T206 Background:

Table of Contents

Foreword and Acknowledgements

Introduction

Historical Backdrop

T206 Background

 Fast Facts

 Size

 Breakdown of the Set

 Players

 Editorial Integrity

 Images

 Series

 Dating the Set

 Advertising

 Distribution

 Production & Printing Process

 Proof and Blank Back Cards

 Timeline

American Tobacco Company

 Company History

 Factories – Locations, Districts, Breakdowns

The Back of the Cards

 Brands Overview

 Individual Back Descriptions

 Listing by Difficulty

 Back Survey

 Front/Back Combinations

 Premiums Associated With More Difficult Backs

Rarities

 The “Big 4” – Wagner, Doyle, Plank & Magie

 Ty Cobb Back

 Name Alterations

 Demmitt/O’Hara Team Changes

 Isolated Variations

 Other Scarce Cards

 Scarcity Ranking

Appendix

 Appendix A: Master Checklist

 Appendix B: Price History

 Appendix C: Reference Material

 Appendix D: Back Checklist

Foreword and Acknowledgements

“A more impossible task would be to try to break down the cards by series and

brands to determine their toughness. While I’m sure this would be fun, it is next

to impossible and I shall leave that task to those T206 maniacs who would like to

spend the balance of their collecting days doing nothing else but this.” -- Bill

Heitman, 1979 “The Monster”

The authors of this book are honored to be called “T206 maniacs” by Bill

Heitman. Thanks to the early T206 works of Richard S. Egan, Bill Heitman, Lew

Lipset, and others, we have made tremendous progress in solving the many

questions associated with this complex set.

Our work has been, and continues to be, a labor of love. Countless hours spent

researching the fronts, the backs, the factories, the American Tobacco Company,

and virtually all aspects of these cards has resulted in many pieces coming

together to form a clearer picture of the T206 white borders.

As this great set approaches it’s first century, we have gathered all our

information in an attempt to help other collectors understand the T206 cards.

Years of research and study have resulted in this book.

The authors wish to thank all those who assisted with their knowledge,

experiences, and stories. Special thanks go out to Bill Mastro, Larry Fritsch, Rob

Lifson , Mark Macrae, Keith Olbermann and Kevin Struss for their assistance and

guidance.

We hope this book is both informative and useful to everyone, and we welcome

any questions, comments, or additional information which would add to future

updates of this book.

Contact Information:

Art Martineau Doug Allen

Azusa, CA Lansing, IL

Introduction

In 1966, about 5 years before the hobby really began to take off, at the age of 14 I

was struggling to find the last card for my 1965 Topps set. At that time I knew I

needed card #___; I just didn’t know who the player was. So I picked up a copy

of _____ magazine where some of the early hobby guys advertised cards for

sale. I started paging through the ads and was absolutely mesmerized. I never

imagined the breadth of cards that had been produced. I was hooked. It is from

that publication that I ordered my first T206 card. I came across an ad from

_____. You could buy a T-206 tobacco card of their choice for 15 cents or pick

your choice for 25 cents. I naturally wanted Ty Cobb. It was time to write a

letter. I wrote as professional a letter as any 14 year old could produce pleading

for him to send me a Ty Cobb card. I indicated I would settle for a Walter

Johnson; but really preferred a Cobb. I then taped my quarter to the letter and

off it went. I will never forget the day the package arrived. I can still see their

logo on the corner of the envelope with the picture of a collector looking through

a magnifying glass at his cards. I was sitting at the kitchen table when my mom

proudly marched in with the package and placed it in front of me. With dad

looking over my left shoulder and mom over my right I opened the package to

find a work of art. Cobb bat off shoulder T206. I can’t even remember what kind

of condition it was in; but back then no one cared. That is what started it all for

me. From this time on my passion for collecting was relentless. I completed my

T206 set by the time I was 16. Since this time I have had the privilege of handling

over half the Wagners in the hobby; from the first one I purchased for $1,500 to

the crown jewel our company sold for $1.265 million.

This is the greatest hobby in the world; but without the ability to pass on what we

know to the next generation something will get lost. Great reference material is

something that we have lacked from day one. I can say with confidence that this

is the most complete work ever done on what many argue is the greatest set in

our hobby. I commend my good friend Doug and his colleague Art for the

thoughtful research that was done to complete this book. From the first time I

picked up one of the earlier manuscripts I just knew this was going to be special.

If you want to seriously collect T206 cards this is a tool you absolutely need in

your bag.

Bill Mastro

MASTRONET, inc.

Historical Backdrop

The “Dead Ball Era” ushers in a set for the ages

The T206 card set is undeniably the most popular set ever produced. In order to

fully appreciate this set one needs to understand the game and the era from

which it was inspired.

The “dead ball era” was an apt description for the game of baseball in the early

years of the twentieth century. Strategy and base running won out over strength

and the long ball. Hit-and-runs, squeeze plays, delayed steals, sacrifice bunts,

and agile base running were the order of the day. The offensive powerhouses of

the day actually displayed very little power; instead, they were place-hitters who

lined singles and doubles and made it to the next base any way they could. Honus

Wagner of the Pittsburgh Nationals and Ty Cobb of the Detroit Americans were

the undisputed leaders of their respective divisions.

Honus Wagner, in a career that spanned 20 years, led the league in batting 8

times with a career average of .327. Ty Cobb was even better. In his 20 plus year

career he won an unprecedented and still unsurpassed twelve batting titles

amassing a .366 lifetime batting average with 4,189 base hits. Neither Wagner

nor Cobb hit many home runs. As a matter of fact both of them barely surpassed

the century mark in this offensive category.

Given the way baseball was played during this era it should come as no surprise

that most of the players that reached immortal prominence were pitchers. This

was the golden age of pitching. Names such as Cy Young, Christy Mathewson,

Walter Johnson, Eddie Plank, Three-Finger Brown, Big Ed Walsh struck fear in

the heart of batters every time they stepped foot on the hill. Just check out some

of the incredible statistics amassed by these pitching legends:

<Incorporate images of Young, Johnson, Matty, Plank, Brown and Walsh cards

“Cy” Young

511 wins 316 defeats e.r.a. 2.63

Walter “Big Train” Johnson

417 wins 279 defeats e.r.a. 2.17

Christy Mathewson “Big Six”

373 wins 188 defeats e.r.a. 2.13

Eddie Plank

326 wins 194 defeats e.r.a. 2.35

Mordecai “Three Fingers” Brown

239 wins 130 defeats e.r.a. 2.06

“Big Ed” Walsh

195 wins 126 defeats e.r.a. 1.82

Baseball’s undisputed position as America’s National Pastime was solidified in

1908. In the American League, going into the final day of the season only a half

game separated the top three teams. When Ty Cobb’s Tigers defeated the White

Sox that day, they took the pennant by a meager 1/2 game over the Indians with

the White Sox finishing third, 1-1/2 games back. In the National League the race

was even closer. The pennant came down to a one game playoff game between

John McGraw’s Giants and Frank Chance’s Cubs. This playoff wouldn’t have

been necessary but for the infamous failure of the Giants Fred Merkle to touch

second base (“Merkle’s boner”) after a teammate had apparently singled. This

cost them a game two weeks prior to the end of the season.

In the playoff, Cub’s ace Mordecai “Three-Finger” Brown beat Christy

Mathewson, the pride of the Giants, 4-2. The actual World Series was less

dramatic with the Cubs taking the championship 4 games to 1. The excitement

created by the two pennant races sent baseball’s popularity soaring. Hoards of

fans clamored to see their idols, leading to a wave of new stadium construction as

11 parks were built in the next 5 years. The appeal of this rough and tumble “win

at all costs” game of baseball combined with the dearth of other exciting

recreational alternatives resulted in a 70 percent expansion in major league

attendance from 1901 to 1910. America’s National Pastime was born!

It should come as no surprise that after the 1908 season American Tobacco

Company executives, while deliberating over ways to expand the sale of tobacco

products, would decide to leverage the popularity of this great game and it’s

players. The T206 set is a tribute to the brilliance by which this was executed and

has left the hobby we love with an indelible set for the ages.

T206 Background

The non-descript name of the T206 set, also known as the “white border set”

came from numbering system Jefferson R. Burdick developed for the American

Card Catalog. The first known cataloging appeared in a short magazine article in

1936. This culminated in the comprehensive American Card Catalog that was

published in 1960. Burdick catalogued card sets in categories designated by

letters. The “T” category was for 20

Century U.S. Tobacco insert cards. The

“206” came from the sequential numbering system that just happened to

correspond with the white bordered tobacco baseball cards from 1909. There is a

tremendous amount of information that can be gleaned from studying the T206

set. In this chapter we will attempt to cover a lot of the basics including the size,

breakdown, players, editorial integrity, key dates, series, and other information

regarding set production, printing and marketing.

Fast Facts

Some fast facts about the set:

First player to die – Mike Powers 4/26/09

Last Player to die – Rube Marquard 6/1/80

Only player without league designation – Joe Doyle (hands over head)

N.Y.

Only cards to spell out league – Ray Demmitt, St Louis American & New

York American

Only card featuring a prop – Hal Chase holding trophy

Player with the most cards – Hal Chase with 5

Team with most cards – New York Nat’l. with 53

Size

The size of the cards is 1 7/16ths by 2 5/8ths. As a result of the less-than-

precision cutting and production process, cards may vary slightly. It should also

be noted that the cards carrying the American Beauty back are slightly narrower

than all other brands. Generally, you should not accept variances of more than

1/16

of an inch.

Breakdown of the set

The number of cards comprising the set frequently changes as new variations are

found. As the discussion gets into backs later in this book over 7,000 front and

back permutations will be identified. Carefully considering what has been found

to date the authors of this book accept there to be evidence of 527 different card

fronts; 524 different that went into production and 3 variations that were caused

by a breakdown in the printing process. Following is a more detailed description

of this breakdown:

 524 Production Cards – The production set includes the generally

accepted 520 card set plus Wagner, Doyle, Plank and Magie which we will

affectionately refer to as the “big 4”. The Doyle was previously not

included in this elite class; but, with the card’s recent auction performance

it has clearly earned newfound respect.

 3 Name Variations - Represent card front variations that evolved over

time as a result of a breakdown of the printing process. These following

rarities caused by a deterioration of the plates used to print the players

names have been identified as discrete variations; Bud Sharpe (spelled

“Shappe”), Fred Snodgrass batting (missing “S” in Snodgrass) and Fred

Snodgrass catching (missing “S” in Snodgrass). These variations are

covered in the chapter on rarities.

The following table provides a more detailed breakdown of the set into more

detailed categories:

Description

Players

Designs

Subjects

American League

126

181

185

National League

135

202

207

Southern League

Other Minor League

There are certain players that as a result of team changes are included in multiple

categories above.

There are also card fronts that are included as addendums to the checklist; but

not considered distinct subject variations for the set. These include isolated

variations, unique proof cards and identified printing flaws.

 Isolated Variations – There are a number of variations that have been

identified for which only one example has been identified. Hobbyists

should anticipate that once these are brought to light there is a good

chance that additional examples will be identified. When this occurs these

examples will be verified and the variation will be added to the master list.

Until this time they will be treated like isolated variations.

 Unique Proof Cards – There have been 9 unique proof cards identified

to date that were never issued. The design receiving the most notoriety was

a batting pose of Collins included in a large find of proof cards in the early

70’s. The other 8 subjects were identified in a collection of T206 cards

consigned to Mastro Fine Sports auction house in 1999. These subjects are

not considered part of the set as only one example of each is known and to

our knowledge they were never produced for regular distribution.

 Printing Flaws - There are also cards that have been found that

represent printing flaws. Predominantly the flaw in the printing process

resulted in a different background color. In other cases the missed

printing process resulted in more obvious errors in which the players team

designation was missing. The example that has received the most

notoriety is the Sweeney, Boston with the “B” missing from the uniform

and the cap. Although this card and others like it demand a significant

premium; they are simply printing errors and are not considered part of

the unique designs in the set.

All of the rarities and variations are discussed in greater detail in the T206 Rarity

Chapter.

Players

The players are the heart of the set. With the inclusion of almost 400 players the

set is unquestionably the most comprehensive of the era. Most of the established

players of the era were included in the set. At the same time there were a number

of players embarking on great careers in 1909; but unfortunately did not make

the set including Joe Jackson, Joe Wood, Harry Hooper just to name a few.

The most perplexing thing to note regarding the players is the number of designs

included for each player. In order to get a feel for the dichotomy consider players

such as Cobb, Mathewson and Young with three or more designs produced; while

other greats such as Wagner, Plank, Collins, Walsh and Speaker each appear only

once. Although later in this book evidence is provided to corroborate the legend

of the Wagner card; it is impossible to ignore the possibility that this dichotomy

could have been caused by nothing less than the inability to come to terms. First,

there is evidence through the find of the Neal Ball letter that uncompensated

permission was required for players to be included in the set. Second, we know

for a fact that the American Tobacco Card Company intended to issue another

pose of Collins with the emergence of the un-issued proof of the Collins batting

pose. Finally, the deterioration of prominent players is further accentuated with

the exclusion of Wagner and Plank from the 1911 T205 gold border set and

inclusion of only a handful of Hall of Fame players in the T207 brown

background set, which was issued in 1912. The evidence seems to point to the

fact that the American Tobacco Company was unable to come to a mutual

agreement with certain prominent players.

Editorial Integrity

When studying the set, one walks away respecting the editorial integrity of those

who oversaw production. This can be seen over and over again when you

consider the care that was taken to ensure accuracy.

 Reflecting team changes; the most prominent being Demmitt and O’Hara.

