1909 – That T206 life

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.

T206 Player Bio: Harry Krause

Luke December 21, 2016 December 21, 2016

T206 Krause portrait — Krause won the AL pitching title in 1909 with a 1.39 ERA

In 1909 the Philadelphia Athletics rotation was absolutely stacked. Co-aces Eddie Plank and Chief Bender were flanked by Cy Morgan, Jack Coombs and a 20 year-old rookie name Harry Krause. Plank went 19-10 with a 1.76 ERA and Bender was 18-8 with a 1.66 ERA. Morgan won 16 and lost 11 with a stellar 1.65 ERA. Coombs went 12-11 and his 2.32 ERA was just about league-average. Krause managed to outperform all of them. The left-hander went 18-8 and led the American League with a 1.39 ERA.

It comes as no surprise that the American Tobacco Company rushed to include him in the 350 series print run. In 1910, they released not one, but two cards depicting him. We know them as the portrait and pitching poses.

Prior to his incredible 1909 campaign, Krause has only started 2 games in Major League Baseball. Just as quickly as he achieved stardom, he lost it. The Athletics were World Series Champions in 1910 and 1911, but Krause did not play a huge part in either title. Due to arm trouble he started only 11 games in 1910 and his ERA rose to 2.88. In 1911, his last full year in the majors, he went 11-8 with a 3.04 ERA. In 1912, he struggled and was sent to the Minor League Toledo Mud Hens. After a couple months, he was purchased by the Cleveland Naps, where he appeared in 2 games, posting an ERA of 11.57.

He threw his last pitch in the majors in 1912, but went on to have an impressive career in the Pacific Coast League. In 1913, he won 17 games for Portland with an ERA of 2.28. In 1917 he joined the Oakland Oaks, with whom he would play for the next 12 seasons. His stat line from 1917 is hard to believe. He threw an astounding 428.2 innings, winning 28 games and dropping 26. Despite that ridiculous workload, he put up an impressive 2.35 ERA.

When he finally hung up the cleats at the age of 40, he owned a 249-220 record and 3.22 ERA in 16 PCL seasons. After his career ended, he was inducted into the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame.

Thank you to baseball-reference.com for all the stats.

Beware of Expensive “Missing Red” T206 cards

Luke December 19, 2016 December 18, 2016

T206 Beck missing red — Legit and very cool Beck missing red ink

A few years back, T206s that were missing a certain color got very popular and expensive. For a combination of reasons (printing process, the inks used, the way our eye processes colors, etc.) red is the easiest color to notice the absence of. During this “Missing Red” fad, a lot of cards were sold for high prices.

Some T206 were legitimately printed without red ink, while others were printed normally, and altered in the years after their production. The legit “missing reds” are cool cards and certainly worth paying a premium for due to their rarity. The problem is that neither PSA nor SGC is holdering missing ink cards at this time. There are a lot of cards out there in holders noted as “Missing Ink”, but they were all graded a few years back. So, if you want to add a T206 with missing red ink to your collection, you have to do the research to determine if it is legit on your own. In addition to doing your own homework, I highly recommend asking the opinion of someone you trust. I’m always happy to answer any questions you may have.

T206 Oakes Missing Ink — Adhesive residue covering the entire back

So, why are many of these “missing red” cards suspect? Red ink on a T206 is very prone to fading under certain conditions. Sunlight has been shown to fade red ink completely, while not altering the other colors nearly as much. If you see a card that is advertised as “missing red ink” but has a pinhole at the top, that is a very good indicator that the card was tacked to a wall and the red faded due to sunlight exposure. Also, many cards that appear to be missing red ink will have adhesive residue on the backs, or paper loss indicating that the card was once adhered to a scrapbook or some other surface. I believe that certain adhesives used back in the T206 era would cause the red ink to fade. It’s based on looking at thousands of scans and seeing patterns, but it is just my opinion. It’s also possible that all the “faded red” cards that we see with back damage or adhesive residue were displayed in the sunlight for years. If that is the case, then the sun is responsible. I think that exposure to sunlight and to certain adhesives are both likely causes.

T206 Huggins and Scott collage — Auctioned off in 2012, this awesome collage shows the effect that sunlight can have on a T206

The above collage was auctioned off by Huggins and Scott in 2012. Besides being an incredibly cool piece, it’s also very useful in that it shows us the effects of sunlight on T206 and other cards from the period. Take a look at the above Pickering, Grimshaw, and Lennox. Those three (and plenty of others) make it pretty clear that red ink can fade from the front of a T206.

There has been a lot of confusion over the years about these cards. Trustworthy sellers have sold faded cards as missing red and trustworthy grading companies have mistakenly slabbed faded and altered cards as “missing red”. Nobody’s perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. The grading companies have stopped slabbing these cards as “missing ink” and I don’t think we will see those same Auction Houses offer them for sale in the future.

T206 Griffith faded red — Paper loss, adhesive residue and fading

It’s important to use common sense when looking at cards that are touted as “missing ink”. These cards were printed over 100 years ago. A lot of things can happen to a piece of cardboard in 100 years. Occam’s razor applies here. If a card appears to be missing red ink, but it also looks a little faded, and maybe has some back damage, those are big red flags.

The main thing to keep in mind is that if the card is in really poor condition, the missing red ink is very likely to be due to an alteration, whether that be sunlight or chemical damage from an adhesive. If the price is low, go ahead and grab the card. They are cool oddities. But, before you spend hundreds of dollars on a card that supposedly is missing ink, do your homework and ask an experienced friend for help.

T206 missing red Harry Niles — Paper loss on the back caused by being glued to a scrapbook or display piece

T206 Brown Hindu: The Case of the Missing Red Ink

Luke February 9, 2017 November 13, 2016

If you’ve looked at enough T206 scans, you’ve probably come across some Hindus that look a little weird. Many, like this Beaumont above, were printed with very faint red ink. Others appear to be missing red altogether. This phenomenon is most pronounced on cards with red backgrounds, though it does affect other cards as well. If you take a look at my example scans, you can see that most of these cards appear to have an orange background. Some have more red than others, but all of them are noticeably more orange than a typical example with a different back.

If you take a close look at other cards with Hindu backs, you can see that red is missing, even when red didn’t figure prominently in the card’s design. These two Bradley portraits have a subtle difference; the color of the lips.

I have never heard any theory about why so many Hindus are missing red ink. It would stand to reason that quality control was not a huge concern at American Lithographic Co. where the cards where produced. After all, the cards were to be given away for free as advertising. That said, the overall quality of production across the entire set is quite high in my opinion. Most cards are well-centered with nicely aligned fronts and backs. Colors and shading can vary a bit from one example of a card to another, but rarely to the level we are looking at here.

Here’s my theory: Hindu backs were produced early in the T206 production run. My guess is that at the beginning, quality control was a little bit lax. Most of the Hindus were probably printed, even though the red was not as dark as they wanted. Once the cards were released they became a cultural sensation. People loved them, and as a result the American Tobacco Company may have wanted to ensure that subsequent printings would be of higher quality. It’s also possible that the printers didn’t realize that the design called for more red, because they hadn’t seen enough copies of the cards to be able to tell what they were meant to look like.