was third most in the league. He finished 28 games (3rd in the NL) and 6 of them were shutouts (4th). In 1909, his “portrait” card was released and “throwing” followed in 1910.

4. Orval Overall – 7.2 WAR for pitchers

Orval went 20-11 with a 1.42 ERA for the Cubs in 1909. He led the league in strikeout (205) and K/9 at 6.48. Rucker was a distant second at 5.85. He also led the NL in shutouts with 9. ATC released his iconic “Portrait” in 1909 and “Hand at Face Level” in 1910. His final T206, “Hands at Waist Level”, was released in 1911.

5. Art Fromme – 5.6 WAR for pitchers

Fromme went 19-13 with a 1.90 ERA for Cincinnati in 1909. He had gone 5-13 in 1907 and 1908, so his stellar performance came as a surprise to fans and the American Tobacco Company alike. He did not grace the front of a T206 in 1909, but after his amazing season, he was given one in 1910. He was a workhorse, starting 34 games (tied for 2nd in the NL) and finishing 22 of them. Fromme’s peripherals are mostly underwhelming compared to the rest of the hurlers in this list. However, his Hits/9 was second only to Mathewson at 6.28.

6. Earl Moore – 5.5 WAR for pitchers

1909 was the start of a sick 3 year run for Earl Moore. He was amazing for each of the years T206s were produced, and yet he was omitted from the set. It’s hard to fathom why. I do have a theory as to the reason, but it is a subject for another article. He had an 18-12 record to go with an ERA of 2.10. His 173 K’s was good for 3rd in the NL. He started 34 games and finished 24 of them.

7. Howie Camnitz – 5.5 WAR for pitchers

Camnitz’s record of 25-6 matched Matty’s output for the 1909 season. His ERA (1.62) was 4th in the NL, and his BB/9 and Hit/9 were both in the Top 10. He started 30 games, 20 of which were completed. Six of those were shutouts. Like the first 4 pitchers on this list, Camnitz appears on three T206 cards. His “Arms Folded” card was released in 1909 and “Arm at Side” and “Hands Above Head” both came out in 1911.

8. Ed Reulbach – 5.4 WAR for pitchers

“Big Ed” turned in a 19-10 record to go with an ERA of 1.78 in 1909. It was his 5th straight stellar season, and he was only 26 years old. Looking at this list, you can imagine how dominant the Cubs staff was. Both his K/9 and BB/9 were top 10 in the NL. He started 32 games. 23 of them were CGs and 6 were shutouts. In 1909, his “Glove Showing” T206 was introduced, and “No Glove Showing” followed in 1910.

9. Vic Willis – 4.5 WAR for pitchers

As a 33 year-old, Vic Willis led the NL in games started with 35 (24 of them were complete games). He won 22 and lost 11 in his penultimate campaign. It was his 4th straight 20-win season for Pittsburgh. Willis’ “Portrait” was released in 1909 and features him with Pittsburgh. His “With Bat” and “Pitching” poses were both produced in 1910 and depict him in a St. Louis uniform.

10. Hooks Wiltse – 4.1 WAR for pitchers

In arguably his finest season, Wiltse went 20-11 with a 2.00 ERA in 1909. It was his 6th straight exceptional campaign. He sneaked into the Top 10 in strikeouts with 119 (10th) and his BB/9 of 1.70 was good for third in the NL. His “Portrait no cap” was released in 1909. “Pitching” came out in 1910, and “Portrait with cap” followed in 1911.