 Ensuring current team uniforms are reflected as was done when Shulte’s

uniform that appeared on his proof card was changed once it was known

that the Cubs would change their uniforms from “Chicago” across the

chest to “Cubs”.

 Updating designs to ensure players who had left the game were properly

excluded from the set or eliminated from later series as they retired.

 Lack of incorrectly identified players as was common in other issues of the

era.

Whoever was responsible for this did not see it as a job responsibility, but as a

labor of love. Lets hope this is one individual who walked away with a Wagner

card.

With such a large number of subjects in this set, several spelling errors would be

expected. The portrait of Sherry Magee was the only spelling error corrected

during production, however there are other spelling errors that were not

corrected. Aside from the few spelling errors, the set is remarkably free from any

major errors. Here is a list of the players with their correct names:

Card Name Correct Name

55a George Brown Browne

55b George Brown Browne

104 Harry Covaleski Coveleski

120 Frank Delehanty Delahanty

121 Jim Delehanty Delahanty

126 Bill Dineen Dinneen

130 Jiggs Donohue Donahue

136 Mickey Doolin Doolan

184 Wilbur Goode Good

277 Harry Lentz Sentz

281 Paddy Livingstone Livingston

287a Sherry Magie Magee

315 Harry McIntyre McIntire

316 Harry McIntyre McIntire

338 George Mullen Mullin

345 Chief Myers Meyers

346 Chief Myers Meyers

350 Simon Nichols Nicholls

379 Jake Pfeister Pfiester

380 Jake Pfeister Pfiester

399 Bob Rhoades Rhoads

400 Bob Rhoades Rhoads

481 Juan Violat Viola

500 Ed Willetts Willett

Images

The images for the set were produced by the American Lithograph Company who

were very involved in both securing players and producing images for use in the

set. Not very much is known about this company. What is known is that many of

the T206 portrait poses feature the work of Carl Horner. He was one of the most

prominent baseball photographers in the early 20th century. Along with

contemporary Charles Conlon, Horner brilliantly captured the classic images of

our national pastime. Working from his Washington Street studios in Boston,

Massachusetts, Horner was renown for his famous portrait photographs of the

baseball stars in the early 1900's. Horner published many of his studio portraits

in the period of 1904-05. It appears that Carl Horner granted the American

Tobacco Company permission to use his photographs on some of their baseball

card inserts beginning in 1909. Several other baseball card issues from this same

period also feature Horner portraits.

Series

The cards were issued in three different series. These issuances are referred to as

the 150, 350 and 460 (sometimes referred to as the 350-460) series. Certain

brands carried the designation of “Assorted”; but lose this designation as through

a close study it is noted that all of these fall neatly into the various other series.

Many assume that since they were issued over a three-year period of time that

each of the series represented a year of issuance. Think more of it as the first

series of 150 being a test issue. A few months after issuance, when market

acceptance was determined to be strong, the subjects and brands were expanded

with the issuance of the 350 series. As the cards continued to gain momentum

they were followed up with additional poses of previously issued players in the

460 series. In fact, evidence detailed in the next section on dating the set

indicates that the 460 series could have been dated as early as December of 1909

even though it was more likely they were not launched until 1910.

150 Series

The 150 series were issued with Piedmont, Sweet Caporal and Sovereign brands.

Additionally the “Assorted Backs” El Principe De Gales, brown Hindu and Old

Mill brands were also issued with the same subjects. There were 156 designs

issued in the 150 series. This includes six cards with horizontal poses. It may be

that these cards, which are considered rarer than the other mainstream cards

issued in the 150 series, were limited in production.

350 Series

The 350 Series were issued with the same brands as the 150 series. Additionally,

seven new brands were introduced; American Beauty, Broadleaf, Cycle, Drum,

Carolina Brights, Polar Bear and Tolstoi. All but 10 cards issued in the 150 series

were again issued in the 350 series. It is interesting to note that cards available in

both the 150 and 350 series are scarcer than those that were first made available

in the 350 series. The only thing we can surmise from this is that given the

popularity of the set production was stepped up considerably for new cards

introduced in the 350 series while the cards already introduced were produced in

lesser numbers. Minor league cards were only available in the 350 series; but

were available with all 12 brands; while Southern league cards were only

produced with Piedmont, Old Mill and Brown Hindu brands. All 48 Southern

league cards will have Piedmont and Old Mill backs, however only 42 will have

the brown Hindu back. None of the six Texas league players are found with

brown Hindu back. Within the Southern league cards Old Mill is the most

common (approximately 50%), with Piedmont second (45%). The brown Hindu

back on a Southern league player is very rare and is only seen about 5% of the

time.

460 Series

The first thing to note is that no card found with a 150 series back was produced

with a 460 series back. For 460 series cards that first appeared in the 350 series,

the same 12 brands can be found. There are 40 subjects that appeared for the

first time in the 460 series. These were additional poses of players that already

appeared in earlier series. These new subjects can be found with the same 12

brands less Carolina Brights and Drum; but in addition can be found with Lenox,

red Hindu and Uzit brands.

Series Rarity

When attempting to isolate the rarity of simply based on their availability in

various series, the following can be concluded starting with the rarest:

1. Cards issued in the 150 series only.

2. Cards issued in both the 150 series and the 350 series.

3. Cards issued only in the 350 series.

4. Cards issued only in the 460 series.

5. Cards issued in both the 350 and 460 series.

There are obviously numerous instances that don’t follow this basic pattern.

Most of these are covered in the chapter on T206 Rarities.

Dating the set

The set was issued over a three-year period of time beginning in 1909. These

dates are easy to substantiate based on information related to the subjects

appearing in various series and corroborated by letters from the American

Tobacco Company written to retailers and a key letter to an athlete from this era

that both dates the set and provides additional insight into how it came about.

Dating based on subjects

Based on an analysis of the subjects teamed with corresponding dates of

respective team changes one can ascertain the following key dates for the various

series of the set:

February 17, 1909 Earliest possible starting date for the 150 series.

May 16, 1909 Earliest possible starting date for the 350 series.

December 16, 1909 Earliest possible starting date for the 460 series.

April 16, 1910 The 350 series was still being issued.

Information on the following 8 players bears evidence to these dates:

Wid Conroy 150 series shown with Washington.

February 17, 1909 traded from New York Americans to

Washington.

This provides evidence that the 150 series was produced after

February 17, 1909.

George Browne 150 series shown with Chicago Nat’l.

350 series shown with Washington.

May 12, 1909 traded from Chicago Nat’l. to Washington.

This dates the end of the 150 series to May 12, 1909.

This provides evidence that the 350 series was produced

after May 12, 1909.

Neal Ball 150 and 350 series shown with New York Americans.

460 series shown with Cleveland.

May 17, 1909 traded from New York Americans to Cleveland.

This provides evidence that the change from 150 to 350

series was made before May 17, 1909.

Bill Burns 350 series shown with Chicago American.

May 16, 1909 traded from Washington to Chicago American.

This provides evidence the 350 series was not produced

before May 16, 1909.

Bill Dahlen 150 series shown with Boston Rustlers.

350 series shown with Brooklyn Superbas.

October 27, 1909 traded from Boston to Brooklyn.

This provides evidence that the 350 series was still being

produced as of October 27, 1909.

Ray Demmitt 350 series shown with New York Amer.

460 series shown with St. Louis Amer.

December 16, 1909 traded from New York to St. Louis.

This provides evidence that the earliest production date for

the 460 series was December 16, 1909.

Joe Lake 150-350 series shown with New York Amer.

350-460 series shown with St. Louis Amer.

460 series shown with St. Louis Amer.

December 16, 1909 traded from New York Amer. To St. Louis

Amer.

This provides evidence that the 350 series was still being

produced on December 16, 1909.

This provides evidence that the 460 series was being

produced by December 16, 1909.

Harry McIntyre 150 series shown with Brooklyn.

350-460 series shown with Brooklyn & Chicago.

April 16, 1910 traded from Brooklyn to Chicago.

This provides evidence that the 350-460 series was still

being produced as late as April 16, 1910.

Letters to Retailers:

Certain letters on American Tobacco Company letterhead and files have been

found that further support the issue dates ranging from 1909 to 1911.

Letter from American Tobacco Company to a retailer dated March of 1911

indicating UZIT would be packaging baseball players along with military subjects

in tobacco packs starting March 18, 1911.

Letter from American Tobacco Company to retailer dated February 1911

indicating Tolstoi would be packaging baseball players along with military

subjects starting February 14, 1911. The bottom of the letter has a hand written

note indicating they stopped packaging baseball players March 18, 1911.

Interesting it is the same date UZIT began packaging baseball players.

File note with sample American Beauty card found indicating cards would be

produced June 14, 1910 and packaged starting July 3, 1910.

<Incorporate images

Based on this information it is clear that as late as March 18, 1911 cards were still

being packaged in tobacco packs.

Dating supported by Neal Ball letter

One of the prize collectibles that further supports 1909 as the inaugural year of

the set is a letter written to Neal Ball. In this January 29, 1909 letter typed on

New York Americans letterhead, Evening World sportswriter Bozeman Bulger

requests permission to include Ball in the set. Based on the letter, which

references the American Lithograph Company, it appears they worked closely

with leading sportswriters in major cities to secure the permission of local

ballplayers to appear in the set. This letter goes beyond its historical significance

in dating the set. It has a direct impact on the Wagner controversy in that it

provides evidence that the players in fact had to give permission in order to be

included in the set.

Advertising

There were two different advertisements for the cards placed by The American

Tobacco Company. These advertisements appeared in issues of Sporting life

during 1909, announced the arrival of the set and highlighted Sweet Caporal,

Piedmont and Sovereign Cigarettes as the brands that would carry these cards.

The ads depicted 10 drawing of cards all representing subjects that appeared in

the 150 series. The ad also indicated that it would be a series of 150 subjects.

These ads ran throughout the summer and into the fall of 1909.

The following version of the ad was included in the July 3, July 9, July 17, July 24

and August 7 issues of Sporting Life:

Later in the summer the ad changed. The following version of the ad was

included in the August 21, September 4, September 11 and September 18 issues of

Sporting Life:

The most interesting thing about the ad, as it was modified throughout the

summer, is the fact that one of the cards portrayed is the famous portrait of

Honus Wagner. Interesting that as late as September 4, 1909 he was still

depicted as appearing in the set.

Additionally, two different ads for Hindu cigarettes appeared in the Daily

Picayune from New Orleans in August of 1909. The one dated Aug. 13, 1909

read; "FREE--2 Pictures of Celebrated Baseball Players in Every Box. 150

different subjects in the entire series. All handsome color lithographs. HINDU

CIGARETTES are the biggest and best smoke ever sold for the money. Collect

these interesting pictures without cost...". The one dated August 20, 1909 read

“FREE—Two pictures of famous baseball players in every box of Hindu

Cigarettes. 150 different lithographed pictures in the entire series.” It is

interesting to note that the earlier ad featured some Southern League players that

were only issued in the 350 series while the later ad featured six cards of 150

series players.

Distribution

The cards were only distributed in packs of participating cigarette brands. They

were not available through the mail or via redemption coupons, as were other

premiums of the day. Since other card series were issued during the same

period; there is no guarantee that unopened packs available on the market today

contain a baseball subject. Almost every brand that packaged T206 baseball

subjects also packaged other tobacco subjects. The exceptions are the El Principe

De Gales brand which can only be found on the T206 cards along with Drum,

Hindu, Cycle and Polar Bear which can only be found on baseball cards (T205,

T206 and in certain cases T207).

The cards were regionally issued starting with the 150 series. Cities with major

league baseball teams such as New York, Chicago, Detroit, Boston etc. were the

main targets for distribution. As the 350 series came along and introduced the

southern league and minor league players, those specific team location cities

became additional targets for the distribution. Collectors in the northeast part of

the country were often missing the southern league players from their collections.

There are many pieces of corroborating evidence indicating that more than one

card was included in each pack of cigarettes. First, during a 1980 interview, long

time collector and hobby veteran John Wagner recalled collecting these cards as a

youngster and indicated that each cigarette pack generally contained two cards,

but occasionally the buyer found three or four. Second, an ad for Hindu

cigarettes in the August 13, 1909 issue of the New Orleans Daily Picayune states:

“Free – 2 Pictures of Celebrated Baseball Players in Every Box” and finally,

factory letters have been found for the Uzit and Tolstoi brands documenting the

start of packaging and shipping of cards. The letters state that these brands

would include 1 baseball and 1 military cards per package.

Production & Printing Process

Very little has been documented regarding the production and printing process of

the cards; however a significant amount of information can be deduced from the

many printing variations that have been found and the patterns they have

created. Following are what can be referred to as known production facts:

Caption plates for individual subjects were used in printing multiple

designs – The same plate breakage has been noted in both the Nodgrass batting

and catching variations leading to evidence that the same caption plates were

used for multiple designs.

Caption and any other brown printing occurred at the same time –

Examples have been found wherein the name and team designation were not

printed. On these same examples it was noted that other brown colors typical on

the production card were also excluded.

Proof cards were pro-actively used to ensure the accuracy of

production cards – A high percentage of the proof cards are slightly different

than the cards that finally reached production. It is obvious that whomever was

responsible for overseeing this process was meticulous in ensuring accuracy. The

most obvious example was the Schulte design, which included “Chicago” across

the chest on the proof card while the final production version included “Cubs”

similar to all other designs of Chicago players.

Evidence shows that the multi-card printing process was

inconsistent – Examples have been noted where the off-center cut resulted

both in the pictured subjects name appearing on the top of the card as well as

another subjects name appearing on the top of the card. These examples lead to

the conclusion that multi-card printing process was inconsistent.

Multi-stage printing process resulted in missed stages – Many

examples have been found with printing variations that clearly resulted from

missing one or more stage in the printing process. Additional information can be

surmised regarding the production process. There is a reference in the Neal Ball

permission letter that the T206 cards were printed by the American Lithograph

Company. The lithograph process involved a layered type of printing, where

certain colors were added in different stages (layers). As can be expected with

printing millions and millions of cards, several examples have been found

missing one or more of the color stages. Lithography was far more complicated

than four-color printing, however it appears four base colors were used in this

process and could be combined (overlapped) to produce additional colors. The

following is a breakdown of the color layers for the T206 cards:

Stage 1 – YELLOW

This was the first stage of the printing process. The yellow provided the

foundation upon which other colors were added and/or combined to create the

complete image.

Stage 2 – BROWN

The second color layer applied was the brown. This layer was responsible for not

only the color in the picture portion, but also for the name and team caption.

Printing errors that have been seen missing the name and team captions are

missing this process. Also, any brown stage that was double printed would result

in the name and team caption also being duplicated. Many cards have been seen

with only the yellow and brown colors applied. These cards seem almost

photographic in appearance and most have been found in the Sweet Caporal 350-

460 series.

Stage 3 – BLUE

The third printing stage would have been the blue color. The blue printed on top

of white would just be blue, but when printed on top of the yellow would result in

a green.

Stage 4 – RED

It seems that the final color printing stage was the red. The red printed on top of

the white would just be red, while red on top of the yellow would produce any

orange color.

Many of the identified printing errors showing Boston players missing the red “B”

from the cap and/or uniform are missing this final red process. Examples have

also been seen of Huggins and Egan, both of Cincinnati, missing the red coloring

from the team name on jersey.

Due to the multiple printing stages for these cards, many examples can be found

with certain stages a bit off-center. Yellows shifted to the left, blues shifted to the

right, and so on. Cards have also been seen that have successfully completed all

the printing stages for one player, but then have had the stage 1 yellow coloring

for another player added on top. Instead of starting the yellow stage on a blank

page, it was started on a completed page. These printing errors just add to the

fascination and mystery of these cards!

Front and back of the cards were not printed at the same time – It is

common to note that in many instances centering of fronts and backs are

inconsistent. This would be expected since the backs of the cards were printed

with a simple one-stage process. Since all the back brands contain only one color,

this would have required just one printing step. We can presume that all the

backs on any given sheet were the same brand. Several examples of miscut cards

have been seen and in every case the same back brand appears in varying degrees

of completeness.

Evidence points to cards being printed in sheets

Many miscut cards have been identified that when considered together support

the theory that the cards were printed on sheets. From observing miscuts, errors,

and variations, we have evidence of vertical, horizontal, and sheet type patterns.

By combining all the evidence, we come to the conclusion that these cards were

indeed printed on sheets. While no complete sheets of T206 cards are known,

the evidence is very strong. This would be corroborated by the fact that Old

Judge Cigarettes set (N172) issued in 1887-1890 by Goodwin & Company of New

York were printed on sheets 6 cards wide by 4 cards high. Ten of these sheets are

on display at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.

Proof and Blank Back Cards

Many proof cards have been seen over the years. Proofs can be found in a couple

of different fashions. Most of the proof cards have the proofing “stars” in the

margins, have blank backs, and are missing the name and team captions at the

bottom. Proofs have also been found with the proofing “stars” AND the name

and team caption present. Cards that have the name and team caption present,

but missing the proofing “stars” should fall under the blank back classification.

All proof cards found to date appear to be hand-cut.

T206 TIMELINE

The following list documents important events in the history of the T206 set.

These events include checklist efforts, errors, variations, proofs, finds, and back

information.

1940’s John Wagner of Hegins, Pennsylvania becomes famous among card

collectors, as he is one of the first to have both the T206 Honus Wagner

and T206 Eddie Plank cards. John Wagner was a childhood collector of

these cards and actually owned two of the rare Wagner cards. He even

mailed these cards to fellow collectors to prove their existence! His

duplicate Honus Wagner card was eventually sold to hobby legend

Jefferson Burdick.

1956 The Cartophilic Society of Great Britain publishes The World Tobacco

Issues Index 1880-1956. This book includes information on the T206 set

and correctly lists all 16 back types. The Hindu Red variation is mentioned

and the 150, 350, and 460 series are documented.

1960 Jefferson R. Burdick issues the 1960 edition of The American Card

Catalog. Mr. Burdick is responsible for assigning the number “T206” to

the set of 523 White Border cards from 1909. The American Card Catalog

lists all the back types, but the rare Uzit and Drum backs are inaccurately

referred to as “Usit” and “Drums”.

1963 Michigan collector Frank Nagy, writing in the hobby publication The Sport

Hobbyist, publishes his checklist for the T206 set. The cards are laid out

with Major Leaguers first, then Minor Leaguers, and finally the Southern

League players. A listing for Sweeney, Boston, with plain white uniform is

included. Nagy also listed 19 different backs for the T206 cards. The three

additional backs were Coupon (known now as T213), Red Cross (known

now as T215), and Hustler Cigarettes. The Hustler brand has never been

verified with a baseball subject front.

1966 In January, Richard S. Egan publishes his book T-206 Cigarette Baseball

Cards, Part One, Baseball Series, White Borders 1909-1910. Mr. Egan

listed the cards by team in alphabetical order, Major Leaguers first, then

Minor Leaguers, and finally the Southern Leaguers. Known as “Egan’s

List”, this checklist is generally adopted as the official T206 checklist.

Egan listed the correct 16 back types and noted that a red printed Hindu

had been seen. He makes reference to the existence of Piedmont factory

42 back; but states this has not been verified. There is no mention of the

Lenox back with brown printing. Egan discusses the mysterious Hustler

cigarettes back, but indicates this has not been verified.

1971 The Sport Hobbyist magazine re-prints the Frank Nagy article and

checklist on the T206 set. No changes are made from the 1963 edition.

Nagy’s list still includes the Coupon, Red Cross, and Hustler back types,

along with the Sweeney card with plain white uniform.

1973 The American Sports Card Collectors Association Show is held the

weekend of September 14, 1973. Located at the District 65 Center at Astor

place in New York City, this show was one of the earliest gatherings of

collectors, buyers, and sellers. It was at this show where the famous T206

“proof” find occurred. A gentleman came to the show with a box of T206

and T3 (Turkey Red) proof cards. He was a relative of someone who

allegedly worked in the factory where the T206 cards where printed. At

first glance, all the T206 proof cards were the same as the issued versions

with the exception of an Eddie Collins in a batting pose. Hobby collectors

including Irving Lerner, Rob Lifson, Mike Aronstein, and others quickly

purchased these proof cards.

1974 The Trader Speaks hobby publication reprints the Egan checklist and

background on the T206 set. There are no changes from the 1966 Egan

book. The Hustler brand back type remains listed, but not verified.

1975 Bert Randolph Sugar publishes The Sports Collectors Bible. This is one of

the first books to combine checklists and prices for sportscards. The T206

cards are listed by team, and the book mentions the 16 different brand

backs available. In January, The Trader Speaks hobby publication

includes an ad from Ironton, Ohio collector Cliff Lambert offering a Ty

Cobb with a Cobb back and states that this copy is only 1 of 3 known to

exist.

1979 Writing in the November issue of The Trader Speaks hobby publication,

William R. Heitman discusses the T206 backs. The following percentages

over Piedmont and Sweet Caporal common cards were identified: Polar

Bear and Old Mill 10-15%, American Beauty, El Principe de Gales, Tolstoi,

Sovereign and Cycle 40-50%, Broad Leaf and Carolina Brights 75 to 100%,

Hindu, Drum and Lenox 150%, Uzit 200% and Ty Cobb back $100 or

more. Heitman also writes that the tougher backs featuring Hall of

Famers and scarcer variations would have a premium, but a lower

percentage.

1980 William R. Heitman, in conjunction with The Sport Americana, publishes

his book T206 The Monster. Heitman is the first one to attempt to

document which back types are available for each card in the set. In the

back brand section, Heitman mentions the Hindu Red as being seen but

too new to accurately catalog. No mention is made of the Piedmont

factory 42 or the Lenox brown backs.

1981 Wisconsin dealer Larry Fritsch is selling T206 team sets from his card

inventory. One morning while filling an order for a T206 New York team

set, he came across a card of Doyle, hands over head, N.Y. Nat’l. At first,

he is puzzled by this card and is unable to find any record in his checklists

or personal collection. This was the first discovery of the T206 Joe Doyle

variation. Larry proceeded to place several ads in hobby magazines

offering twice the current value for any T206 Doyle card. The Doyle cards

pour in, however none are the Doyle error.

1983 Lew Lipset writes a T206 article in the spring 1983 edition of Baseball

Card Magazine. He offers his checklist (in alphabetical order) and briefly

discusses the 16 back brands in order of rarity. Hindu Red is mentioned,

as is the Lenox with brown printing (noted as a fairly recent discovery).

The annual Beckett publication Sport Americana Baseball Card Price

Guide, Number 5 discontinues the T206 Sweeney with plain white uniform

from the checklist.

1986 Lew Lipset publishes The Encyclopedia of Baseball Cards, Volume 3, 20

Century Tobacco Cards 1909-1932. This landmark T206 publication

covers all the known variations (Larry Fritsch had not made public the

discovery of the Doyle variation). Lipset also organized the 16 different

back types by difficulty and covered all the factory variations.

1987 Collector Bill Hughes holds an auction featuring an “unknown” T206 card

of Doyle. This is the first public knowledge of the Joe Doyle variation card,

however Larry Fritsch still has his copy that he discovered earlier in the

decade. The auction draws tremendous attention with Larry Fritsch

winning the card for $10,000.

1991 In March, the Copeland collection was auctioned. The Gretzky/McNall

Wagner card headed the auction, which also included the Nodgrass (no “S)

batting pose error card. Also occurring in 1991 was the T206 Southern

find. This large collection was discovered in Western Kentucky, with all of

the cards in mint condition. The cards were even stored in original

Piedmont cigarette boxes with each box labeled with team names for

identification.

1997 In April, hobbyist Rob Lifson announces the discovery of five T206 Ty

Cobb portrait (red) cards. They all have the Ty Cobb “King of the Smoking

Tobacco World” brand back type. Ten years earlier these cards were

discovered in Georgia by a non-collector. All five are sold in June of that

year in the Robert Edward Auctions. This brings the “known” Ty Cobb

brand back population to eleven.

1999 Mastro Fine Sports announces a T206 find of 8 unlisted proof cards. All

the cards are of Southern League players and are blank backed. No names

are printed on the cards, but all cards have the proofing “stars” in the

margins. The cards are purchased by hobby collector Keith Olbermann

and later identified. At the summer Philadelphia Sportsfest convention a

couple of T206 Doyle variations appeared. One was purchased by dealer

Alan Rosen of New Jersey. This card was later determined to be a

counterfeit. The second Doyle variation was purchased at the Sportsfest

show by dealer Levi Bleam of Pennsylvania. The current status of this card

is unknown.

2000 In April, Leland’s holds “The Charlie Sheen” auction. Lot 790 featured the

unissued T206 proof card of Eddie Collins in the batting pose. This card,

first seen in the 1973 proof find in New York, sells for $24,930.

In August, Ron Oser Enterprises holds an auction featuring a T206 Doyle

variation in good condition. This card came from a renowned East Coast

dealer and was found in a group of several hundred T206 cards. The

auction draws tremendous attention and the card sells for $178,598.

American Tobacco Company

Company History

Shortly after the Civil War Washington Duke of North Carolina started his

tobacco business. W. Duke & Sons was formed with his sons Benjamin Duke,

Buck Duke, Brodie Duke, and James Buchanan Duke. Top cigarette

manufacturers during this time were W. Duke & Sons, Allen & Ginter of

Richmond, Virginia, Kimball of Rochester, New York, Kinney of New York City,

and Goodwin of New York City. Kinney owned the Sweet Caporal brand;

Goodwin owned the Old Judge brand. The industry was revolutionized in 1881

with the invention of the cigarette rolling machine by James Bonsack. While the

other companies are hesitant to switch to machine made cigarettes, Buck Duke

makes the change. Buck Duke became the front-runner by inventing the slide-

and-shell cigarette box and introducing promotional ideas such as premium

coupons and picture inserts of actresses and sports figures. Profits continued to

rise.

In 1890 W. Duke and Sons absorbed all their rivals to form the American

Tobacco company. By 1904 a corporate reorganization formed the new American

Tobacco Company. Nickel denominations were the rule, and the law allowed

packages of 10, 20, 50, and 100 cigarettes. The cheaper brands of the day were

American Beauty, Coupon, and Home Run cigarettes selling at 20 for 5 cents.

Standard brands of the day were Piedmont and Sweet Caporal cigarettes, which

sold at 10 for 5 cents. The cigarette group had major factories in New York City at

the Kinney-Duke branch and also in Richmond, Virginia. Each location produced

about half of the cigarettes for the company. The major scrap factory was the

Luhrman and Wilbern Company at Middletown, Ohio. (Polar Bear scrap

tobacco). <incorporate image of Polar Bear factory>

From 1904 to 1910 Duke’s companies produced 88% of the nations cigarettes,

75% of smoking tobacco, and 90% of snuff. In 1907 the monopoly went too far as

American Tobacco purchased Butler-Butler company (Sovereign and Pall Mall

cigarettes). Two months later, in July 1907, the U.S. government brought suit

against the American Tobacco Company for restraint of trade. The suit was

instigated by Teddy Roosevelt. On May 16, 1911 the Supreme Court ruled that the

American Tobacco Company was in “restraint of trade and an attempt to

monopolize and a monopolization”. The company was given 6 months to

dissolve.

On November 16, 1911 American Tobacco Company was split up, with new

companies Liggett & Myers being given 28% of the cigarette business (including

the brands Piedmont, American Beauty, Fatima, Coupon, and Home Run) and P.

Lorillard is given 15% of the cigarette business (including the brands Helmar,

Egyptian Deities, Turkish Trophies, and Murad). American Tobacco Company

retained 37% of the cigarette business and keeps Sweet Caporal, Sovereign, Pall

Mall, Hassan, and Mecca brands.

Factories – Locations, Districts, Breakdowns

FACTORY SUMMARY

Factory Location

Brand

Subjects

Factory Information

Durham, North Carolina

American Beauty

460

Factory 42, 4th Dist. NC

Durham, North Carolina

Piedmont

350-460

Factory 42, 4th Dist. NC

Durham, North Carolina

Sweet Caporal

350-460

Factory 42, 4th Dist. NC

Durham, North Carolina

Sweet Caporal

350-460 (scroll)

Factory 42, 4th Dist. NC

Durham, North Carolina

Ty Cobb

Assorted

Factory 33, 4th Dist. NC

Middletown, Ohio

Polar Bear

Assorted

Factory 6, 1st Dist. OH

New York, New York

Hindu (brown)

Assorted

Factory 649, 1st Dist. NY

New York, New York

Hindu (red)

Assorted

Factory 649, 1st Dist. NY

New York, New York

Lenox (black or brown)

Assorted

Factory 30, 2nd Dist. NY

New York, New York

Old Mill (Southern) OP

Assorted

Factory 649, 1st Dist. NY

New York, New York

Sweet Caporal

150

Factory 30, 2nd Dist. NY

New York, New York

Sweet Caporal

350

Factory 30, 2nd Dist. NY

New York, New York

Sweet Caporal

350-460

Factory 30, 2nd Dist. NY

New York, New York

Sweet Caporal

150

Factory 649, 1st Dist. NY

New York, New York

Tolstoi

Assorted

Factory 30, 2nd Dist. NY

New York, New York

Uzit

Assorted

Factory 30, 2nd Dist. NY

Richmond, Virginia

American Beauty

350 no frame

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

American Beauty

350 with frame

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Broad Leaf

350

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Broad Leaf

460

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Carolina Brights

Assorted

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Cycle

350

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Cycle

460

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Drum

350

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

El Principe De Gales

Assorted

Factory 17, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Old Mill

Assorted

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Old Mill (Southern)

Assorted

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Piedmont

150

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Piedmont

350

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Piedmont

350-460

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Sovereign

150

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Sovereign

350

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Sovereign

460

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Sweet Caporal

150

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Sweet Caporal

350

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Sweet Caporal

350-460

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

The Back of the Cards

One of the most intriguing aspects about collecting T206 cards is that collecting

the backs is nearly as challenging as collecting the fronts. Every collector is

familiar with the folklore surrounding rarities such as the Honus Wagner card.

What many collectors don’t realize is the relative rarity associated with various

backs. For instance, few collectors know that less than 1 out of every 50,000

T206 cards contains a Broad Leaf 460 subjects back.

Brands Overview

The American Tobacco Trust issued the T206 tobacco baseball series cards with

16 different cigarette brands on the backs. Over the years, the back checklist has

undergone some corrections and changes. Here is the complete list of backs:

 American Beauty Cigarettes

 Broad Leaf Cigarettes

 Carolina Brights Cigarettes

 Cycle Cigarettes

 Drum Cigarettes

 El Principe De Gales (Cork Tip Havana Cigarettes, Rice Paper Pectoral

Paper)

 Hindu (Cork Tip, The Totally Different Cigarette)

 Lenox Mouthpiece Cigarettes

 Old Mill Cigarettes

 Piedmont (The Cigarette of Quality)

 Polar Bear (Is Now, Always Has Been, Always Will Be The Best Scrap

Tobacco)

 Sovereign Cigarettes (Fit for a King)

 Sweet Caporal Cigarettes (The Standard for Years)

 Tolstoi (Russian Mouth Piece Cigarettes)

 Ty Cobb (King of the Smoking Tobacco World)

 Uzit (The New Mouth-Piece Cigarettes)

When back checklists were first published, the following brands were also

included as part of the set. A brief explanation of their current classification is

also listed:

Coupon Cigarettes (Mild and Sweet) – Correctly cataloged as T213

Red Cross Tobacco (The Best Smoke or Chew) – Correctly cataloged as T215

Hustler Little Cigars (All Tobacco, No Paper, Not a Cigarette) – no baseball

subjects ever verified. Hustler backs were issued in 1909-1911 and have been

found with the Flags of All Nations cards (T59) and the Types of All Nations cards

(T113).

Individual Back Description

The following is an individual breakdown of the 16 different back types:

AMERICAN BEAUTY

The American Beauty backs were issued with the 350 series as well as the

350/460 series cards. Packaging of these backs began on June 14, 1910 and the

distribution began on July 3, 1910. There are three different types of American

Beauty backs. The first shows 350 subjects and has an ornate frame line

surrounding the entire back. There is another 350 subjects back type without any

frame line present. The final type shows 460 subjects without any frame line. All

of the American Beauty cigarette backs are printed in green. Most of the cards

with American Beauty backs are thinner than other T206 cards because the

American Beauty cigarette packages were slimmer. Within the brand, the 460

series is scarcer than the 350 series. Also, cards issued only in the 350 series are

always found with the frame line present. Cards issued in both the 350 and 460

series are usually found with no frame line. All of the American Beauty backs

show factory 25, 2

district Virginia. American Beauty backs are slightly tougher

than the easy backs.

BROAD LEAF

Broad Leaf cigarettes were issued with cards in the 350 series and 350/460

series. Broad Leaf backs are printed in dark brown. There are two types of Broad

Leaf backs, one showing 350 subjects and one showing 460 subjects. Within the

brand, the 350 subject backs are much easier than the 460 subject backs. Broad

Leaf 460 backs are extremely rare and seldom seen. Broad Leaf backs are

difficult to find. All of the Broad Leaf cigarettes backs show factory 25, 2

district Virginia.

CAROLINA BRIGHTS

Carolina Brights are among the most ornate back types. A fancy border coupled

with a centered wreath hi-light the Carolina Brights cards. Printed in black, these

backs were issued with cards in the 350 series and 350/460 series cards. All the

Carolina Brights cards carry the factory 25, 2

district Virginia designation.

Carolina Brights are one of the more difficult backs to find.

CYCLE

Cycle cigarettes were issued with the 350 series cards and the 350/460 series

cards. Cycle backs are printed in black and there are two different types. The

350 subjects back is easier to find than the 460 subjects back, but there is usually

no premium attached to the 460 backs. Within the brand, Cycle 350 subjects are

difficult to find for cards issued in the 350/460 series. All Cycle brand backs

were printed at factory 25, 2

district Virginia. Cycle backs are slightly tougher

than the easiest backs.

DRUM

The Drum cigarettes back has generally been considered the toughest T206 back

type. (Excluding the Ty Cobb back). Recent studies have shown that the Broad

Leaf 460 is probably more difficult, however the Drum back is still extremely

rare. Printed in violet, Drum backs show a 350 subjects designation. Drum

backs can be found with cards issued in the 350 series and 350/460 series. All

Drum back cards show factory 25, 2

district Virginia designations.

EL PRINCIPE DE GALES

El Principe De Gales brand backs are printed in red and are found in the assorted

series. All “El Prince” backs show the factory 17, 2

district Virginia designation

and are among the easier backs to locate. The name translates to “The Prince of

Wales”. This back type is sometimes referred to as EPDG.

HINDU

Hindu brand backs were issued in the assorted series and appear in two distinct

versions. Brown printed Hindu backs were issued in the 150 series with the

Major league players and in the 350 series with the Southern league players.

(Note: The six Texas league players cannot be found with any Hindu back).

Hindu backs also are found with red printing. The red Hindu backs can only be

found with cards issued in the 350/460 series and the 460 series. No card should

be seen with both the brown and red Hindu backs. Both the brown and red

Hindu cards show factory 649, 1

district New York. The brown Hindu is

moderately difficult, while the red Hindu is among the tougher T206 backs to

locate. Recently, a Christy Mathewson portrait card has been found with both a

red and brown Hindu back resulting in the first noted break from the pattern of

150 series cards only issued with brown Hindu backs.

LENOX

The Lenox Mouthpiece cigarettes brand back is only surpassed by Drum, Uzit and

Broad Leaf 460 in terms of difficulty. Lenox backs are only available on cards

printed in the 460 series. The Lenox back is found printed in black or brown and

designates “large assortment” series. The brown Lenox back was first discovered

in the early 1980’s and is extremely rare. Cards in the 460 series can be found

with both the brown and black Lenox back type. All Lenox backs show factory

30, 2

district New York.

OLD MILL

The Old Mill brand backs are among the easier backs to locate in the T206 set

and designate “assorted” series. Printed in all the series, the Old Mills are found

with black printing. There are three different types of Old Mill back: Type 1 can

be found on the Major league players and non-southern Minor league players.

Type 2 can only be found on the 48 Southern league players, and the back lists

the Southern leagues – Texas, Virginia, South Atlantic, and Southern. Type 3 Old

Mill backs are very similar to the type 2 except they have a factory overprint bar

on the back. Only a few of these have been seen, and each was a Southern league

player. Old Mill type 1 and type 2 backs show factory 25, 2

district Virginia

while the type 3 factory overprint versions show factory 649, 1

district New

York.

PIEDMONT

Piedmont cigarettes brand backs are the easiest to locate and found on more than

50% of all T206 cards. Piedmont backs are printed in blue and found in all the

different series. There are four different types of Piedmont back: 150 subjects

(factory 25), 350 subjects (factory 25), 350-460 subjects (factory 25), and 350-

460 subjects (factory 42). The Piedmont cards with the factory 42 designation

are quite rare, but don’t command the premium of similar rare backs. Piedmont

backs have been seen on every T206 card with the exception of Demmitt (St.

Louis) and O’Hara (St. Louis). Piedmont cards with the factory 25 designation

came from the 2

district Virginia, while the factory 42 cards were from the 4

district North Carolina.

POLAR BEAR

Polar Bear scrap tobacco backs are the only back with white letters on a dark blue

background. These cards were distributed in pouches of scrap tobacco and are

almost always found with tobacco stains; a result of the card being in direct

contact with the loose tobacco. Polar Bear backs shows “assorted” series and

were issued in the 350 series, the 350/460 series, and the 460 series. Polar Bear

backs are among the easiest back types to locate. All of the Polar Bear backs

originated from Middletown, Ohio (factory 6, 1

district Ohio).

SOVEREIGN

Sovereign cigarettes are printed in various shades of green. There are three

different types of Sovereign back: 150 subjects, 350 subjects, and 460 subjects.

With in the brand, the 350 subjects is the easiest and the 460 subjects is the most

difficult. All of the Sovereign backs show factory 25, 2

district Virginia and are

fairly easy to find.

SWEET CAPORAL

Sweet Caporal backs are the second easiest to find and are printed in red. There

are nine different types of Sweet Caporal backs as follows: factory 25 with 150

subjects, factory 25 with 350 subjects, factory 25 with 350-460 subjects, factory

30 with 150 subjects, factory 30 with 350 subjects, factory 30 with 350-460

subjects, factory 649 with 150 subjects, factory 42 with 350-460 subjects, and

factory 42 overprint with 350-460 subjects. Within the brand, factory 25 is

harder to find than factory 30. Factory 649 is a little tougher than factory 25.

Sweet Caporal backs can be found on almost every T206 card with the exception

of the Southern leaguers, Demmitt (St. Louis), O’Hara (St. Louis), and the Magie

error. The factory 25 and 30 cards show 2

district Virginia, factory 42 cards

show 4

district North Carolina, and factory 649 cards show 1

district New York.

TOLSTOI

Tolstoi Russian Mouth Piece cigarettes are printed in black and very similar to

the Piedmont design. Tolstoi backs show “assorted” series and fall in the middle

in terms of rarity. Tolstoi backs can be found in the 350 series, the 350/460

series, and the 460 series. Tolstoi discontinued packaging the baseball subjects

effective March 14,1911. All of the Tolstoi backs have factory 30, 2

district New

York.

TY COBB

Ty Cobb backs are in a class by themselves. These are printed in green and have

the words “Ty Cobb, King of the Smoking Tobacco World” printed on the back.

Only twelve of these cards are known and all have the Ty Cobb, red portrait pose

on the front. General opinion is that the Ty Cobb brand back was printed for

advertising and/or promotion only and never issued to the public. All of the

known Ty Cobb backs show factory 33, 4

district North Carolina.

Approximately twelve examples of this back type are known.

UZIT

Uzit (The New Mouth-Piece Cigarettes) brand backs are printed in blue and

designate “assorted” series. They appear in the 460 series only. These backs are

extremely scarce, surpassed only by the Drum and Broad Leaf 460 backs. The

Uzit backs were so seldom seen that when first catalogued by Jefferson R.

Burdick in The American Card Catalog they were listed as “Usit”. All of the Uzit

backs show factory 30, 2

district New York. According to a recently discovered

American Tobacco Company letter, the Uzit back cards were not distributed until

March 18, 1911. This was near the end of the T206 era and probably explains the

scarcity of the Uzit back type.

Listing By Difficulty

Giving consideration to the various back brand, subject and factory designations there are

38 different backs that can be found. The following table identifies each of them and

ranks them in order of rarity:

T206 BACKS IN ORDER OF RARITY (Toughest to Easiest)

Rank

Brand

Subjects

Factory Information

Factory Location

Ty Cobb

Assorted

Factory 33, 4th Dist. NC

Durham, North Carolina

Old Mill (So.) Overprint

Assorted

Factory 649, 1st Dist. NY

New York, New York

Broad Leaf

460

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Drum

350

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Uzit

Assorted

Factory 30, 2nd Dist. NY

New York, New York

Lenox (brown)

Assorted

Factory 30, 2nd Dist. NY

New York, New York

Hindu (red)

Assorted

Factory 649, 1st Dist. NY

New York, New York

Lenox (black)

Assorted

Factory 30, 2nd Dist. NY

New York, New York

Blank back

Piedmont

350-460

Factory 42, 4th Dist. NC

Durham, North Carolina

Broad Leaf

350

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Carolina Brights

Assorted

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Sovereign

460

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Hindu (brown)

Assorted

Factory 649, 1st Dist. NY

New York, New York

American Beauty

460

Factory 42, 4th Dist. NC

Durham, North Carolina

American Beauty

350 no frame

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Cycle

460

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

American Beauty

350 with frame

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Cycle

350

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Tolstoi

Assorted

Factory 30, 2nd Dist. NY

New York, New York

Sovereign

150

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Sweet Caporal

350-460

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Old Mill (Southern)

Assorted

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Sweet Caporal

350-460

Factory 42, 4th Dist. NC

Durham, North Carolina

Sweet Caporal

150

Factory 649, 1st Dist. NY

New York, New York

El Principe De Gales

Assorted

Factory 17, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Sovereign

350

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Old Mill

Assorted

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Polar Bear

Assorted

Factory 6, 1st Dist. OH

Middletown, Ohio

Sweet Caporal

350-460 (scroll)

Factory 42, 4th Dist. NC

Durham, North Carolina

Sweet Caporal

150

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Sweet Caporal

350

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Sweet Caporal

350-460

Factory 30, 2nd Dist. NY

New York, New York

Piedmont

350-460

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Sweet Caporal

150

Factory 30, 2nd Dist. NY

New York, New York

Piedmont

150

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

Sweet Caporal

350

Factory 30, 2nd Dist. NY

New York, New York

Piedmont

350

Factory 25, 2nd Dist. VA

Richmond, Virginia

T206 Back Survey

During the time period from the fall of 1997 through the end of 1999 the authors

conducted a T206 back survey for the express purpose of validating the relative

rarity of the various backs. Top collectors, dealers, and hobby veterans were

contacted with a questionnaire asking about specific back types in their collection

along with backs they had previously owned. A total of 45 individuals

participated in this survey and 437,553 T206 cards were studied. The six

toughest back types were included in this survey and the results follow.

This study clearly corroborates our current ranking of backs in order of rarity.

Out of a total of 437,553 cards the following were noted:

1. Broad Leaf, 460 subjects – 8 cards (approximately 1 in every 54,694

cards)

2. Drum, 350 subjects – 29 cards (approximately 1 in every 15,088 cards)

3. Uzit– 63 cards (approximately 1 in every 6,945 cards)

4. Lenox (no designation as to brown or black) – 112 cards (approximately 1

in every 3,907 cards)

5. Broad Leaf, 350 subjects – 160 cards (approximately 1 in every 2,735

cards)

6. Carolina Brights – 368 cards (approximately 1 in every 1,189 cards)

The only surprise was probably the Broad Leaf 460. This is most likely due to the

fact that many back collectors are more properly categorized as “brand”

collectors. Generically the Drum brand back is definitely rarer than the Broad

Leaf; but the Broad Leaf 460 series is considerably rarer as a distinct back.

One back excluded from the survey was the Ty Cobb back. With only 12 examples

known; this brand is unquestionably the rarest.

Front/Back Combinations

The front/back combinations are one of the keys to unlocking the T206 set.

There are five distinct codes that 516 of the 527 cards can be fit into. The final 11

cards break the typical pattern and need to be considered separately as to back

availability. All of these codes are documented in the Master Checklist section of

the Appendix to this book.

Premiums Associated With More Difficult Backs

Any serious discussions regarding T206 backs, naturally leads to a discussion of

value or premium over the common back prices. Following estimated retail

values are presented as guidelines for common card fronts with difficult backs in

collector grade VG/EX condition:

 Broad Leaf, 460 subjects ($1,400)

 Drum ($1,250)

 Uzit ($500)

 Hindu Red ($250)

 Lenox ($350)

 Blank Backs ($200)

 Broad Leaf, 350 subjects ($150)

 Carolina Brights ($125)

 Hindu Brown ($75)

No retail prices have been provided for Old Mill (So.) Overprint and Piedmont

Factory 42 as there is no established market value.

This discussion gets much more subjective and therefore more complicated when

it extends to premiums paid for Hall of Fame players with difficult backs. In

most cases the multiple paid is less as the premium is more directed toward the

back of the card than the front.

Rarities

The word rarity is synonymous with certain subjects in the T206 set. To this day

this represents the key attribute that has given the set such notoriety over the

years. It is also what keeps collectors scanning stacks of commons to find the

previously undiscovered variation. Although any discussion about rarity always

starts with the “Big 4” of Wagner, Plank, Magie and Doyle it doesn’t end there. In

this chapter we will discuss the rarities in four different categories: The Big 4, Ty

Cobb back, name alterations, Demmitt/O’Hara team changes and isolated

variations. Additionally a scarcity ranking of the top 30 cards is provided

The “Big 4”

Up until recently rarity discussions always centered around the “Big 3” of

Wagner, Plank and Magie. Believe it or not some level of comfort was offered in

that at least 60 or so individuals could attain every subject in the set as it was

only limited to how many Wagner cards existed. The rules have now changed.

With the recent find of an additional example of the Doyle variation and the

prominent national auction where a “good” example of one sold for $178,598 it is

clear that this card has rightfully expanded the ranks to the “Big 4”.

Doyle (N.Y. Natl., hands above head)

The Doyle variation is a card of Joe Doyle who played for the New York

Highlanders (Americans) from 1906 to 1910. Amazing that a player with a

lackluster career of 22 wins vs. 21 losses would create such an impact on the

hobby. It appears the trouble started when early on in production they depicted

this card with a designation of “Nat’l”. One could hypothesize that he was

mistaken for Larry Doyle who played for the New York Nationals at the time.

Whatever the reason; early on in production the error was identified and the

“Nat’l” designation was simply removed. The first time this variation was

discovered was 1981 by Wisconsin dealer Larry Fritsch. One morning while

filling an order for a T206 New York team set, he came across a card of Doyle,

hands over head, N.Y. Nat’l. At first, he was puzzled by this card and was unable

to find any record in his checklists or personal collection. This was the first

discovery of the Joe Doyle variation. Larry proceeded to place several ads in

hobby magazines offering twice the current value for any T206 Doyle card. The

Doyle cards pour in, however none were the Doyle variation. The next example

was discovered by Maryland dealer Bill Hughes in 1987. This example was

eventually sold for $10,000 to Larry Fritsch. Since this time only two other

examples of this card have surfaced. One is the example that was won in a 2000

Ron Oser auction by a prominent hobbyist for $178,598 and the other one was a

“walk in” at a Pennsylvania card show. With fewer than 10 known examples this

is undoubtedly the rarest card in the T206 set, unseating Wagner which

previously held this distinctive position.

Wagner

It is rare for there to be a consensus in any field of collecting about what is the

very best item in a given field. The T206 of Honus Wagner is the rare exception.

This card stands alone in stature, value and desirability above all other baseball

cards, and represents the very heart and soul of the entire baseball card collecting

world. It is true that both the Doyle and Ty Cobb back cards are rarer; but the

Wagner card is unique in that it’s great rarity transcends just the world of card

collecting. Legend has it that Wagner demanded that the tobacco companies stop

issuing his card because he did not want to encourage youngsters to smoke, thus

causing its great rarity. Controversy over this account has been fueled by

Wagner’s well known use of chewing tobacco in his later years, encouraging

speculation that his card was pulled from the set because he wanted more money

to cooperate. The legend of the T206 Wagner card is, in fact, 100% true. This

famous legend is actually verified by period documentation. An article appearing

in the October 24, 1912 edition of the Sporting News details the circumstances of

Wagner’s refusal to be included in the set. When Wagner’s permission was

sought for inclusion in the set, the Pirate shortstop actually sent a check for $10

to the Pittsburgh sportswriter who had been hired by the American Tobacco

Company to sign up Wagner and the rest of the Pirate players for inclusion.

Wagner did this, according to the article, because he did not want to be

responsible for costing the sportswriter the money he could have earned for

securing Wagner’s cooperation. So, rather than asking for more money, so strong

was Wagner’s desire not to have his picture packaged with tobacco products that

he was willing to have it cost him money. According to the article, the

sportswriter refused to cash the check, and though he thought very highly of

Wagner before, he was left with an even higher opinion of Wagner as a gentleman

after this exchange.

Once you get past the folklore, this is in fact a very rare and desirable card in that

somewhere between 75 and 100 authentic examples exist. The card has only

been found with a Piedmont and Sweet Caporal back. All but 2 examples are

found with the Sweet Caporal back leading some to believe the two examples with

the Piedmont back were never put into production. Only 10 of the known

examples are in crease-free condition. The finest example which is in Nrmt/Mt

condition recently sold for $1,265,000 making it the first card to ever sell for over

$1 million.

Plank

The portrait of Plank is undoubtedly the most confusing production rarity in the

set. While all of the other significant rarities can be explained by either

documented accounts (Wagner) or production errors that were later corrected

(Doyle and Magie) there are no good explanations for why the Plank card appears

in such limited quantities. Early speculation was that the plate used to print this

subject broke early on in the production process. This can be quickly discounted

as it is noted that the Plank card is found both in the 150 and the 350 series

adding further confusion as to why so few were produced. It is noted that

although Plank was over halfway to his overall career mark of 326 wins, similar to

Wagner, he was remarkably missing from most of the tobacco issues of the day.

His individual appearance was limited to the relatively obscure T204 Ramly and

T5 Pinkerton issues. Even though this card is only found with a Sweet Caporal

back, the fact that it can be found both in the 150 or 350 series leaves us with a

question as to why the card is any rarer than any other Sweet Caporal 150 subject.

This is a mystery that will probably never be solved.

Magee (Magie)

The Magie variation resulted from a misspelling of Sherry Magee’s name on the

portrait design of his card. His name was spelled “Magie” instead of the correct

spelling of “Magee”. This variation is only found with a Piedmont 150 back. This

correction was made early on in the production process. Although Sherry was a

formidable offensive player batting almost .300 in his first 5 years as he entered

the 1909 season; it is surprising that they stopped production to make this

change as this is the only spelling error that was ever corrected in the midst of its

production.

Ty Cobb Back

The Ty Cobb with a Ty Cobb back is by definition a back variation. Still any

discussion of T206 rarities would be remiss without a discussion of this

incredible rarity. This variation is universally recognized as one of the greatest

and most desirable of all baseball card rarities. With only 12 currently known to

exist it is surpassed only by the Doyle card in rarity and carries a mystique that

will leave collectors wondering for years to come why it was never produced in

mass for production. This card is only found with a Ty Cobb red background

portrait front. As opposed to having the normal matte front of other T206s, this

card has a glossy front similar to T213 Type Two cards. This is the only T206 that

carries the factory designation of Factory 33, 4th Dist. NC which was located in

Durham, North Carolina. Until recently only 6 examples where known to the

hobby. Five newly discovered cards were found by a non-collector who came

across them in a book while going through his great grandfathers old papers. He

discovered them a dozen years ago; but, only recently became aware of their great

rarity and value. All 5 examples were auctioned by Robert Edwards auctions in

1997. More recently a proof or sample card was discovered. It differed from the

other examples in that the card was obviously hand cut and was devoid of the

glossy front of the other examples.

Name Alterations

Name alterations are non-production variations that are created through

breakdowns in the production process. They result from part of the printing

plate deteriorating or breaking down over a long period of time resulting in a new

variation of the card. Although a number of these have been identified (discussed

further under isolated variations), only those for which two or more examples

have been noted are included as true variations. Until a second variation is found

isolated variations are just that as they could have been caused by something

obscuring the printing plate. To date three that fall into this category have been

identified. It is especially interesting that, for each one of these variations, cards

can be found that show the transition from the production version of the card to

the variation. All three are rare and desirable as to date very few have surfaced.

It should be expected that as more collectors become aware of these variations

more will surface. Following describes and depicts these three variations.

Bud Sharpe (spelled “Shappe”)

The name alteration of this variation resulted from the bottom stem of the “R”

breaking off.

Fred Snodgrass batting (missing “S” in Snodgrass)

The name alteration of this variation resulted from the “S” breaking off.

Fred Snodgrass catching (missing “S” in Snodgrass)

The name alteration of this variation resulted from the “S” breaking off. The fact

that both Snodgrass designs share the same variation leads one to the logical

assumption that the name plates were used for various designs throughout the

production process.

Demmitt/O’Hara Team Changes

Discussion of the Demmitt and O’Hara St.Louis variations are usually discussed

together as many aspects of the variations seem to mirror each other. Ray

Demmitt played for the New York Highlanders in 1909 and was traded to the St.

Louis Browns for the 1910 season where his play was limited to 10 games. He

then disappeared from major league box scores until 1914 when he was signed by

Detroit and was quickly dealt to the Chicago Americans. In similar fashion Bill

O’Hara played for the New York Giants in 1909 and was traded to the St. Louis

Cardinals for the 1910 season where he played only 9 games; the last major

league games he would play. St. Louis versions of these players were produced

depicting the team change; but, were only produced with the Polar Bear back. It

is interesting to note that the Demmitt variation shows him in a St Louis uniform

whereas the O’Hara variation shows him in a blank uniform. Additionally, both

versions of the Demmitt card spell out the entire word “American” in the caption.

These are the only cards in the entire set where American it is not abbreviated.

Although both the Demmitt and O’Hara cards are believed to be rare; they are

not believed to be any rarer than any other Polar Bear back card. High grade

examples do demand a premium as Polar Bear cards are difficult to find in high

grade due to product staining which was common.

Isolated Variations

Now we move into a sticky area. When is a variation truly a variation vs. just an

anomaly? It is the belief of the authors that until a second example of a variation

is discovered the example needs to effectively sit in isolation until it can be

considered a true variation. Larry Fritsch did this for years until his isolated

Doyle card became bona fide variation. At the same time the Tinker portrait that

excluded the name of “Tinker” and simply displays “Chicago, Nat’l” will need to

sit in isolation until his twin brother is uncovered. It is important that known

examples of isolated variations are identified and catalogued as this is the only

way additional examples will ever come to light. These variations will be

separated into two categories; isolated name variations and isolated design

variations. Following are descriptions of these variation types and the known

examples of each.

Isolated Name Alterations - Variations created through breakdowns in the

production process. These can be caused either by the printing plate

deteriorating or by something obscuring the printing plate. The former would

probably result in multiple occurrences while the latter would be more isolated.

Following are examples of some isolated name variations:

Red Murray (portrait) (last name spelled "Murr'y")

Joe Tinker (portrait) ("Tinker" missing)

Isolated Design Variations – Unexplained design variations from the

production version that is in the set. Examples of these include a card of Bill

Hinchman (Cleveland) which is known to carry a semi-colon instead of a comma

between the name and the team designation and Simon Nicholls (hands on

knees) where the variation includes a light but unmistakable "A" on the players

cap.

Other Scarce Cards

In addition to the cards described above there are a number of other cards that

are scarce relative to the other cards in the set. These can be categorized as

subjects resulting from team changes, issued on in the 150 series and horizontal

cards issued beyond the 150 series.

Team changes – The next group of scarce cards have a common thread of

being related to team changes that were reflected on that latter version of the

card. Following identifies the players, the team they were traded from and the

team they were traded to:

Kid Elberfeld New York, Amer. Washington, Amer.

George Browne Chicago, Nat’l Washington, Amer.

Frank Smith Chicago, Amer Boston, Amer

Carl Lundgren Chicago, Nat’t Kansas City

Red Kleinow New York, Amer. Boston, Amer.

Bill Dahlen Boston, Nat’l Brooklyn, Nat’l

In all cases except the Lundgren the second card with the new team is the design

that is scarce. It is interesting to note that Lundgren was the only player to be

traded during the 1909 season as opposed to the others that were traded during

1910

<incorporate images of each players common and scarce variation of the

card…consider incorporating picture with above matrix>

150 Series Only – There were 9 cards in addition to Honus Wagner that were

only issued in the 150 series and are therefore scarcer than typical cards that

appeared in more than one series. They include George Brown (Browne)

(Chicago), Mordecai Brown (Cubs on shirt) (HOF), Al Burch (batting), Mike

Donlin (fielding), Johnny Evers (Cubs) (blue sky) (HOF), Harry Pattee

(horizontal), Barney Pelty (horizontal), Mike Powers and Ed Reulbach (glove

showing).

Horizontal Cards Issued Beyond the 150 Series – All 6 of the horizontal

cards are considered more difficult. Obviously the two issued only in the 150

series are the scarcest. The other 4 are still considered more difficult than typical

common cards and include Joe Birmingham (horizontal), George Mullin

(throwing) (horizontal), Danny Murphy (throwing) (horizontal) and Jack Powell

(horizontal).

The List Goes On – One can continue through the list and identify relative

levels of rarity. For example there are other cards issued in the 150 series and

sparingly in the 350 series that are known to be scarcer than cards issued initially

in the 350 series.

Scarcity Ranking

The following table details the 30 scarcest cards in the set in what is believed to

be their order of scarcity.

T206 SCARCITY RANKING

Rank

Nbr

Code

Name

Team

League

143a

Joe Doyle (N.Y. Natl., hands above head)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

95b

Ty Cobb (red portrait) (HOF) Ty Cobb back

Detroit

American

3-5 Tie

428b

Bud Sharpe ML (last name spelled "Shappe")

Newark

Minor

3-5 Tie

442b

Fred Snodgrass (batting) (missing "S" in Snodgrass)

N. Y. Nat'l

National

3-5 Tie

443b

Fred Snodgrass (catching) (missing "S" in Snodgrass)

N. Y. Nat'l

National

486

Honus Wagner (HOF)

Pittsburgh

National

385

Eddie Plank (HOF)

Phila. Amer.

American

287a

Sherry Magie (Magee)

Phila. Nat'l.

National

9-10 Tie

122b

Ray Demmitt (St. Louis Amer.)

St. Louis Amer.

American

9-10 Tie

355b

Bill O'Hara (St. Louis)

St. Louis Nat'l.

National

155b

Kid Elberfeld (portrait) (Washington)

Washington

American

438b

Frank Smith (Chicago & Boston)

Chic. & Bost. Am.

American

55b

George Brown (Browne) (Washington)

Washington

American

285a

Carl Lundgren (Chicago)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

249a

Red Kleinow (Boston)

Boston

American

115b

Bill Dahlen (Brooklyn)

Brooklyn

National

17-25 Tie

127

Mike Donlin (fielding)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

17-25 Tie

371

Harry Pattee (horizontal)

Brooklyn

National

17-25 Tie

388

Mike Powers

Phila. Amer.

American

17-25 Tie

Mordecai Brown (Cubs on shirt) (HOF)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

17-25 Tie

162

Johnny Evers (Cubs) (blue sky) (HOF)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

17-25 Tie

396

Ed Reulbach (glove showing)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

17-25 Tie

373

Barney Pelty (horizontal photo)

St. Louis Amer.

American

17-25 Tie

Al Burch (batting)

Brooklyn

National

17-25 Tie

55a

George Brown (Browne) (Chicago)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

26-29 Tie

339

George Mullin (throwing) (horizontal)

Detroit

American

26-29 Tie

342

Danny Murphy (throwing) (horizontal)

Phila. Amer.

American

26-29 Tie

387

Jack Powell (horizontal)

St. Louis Amer.

American

26-29 Tie

Joe Birmingham (horizontal)

Cleveland

American

Var.

Var. subjects issued in 150 and sparingly in 350 series

Various

Appendix A: Master Checklist

Nmbr

Code

Name

Team

League

ISSUED CARDS:

Ed Abbaticchio (blue sleeves)

Pittsburgh

National

Ed Abbaticchio (brown sleeves)

Pittsburgh

National

Fred Abbott ML

Toledo

Minor

Bill Abstein

Pittsburgh

National

Doc Adkins ML

Baltimore

Minor

Whitey Alperman (stripes on cap)

Brooklyn

National

Red Ames (hands at chest)

N. Y. Nat'l

National

Red Ames (hands above head)

N. Y. Nat'l

National

Red Ames (portrait)

N. Y. Nat'l

National

John Anderson ML

Providence

Minor

Frank Arellanes

Boston Amer.

American

Herman Armbruster ML

St. Paul

Minor

Harry Arndt ML

Providence

Minor

Jake Atz

Chicago Amer.

American

Frank (Home Run) Baker (R) (HOF)

Phila. Amer.

American

Neal Ball (New York)

N. Y. Amer.

American

Neal Ball (Cleveland)

Cleveland

American

Jap Barbeau

St. Louis Nat'l.

National

Cy Barger ML

Rochester

Minor

Jack Barry (Philadelphia)

Phila. Amer.

American

Shad Barry ML (Milwaukee)

Milwaukee

Minor

Jack Bastian SL

San Antonio

Southern

Emil Batch ML

Rochester

Minor

Johnny Bates ("B" on cap)

Boston Nat'l.

National

Harry Bay SL

Nashville

Southern

Ginger Beaumont

Boston Nat'l.

National

Fred Beck ("B" on cap and sleeve)

Boston Nat'l.

National

Beals Becker (“B” on uniform)

Boston Nat'l.

National

Jake Beckley (HOF)

Kansas City

Minor

George Bell (hands above head)

Brooklyn

National

George Bell (pitching follow thru)

Brooklyn

National

Chief Bender (no trees) (HOF)

Phila. Amer.

American

Chief Bender (with trees) (HOF)

Phila. Amer.

American

Chief Bender (portrait) (HOF)

Phila. Amer.

American

Bill Bergen (batting)

Brooklyn

National

Bill Bergen (catching)

Brooklyn

National

Heinie Berger

Cleveland

American

Bill Bernhard SL

Nashville

Southern

Bob Bescher (hands in air)

Cincinnati

National

Bob Bescher (portrait)

Cincinnati

National

Joe Birmingham (horizontal)

Cleveland

American

Lena Blackburne ML

Providence

Minor

Jack Bliss

St. Louis Nat'l.

National

Frank Bowerman ("B" on uniform)

Boston Nat'l.

National

Bill Bradley (portrait)

Cleveland

American

Bill Bradley (with bat)

Cleveland

American

Dave Brain ML

Buffalo

Minor

Kitty Bransfield

Phila. Nat'l.

National

Roy Brashear ML

Kansas City

Minor

Ted Breitenstein SL

New Orleans

Southern

Roger Bresnahan (portrait) (HOF)

St. Louis Nat'l.

National

Roger Bresnahan (batting) (HOF)

St. Louis Nat'l.

National

Al Bridwell (portrait, no cap)

N. Y. Nat'l

National

Al Bridwell (portrait, with cap)

N. Y. Nat'l

National

55a

George Brown (Browne) (Chicago)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

55b

George Brown (Browne) (Washington)

Washington

American

Mordecai Brown (Chicago on shirt) (HOF)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

Mordecai Brown (Cubs on shirt) (HOF)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

Mordecai Brown (portrait) (HOF)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

Al Burch (batting)

Brooklyn

National

Al Burch (fielding)

Brooklyn

National

Fred Burchell ML

Buffalo

Minor

Jimmy Burke ML

Indianapolis

Minor

Bill Burns

Chicago Amer.

American

Donie Bush

Detroit

American

John Butler ML

Rochester

Minor

Bobby Byrne

St. Louis Nat'l.

National

Howie Camnitz (arm at side)

Pittsburgh

National

Howie Camnitz (arms folded)

Pittsburgh

National

Howie Camnitz (hands above head)

Pittsburgh

National

Billy Campbell

Cincinnati

National

Scoops Carey SL

Memphis

Southern

Charley Carr ML

Indianapolis

Minor

Bill Carrigan

Boston Amer.

American

Doc Casey ML

Montreal

Minor

Peter Cassidy ML

Baltimore

Minor

Frank Chance (batting) (HOF)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

Frank Chance (red portrait) (HOF)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

Frank Chance (yellow portrait) (HOF)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

Bill Chappelle ML

Rochester

Minor

Chappie Charles

St. Louis Nat'l.

National

Hal Chase (holding trophy)

N. Y. Amer.

American

Hal Chase (blue portrait)

N. Y. Amer.

American

Hal Chase (pink portrait)

N. Y. Amer.

American

Hal Chase (black cap)

N. Y. Amer.

American

Hal Chase (white cap)

N. Y. Amer.

American

Jack Chesbro (HOF)

N. Y. Amer.

American

Ed Cicotte (Black Sox)

Boston Amer.

American

Bill Clancy ML

Buffalo

Minor

Josh Clark ML

Columbus

Minor

Fred Clarke (batting) (HOF)

Pittsburgh

National

Fred Clarke (portrait) (HOF)

Pittsburgh

National

J. J. (Nig) Clarke (Cleveland)

Cleveland

American

Bill Clymer ML

Columbus

Minor

Ty Cobb (green portrait) (HOF)

Detroit

American

Ty Cobb (red portrait) (HOF)

Detroit

American

Ty Cobb (bat off shoulder) (HOF)

Detroit

American

Ty Cobb (bat on shoulder) (HOF)

Detroit

American

Cad Coles SL

Augusta

Southern

Eddie Collins (Philadelphia) (portrait) (HOF)

Phila. Amer.

American

100

Jimmy Collins (Minneapolis) (HOF)

Minneapolis

Minor

101

Bunk Congalton ML

Columbus

Minor

102

Wid Conroy (fielding)

Washington

American

103

Wid Conroy (with bat)

Washington

American

104

Harry Covaleski (Coveleski)

Phila. Nat'l

National

105

Doc Crandall (portrait, no cap)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

106

Doc Crandall (portrait, with cap)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

107

Bill Cranston SL

Memphis

Southern

108

Gavvy Cravath ML

Minneapolis

Minor

109

Sam Crawford (throwing) (HOF)

Detroit

American

110

Sam Crawford (with bat) (HOF)

Detroit

American

111

Birdie Cree

N. Y. Amer.

American

112

Lou Criger

St. Louis Amer.

American

113

Dode Criss

St. Louis Amer.

American

114

Monte Cross ML

Indianapolis

Minor

115a

Bill Dahlen (Boston)

Boston Nat'l.

National

115b

Bill Dahlen (Brooklyn)

Brooklyn

National

116

Paul Davidson ML

Indianapolis

Minor

117

George Davis (Chicago) (HOF)

Chicago Amer.

American

118

Harry Davis (Philadelphia, Davis on front)

Phila. Amer.

American

119

Harry Davis (Philadel., H. Davis on front)

Phila. Amer.

American

120

Frank Delehanty ML (Delahanty, Louisville)

Louisville

Minor

121

Jim Delehanty (Delahanty, Washington)

Washington

American

122a

Ray Demmitt (New York)

N. Y. Amer.

American

122b

Ray Demmitt (St. Louis Amer.)

St. Louis Amer.

American

123

Rube Dessau ML

Baltimore

Minor

124

Art Devlin

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

125

Josh DeVore

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

126

Bill Dineen (Dinneen)

St. Louis Amer.

American

127

Mike Donlin (fielding)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

128

Mike Donlin (seated)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

129

Mike Donlin (with bat)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

130

Jiggs Donohue (Donahue)

Chicago Amer.

American

131

Wild Bill Donovan (portrait)

Detroit

American

132

Wild Bill Donovan (throwing)

Detroit

American

133

Red Dooin

Phila. Nat'l

National

134

Mickey Doolan (batting)

Phila. Nat'l

National

135

Mickey Doolan (fielding)

Phila. Nat'l

National

136

Mickey Doolin (Doolan)

Phila. Nat'l

National

137

Gus Dorner ML

Kansas City

Minor

138

Patsy Dougherty (arm in air)

Chicago Amer.

American

139

Patsy Dougherty (portrait)

Chicago Amer.

American

140

Tom Downey (batting)

Cincinnati

National

141

Tom Downey (fielding)

Cincinnati

National

142

Jerry Downs ML

Minneapolis

Minor

143a

Joe Doyle (N.Y. Natl., hands above head)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

143b

Joe Doyle (N.Y., hands above head)

N. Y.

American

144

Larry Doyle (N.Y. Natl., portrait)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

145

Larry Doyle (N.Y. Natl., throwing)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

146

Larry Doyle (N.Y. Natl., with bat)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

147

Jean Dubuc

Cincinnati

National

148

Hugh Duffy (HOF)

Chicago Amer.

American

149

Jack Dunn ML (Baltimore)

Baltimore

Minor

150

Joe Dunn (Brooklyn)

Brooklyn

National

151

Bull Durham

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

152

Jimmy Dygert

Phila. Amer.

American

153

Ted Easterly

Cleveland

American

154

Dick Egan

Cincinnati

National

155a

Kid Elberfeld (portrait) (NY)

N. Y. Amer.

American

155b

Kid Elberfeld (portrait) (Washington)

Washington

American

156

Kid Elberfeld (fielding)

Washington

American

157

Roy Ellam SL

Nashville

Southern

158

Clyde Engle

N. Y. Amer.

American

159

Steve Evans

St. Louis Nat'l.

National

160

Johnny Evers (portrait) (HOF)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

161

Johnny Evers (Chicago) (yellow sky) (HOF)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

162

Johnny Evers (Cubs) (blue sky) (HOF)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

163

Bob Ewing

Cincinnati

National

164

Cecil Ferguson

Boston Nat'l.

National

165

Hobe Ferris

St. Louis Amer.

American

166

Lou Fiene (portrait)

Chicago Amer.

American

167

Lou Fiene (throwing)

Chicago Amer.

American

168

Steamer Flanagan ML

Buffalo

Minor

169

Art Fletcher

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

170

Elmer Flick (HOF)

Cleveland

American

171

Russ Ford

N. Y. Amer.

American

172

Ed Foster SL

Charleston

Southern

173

Jerry Freeman ML

Toledo

Minor

174

John Frill

N. Y. Amer.

American

175

Charlie Fritz SL

New Orleans

Southern

176

Art Fromme

Cincinnati

National

177

Chick Gandil (Black Sox)

Chicago Amer.

American

178

Bob Ganley

Washington

American

179

John Ganzel ML

Rochester

Minor

180

Harry Gasper

Cincinnati

National

181

Rube Geyer

St. Louis Nat'l.

National

182

George Gibson

Pittsburgh

National

183

Billy Gilbert

St. Louis Nat'l.

National

184

Wilbur Goode (Good)

Cleveland

American

185

Bill Graham (St. Louis)

St. Louis Amer.

American

186

Peaches Graham (Boston)

Boston Nat'l.

National

187

Dolly Gray

Washington

American

188

Ed Greminger SL

Montgomery

Southern

189

Clark Griffith (batting) (HOF)

Cincinnati

National

190

Clark Griffith (portrait) (HOF)

Cincinnati

National

191

Moose Grimshaw ML

Toronto

Minor

192

Bob Groom

Washington

American

193

Tom Guiheen SL

Portsmouth

Southern

194

Ed Hahn

Chicago Amer.

American

195

Bob Hall ML

Baltimore

Minor

196

Bill Hallman ML

Kansas City

Minor

197

Jack Hannifan ML

Jersey City

Minor

198

Bill Hart SL (Little Rock)

Little Rock

Southern

199

Jimmy Hart SL (Montgomery)

Montgomery

Southern

200

Topsy Hartsel

Phila. Amer.

American

201

Jack Hayden ML

Indianapolis

Minor

202

J. Ross Helm SL

Columbus

Southern

203

Charlie Hemphill (stripes on cap)

N. Y. Amer.

American

204

Buck Herzog (Boston)

Boston Nat'l.

National

205

Buck Herzog (New York)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

206

Gordon Hickman SL

Mobile

Southern

207

Bill Hinchman (Cleveland)

Cleveland

American

208

Harry Hinchman ML (Toledo)

Toledo

Minor

209

Dick Hoblitzell

Cincinnati

National

210

Danny Hoffman (St. Louis)

St. Louis Amer.

American

211

Izzy Hoffman ML (Providence)

Providence

Minor

212

Solly Hofman

Chicago Nat'l.

National

213

Bock Hooker SL

Lynchburg

Southern

214

Del Howard (Chicago)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

215

Ernie Howard SL (Savannah)

Savannah

Southern

216

Harry Howell (hand at waist)

St. Louis Amer.

American

217

Harry Howell (portrait)

St. Louis Amer.

American

218

Miller Huggins (hands at mouth) (HOF)

Cincinnati

National

219

Miller Huggins (portrait) (HOF)

Cincinnati

National

220

Rudy Hulswitt

St. Louis Nat'l.

National

221

John Hummel

Brooklyn

National

222

George Hunter

Brooklyn

National

223

Frank Isbell

Chicago Amer.

American

224

Fred Jacklitsch

Phila. Nat'l.

National

225

Jimmy Jackson ML

Baltimore

Minor

226

Hughie Jennings (one hand) (HOF)

Detroit

American

227

Hughie Jennings (two hands) (HOF)

Detroit

American

228

Hughie Jennings (portrait) (HOF)

Detroit

American

229

Walter Johnson (glove at chest) (R) (HOF)

Washington

American

230

Walter Johnson (portrait) (R) (HOF)

Washington

American

231

Fielder Jones (Chicago, hands at hips)

Chicago Amer.

American

232

Fielder Jones (Chicago, portrait)

Chicago Amer.

American

233

Davy Jones (Detroit)

Detroit

American

234

Tom Jones (St. Louis)

St. Louis Nat'l.

National

235

A. O. (Dutch) Jordan SL (Atlanta)

Atlanta

Southern

236

Tim Jordan (Brooklyn, batting)

Brooklyn

National

237

Tim Jordan (Brooklyn, portrait)

Brooklyn

National

238

Addie Joss (hands at chest) (HOF)

Cleveland

American

239

Addie Joss (portrait) (HOF)

Cleveland

American

240

Ed Karger

Cincinnati

National

241

Willie Keeler (portrait) (HOF)

N. Y. Amer.

American

242

Willie Keeler (with bat) (HOF)

N. Y. Amer.

American

243

Joe Kelley (HOF)

Toronto

Minor

244

J.F. Kiernan SL

Columbia

Southern

245

Ed Killian (hands at chest)

Detroit

American

246

Ed Killian (portrait)

Detroit

American

247

Frank King SL

Danville

Southern

248

Rube Kisinger ML

Buffalo

Minor

249a

Red Kleinow (Boston) (catching)

Boston

American

249b

Red Kleinow (New York) (catching)

N. Y. Amer.

American

250

Red Kleinow (New York) (with bat)

N. Y. Amer.

American

251

Johnny Kling

Chicago Nat'l.

National

252

Otto Knabe

Phila. Nat'l.

National

253

Jack Knight (portrait)

N. Y. Amer.

American

254

Jack Knight (with bat)

N. Y. Amer.

American

255

Ed Konetchy (glove above head)

St. Louis Nat'l.

National

256

Ed Konetchy (glove near ground)

St. Louis Nat'l.

National

257

Harry Krause (pitching) (white cap)

Phila. Amer.

American

258

Harry Krause (portrait)

Phila. Amer.

American

259

Rube Kroh

Chicago Nat'l.

National

260

Otto Kruger ML

Columbus

Minor

261

James Lafitte SL

Macon

Southern

262

Nap Lajoie (portrait) (HOF)

Cleveland

American

263

Nap Lajoie (throwing) (HOF)

Cleveland

American

264

Nap Lajoie (with bat) (HOF)

Cleveland

American

265

Joe Lake (New York)

N. Y. Amer.

American

266

Joe Lake (St. Louis, ball in hand)

St. Louis Amer.

American

267

Joe Lake (St Louis, no ball, r.h. visible)

St. Louis Amer.

American

268

Frank LaPorte

N. Y. Amer.

American

269

Arlie Latham

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

270

Bill Lattimore ML

Toledo

Minor

271

Jimmy Lavender ML

Providence

Minor

272

Tommy Leach (bending over)

Pittsburgh

National

273

Tommy Leach (portrait) (yellow background)

Pittsburgh

National

274

Lefty Leifield (batting)

Pittsburgh

National

275

Lefty Leifield (pitching)

Pittsburgh

National

276

Ed Lennox

Brooklyn

National

277

Harry Lentz SL (Sentz)

Little Rock

Southern

278

Glenn Liebhardt

Cleveland

American

279

Vive Lindaman ("B" on cap)

Boston Nat'l.

National

280

Perry Lipe SL

Richmond

Southern

281

Paddy Livingstone (Livingston)

Phila. Amer.

American

282

Hans Lobert

Cincinnati

National

283

Harry Lord

Boston Amer.

American

284

Harry Lumley

Brooklyn

National

285a

Carl Lundgren (Chicago)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

285b

Carl Lundgren ML (Kansas City)

Kansas City

Minor

286

Nick Maddox

Pittsburgh

National

287a

Sherry Magie (Magee)

Phila. Nat'l.

National

287b

Sherry Magee (portrait)

Phila. Nat'l.

National

288

Sherry Magee (with bat)

Phila. Nat'l.

National

289

Bill Malarkey ML

Buffalo

Minor

290

Billy Maloney ML

Rochester

Minor

291

George Manion SL

Columbia

Southern

292

Rube Manning (batting)

N. Y. Amer.

American

293

Rube Manning (pitching)

N. Y. Amer.

American

294

Rube Marquard (hands at side) (R) (HOF)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

295

Rube Marquard (pitching) (R) (HOF)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

296

Rube Marquard (portrait) (R) (HOF)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

297

Doc Marshall

Brooklyn

National

298

Christy Mathewson (dark cap) (HOF)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

299

Christy Mathewson (portrait) (HOF)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

300

Christy Mathewson (white cap) (HOF)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

301

Al Mattern

Boston Nat'l.

National

302

John McAleese

St. Louis Amer.

American

303

George McBride

Washington

American

304

Pat McCauley SL

Portsmouth

Southern

305

Moose McCormick

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

306

Pryor McElveen

Brooklyn

National

307

Dan McGann ML

Milwaukee

Minor

308

Jim McGinley ML

Toronto

Minor

309

Joe McGinnity (HOF)

Newark

Minor

310

Stoney McGlynn ML

Milwaukee

Minor

311

John McGraw (finger in air) (HOF)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

312

John McGraw (glove at hip) (HOF)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

313

John McGraw (portrait, no cap) (HOF)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

314

John McGraw (portrait, w/cap) (HOF)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

315

Harry McIntyre (Brooklyn) (McIntire)

Brooklyn

National

316

Harry McIntyre (Brooklyn & Chicago) (McIntire)

Brklyn & Chic

National

317

Matty McIntyre (Detroit)

Detroit

American

318

Larry McLean

Cincinnati

National

319

George McQuillan (ball in hand)

Phila. Nat'l.

National

320

George McQuillan (with bat)

Phila. Nat'l.

National

321

Fred Merkle (portrait)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

322

Fred Merkle (throwing)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

323

George Merritt ML

Jersey City

Minor

324

Chief Meyers

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

325

Clyde Milan

Washington

American

326

Dots Miller (Pittsburgh)

Pittsburgh

National

327

Molly Miller SL (Dallas)

Dallas

Southern

328

Bill Milligan ML

Jersey City

Minor

329

Fred Mitchell ML (Toronto)

Toronto

Minor

330

Mike Mitchell (Cincinnati)

Cincinnati

National

331

Dan Moeller ML

Jersey City

Minor

332

Carlton Molesworth SL

Birmingham

Southern

333

Herbie Moran ML (Providence)

Providence

Minor

334

Pat Moran (Chicago)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

335

George Moriarty

Detroit

American

336

Mike Mowrey

Cincinnati

National

337

Dom Mullaney SL

Jacksonville

Southern

338

George Mullen (Mullin)

Detroit

American

339

George Mullin (throwing) (horizontal)

Detroit

American

340

George Mullin (with bat)

Detroit

American

341

Danny Murphy (batting)

Phila. Amer.

American

342

Danny Murphy (throwing) (horizontal)

Phila. Amer.

American

343

Red Murray (batting)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

344

Red Murray (portrait)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

345

Chief Myers (Meyers) (batting)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

346

Chief Myers (Meyers) (fielding)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

347

Billy Nattress ML

Buffalo

Minor

348

Tom Needham

Chicago Nat'l.

National

349

Simon Nicholls (hands on knees) (plain cap)

Phila. Amer.

American

350

Simon Nichols (Nicholls) (batting)

Phila. Amer.

American

351

Harry Niles

Boston Amer.

American

352

Rebel Oakes

Cincinnati

National

353

Frank Oberlin ML

Minneapolis

Minor

354

Peter O'Brien ML

St. Paul

Minor

355a

Bill O'Hara (New York)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

355b

Bill O'Hara (St. Louis)

St. Louis Nat'l.

National

356

Rube Oldring (batting)

Phila. Amer.

American

357

Rube Oldring (fielding, stripes on cap)

Phila. Amer.

American

358

Charley O'Leary (hands on knees)

Detroit

American

359

Charley O'Leary (portrait)

Detroit

American

360

William J. O'Neil ML

Minneapolis

Minor

361

Al Orth SL

Lynchburg

Southern

362

William Otey SL

Norfolk

Southern

363

Orval Overall (hand face level)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

364

Orval Overall (hands waist level)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

365

Orval Overall (portrait)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

366

Frank Owen

Chicago Amer.

American

367

George Paige SL

Charleston

Southern

368

Fred Parent

Chicago Amer.

American

369

Dode Paskert

Cincinnati

National

370

Jim Pastorius ("B" on cap)

Brooklyn

National

371

Harry Pattee (horizontal)

Brooklyn

National

372

Billy Payne

Chicago Amer.

American

373

Barney Pelty (horizontal photo)

St. Louis Amer.

American

374

Barney Pelty (vertical photo)

St. Louis Amer.

American

375

Hub Perdue SL

Nashville

Southern

376

George Perring

Cleveland

American

377

Arch Persons SL

Montgomery

Southern

378

Francis (Big Jeff) Pfeffer

Chicago Nat'l.

National

379

Jake Pfeister (Pfiester) (seated)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

380

Jake Pfeister (Pfiester) (throwing)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

381

Jimmy Phelan ML

Providence

Minor

382

Eddie Phelps

St. Louis Nat'l.

National

383

Deacon Phillippe

Pittsburgh

National

384

Ollie Pickering ML

Minneapolis

Minor

385

Eddie Plank (HOF)

Phila. Amer.

American

386

Phil Poland ML

Baltimore

Minor

387

Jack Powell (horizontal)

St. Louis Amer.

American

388

Mike Powers

Phila. Amer.

American

389

Billy Purtell

Chicago Amer.

American

390

Ambrose Puttman ML

Louisville

Minor

391

Lee Quillen ML

Minneapolis

Minor

392

Jack Quinn

N. Y. Amer.

American

393

Newt Randall ML

Milwaukee

Minor

394

Bugs Raymond

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

395

Ed Reagan SL

New Orleans

Southern

396

Ed Reulbach (glove showing)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

397

Ed Reulbach (no glove showing)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

398

Dutch Revelle SL

Richmond

Southern

399

Bob Rhoades (Rhoads) (hands at chest)

Cleveland

American

400

Bob Rhoades (Rhoads) (rt. arm extend)

Cleveland

American

401

Charlie Rhodes

St. Louis Nat'l.

National

402

Claude Ritchey

Boston Nat'l.

National

403

Lou Ritter ML

Kansas City

Minor

404

Ike Rockenfeld SL

Montgomery

Southern

405

Claude Rossman

Detroit

American

406

Nap Rucker (portrait)

Brooklyn

National

407

Nap Rucker (throwing)

Brooklyn

National

408

Dick Rudolph ML

Toronto

Minor

409

Ray Ryan SL

Roanoke

Southern

410

Germany Schaefer (Detroit)

Detroit

American

411

Germany Schaefer (Washington)

Washington

American

412

George Schirm

Buffalo

Minor

413

Larry Schlafly ML

Newark

Minor

414

Admiral Schlei (batting)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

415

Admiral Schlei (catching)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

416

Admiral Schlei (portrait)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

417

Boss Schmidt (portrait)

Detroit

American

418

Boss Schmidt (throwing)

Detroit

American

419

Ossee Schreck ML

Columbus

Minor

420

Wildfire Schulte (front view) (Cubs on shirt)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

421

Wildfire Schulte (back view)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

422

Jim Scott

Chicago Amer.

American

423

Charles Seitz SL

Norfolk

Southern

424

Cy Seymour (batting)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

425

Cy Seymour (portrait)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

426

Cy Seymour (throwing)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

427

Spike Shannon ML

Kansas City

Minor

428a

Bud Sharpe ML

Newark

Minor

428b

Bud Sharpe ML (last name spelled "Shappe")

Newark

Minor

429

Shag Shaughnessy SL

Roanoke

Southern

430

Al Shaw (St. Louis)

St. Louis Nat'l.

National

431

Hunky Shaw (Providence) ML

Providence

Minor

432

Jimmy Sheckard (glove showing)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

433

Jimmy Sheckard (no glove showing)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

434

Bill Shipke

Washington

American

435

Jimmy Slagle ML

Baltimore

Minor

436

Carlos Smith SL (Shreveport)

Shreveport

Southern

437

Frank Smith (Chicago) (F. Smith on front)

Chicago Amer.

American

438a

Frank Smith (Chicago) (white cap)

Chicago Amer.

American

438b

Frank Smith (Chicago & Boston)

Chic & Bost Am.

American

439

"Happy" Smith (Brooklyn)

Brooklyn

National

440

Heinie Smith ML (Buffalo)

Buffalo

Minor

441

Sid Smith SL (Atlanta)

Atlanta

Southern

442a

Fred Snodgrass (batting)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

442b

Fred Snodgrass (batting) (missing "S" in Snodgrass)

N. Y. Nat'l

National

443a

Fred Snodgrass (catching)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

443b

Fred Snodgrass (catching) (missing "S" in Snodgrass)

N. Y. Nat'l

National

444

Bob Spade

Cincinnati

National

445

Tris Speaker (R) (HOF) (Boston on uniform)

Boston Amer.

American

446

Tubby Spencer

Boston Amer.

American

447

Jake Stahl (glove shows)

Boston Amer.

American

448

Jake Stahl (no glove shows) (stripes on cap)

Boston Amer.

American

449

Oscar Stanage

Detroit

American

450

Dolly Stark SL

San Antonio

Southern

451

Charlie Starr

Boston Nat'l.

National

452

Harry Steinfeldt (portrait)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

453

Harry Steinfeldt (with bat)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

454

Jim Stephens

St. Louis Amer.

American

455

George Stone

St. Louis Amer.

American

456

George Stovall (batting)

Cleveland

American

457

George Stovall (portrait)

Cleveland

American

458

Sam Strang ML

Baltimore

Minor

459

Gabby Street (catching)

Washington

American

460

Gabby Street (portrait)

Washington

American

461

Billy Sullivan

Chicago Amer.

American

462

Ed Summers

Detroit

American

463

Bill Sweeney (Boston) ("B" on cap and uniform)

Boston Nat'l.

National

464

Jeff Sweeney (New York)

N. Y. Amer.

American

465

Jesse Tannehill (Washington)

Washington

American

466

Lee Tannehill (Chicago) (L. Tannehill on front)

Chicago Amer.

American

467

Lee Tannehill (Chicago) (Tannehill on front)

Chicago Amer.

American

468

Dummy Taylor ML

Buffalo

Minor

469

Fred Tenney

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

470

Tony Thebo SL

Waco

Southern

471

Jake Thielman ML

Louisville

Minor

472

Ira Thomas

Phila. Amer.

American

473

Woodie Thornton SL

Mobile

Southern

474

Joe Tinker (bat off shoulder) (HOF)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

475

Joe Tinker (bat on shoulder) (HOF)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

476

Joe Tinker (hands on knees) (HOF)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

477

Joe Tinker (portrait) (HOF)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

478

John Titus

Phila. Nat'l.

National

479

Terry Turner

Cleveland

American

480

Bob Unglaub

Washington

American

481

Juan Violat SL (Viola)

Jacksonville

Southern

482

Rube Waddell (portrait) (HOF)

St. Louis Amer.

American

483

Rube Waddell (throwing) (HOF)

St. Louis Amer.

American

484

Heinie Wagner (bat on left) ("B" on cap and uniform)

Boston Amer.

American

485

Heinie Wagner (bat on right shoulder)

Boston Amer.

American

486

Honus Wagner (HOF)

Pittsburgh

National

487

Bobby Wallace (HOF)

St. Louis Amer.

American

488

Ed Walsh (HOF)

Chicago Amer.

American

489

Jack Warhop

N. Y. Amer.

American

490

Jake Weimer

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

491

James Westlake SL

Danville

Southern

492

Zack Wheat (R) (HOF)

Brooklyn

National

493

Doc White (Chicago) (pitching)

Chicago Amer.

American

494

Doc White (Chicago) (portrait)

Chicago Amer.

American

495

Foley White SL (Houston)

Houston

Southern

496

Jack White ML (Buffalo)

Buffalo

Minor

497

Kaiser Wilhelm (hands at chest)

Brooklyn

National

498

Kaiser Wilhelm (with bat)

Brooklyn

National

499

Ed Willett

Detroit

American

500

Ed Willetts (Willett)

Detroit

American

501

Jimmy Williams

St. Louis Amer.

American

502

Vic Willis (portrait)

Pittsburgh

National

503

Vic Willis (batting)

St. Louis Nat'l.

National

504

Vic Willis (throwing)

St. Louis Nat'l.

National

505

Owen Wilson

Pittsburgh

National

506

Hooks Wiltse (pitching)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

507

Hooks Wiltse (portrait, no cap)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

508

Hooks Wiltse (portrait, with cap)

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

509

Lucky Wright ML

Toledo

Minor

510

Cy Young (with glove) (HOF)

Cleveland

American

511

Cy Young (bare hand) (HOF)

Cleveland

American

512

Cy Young (portrait) (HOF)

Cleveland

American

513

Irv Young ML (Minneapolis)

Minneapolis

Minor

514

Heinie Zimmerman

Chicago Nat'l.

National

527 different

ISOLATED VARIATIONS:

19i

Cy Barger ML (bottom of "T" missing)

Rochester

Minor

207i

Bill Hinchman (Cleveland) (semi-colon)

Cleveland

American

329i

Fred Mitchell ML (missing last "o" in Toronto)

Toronto

Minor

344i

Red Murray (portrait) (last name spelled "Murr'y")

N. Y. Nat'l.

National

349i

Simon Nicholls (hands on knees) ("A" on cap)

Phila. Amer.

American

477i

Joe Tinker (portrait) ("Tinker" missing)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

IDENTIFIED PRINTING ERRORS:

24e

Johnny Bates (no "B" on cap)

Boston Nat'l.

National

27e

Fred Beck (no "B" on cap or sleeve)

Boston Nat'l.

National

28e

Beals Becker (no “B” on uniform)

Boston Nat'l.

National

257e

Harry Krause (pitching) (gray cap)

Phila. Amer.

American

273e

Tommy Leach (portrait) (pink background)

Pittsburgh

National

279e

Vive Lindaman (no "B" on cap)

Boston Nat'l.

National

445e

Tris Speaker (R) (HOF) (plain uniform)

Boston Amer.

American

463e

Bill Sweeney (Boston) (no "B" on cap or uniform)

Boston Nat'l.

National

484e

Heinie Wagner (left, no "B" on cap or uniform)

Boston Amer.

American

PROOF CARDS:

UNISSUED (unique front designs):

Proof

Eddie Collins (Philadelphia) (batting) (HOF)

Phila. Amer.

American

Proof

Scotty Alcock (batting, red background)

Chattanooga

Southern

Proof

Tim Dwyer (portrait, with cap)

Jacksonville

Southern

Proof

John Lee (standing with ball in hand)

Jacksonville

Southern

Proof

Fleet Mayberry (pitching)

Danville

Southern

Proof

Harre Meek (batting, yellow background)

Chattanooga

Southern

Proof

Champ Osteen (batting)

Montgomery

Southern

Proof

Joe Pepe (leaping)

Montgomery

Southern

Proof

Andy Roth (portrait, no cap)

Jacksonville

Southern

ISSUED (note from description that most have slight variations from the regular issued

card):

Proof

Whitey Alperman (no stripes on cap)

Brooklyn

National

48v

Proof

Kitty Bransfield (no name, b&w collar)

Phila. Nat'l.

National

203v

Proof

Charlie Hemphill (no stripes on cap)

N. Y. Amer.

American

251v

Proof

Johnny Kling (gray collar)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

349v

Proof

Simon Nicholls (hands on knees) (no "A" on uniform)

Phila. Amer.

American

357v

Proof

Rube Oldring (fielding, plain cap)

Phila. Amer.

American

370v

Proof

Jim Pastorius (plain cap)

Brooklyn

National

420v

Proof

Wildfire Schulte (front view) (Chicago on shirt)

Chicago Nat'l.

National

448v

Proof

Jake Stahl (no glove shows) (plain cap)

Boston Amer.

American

512v

Proof

Cy Young (portrait, white uniform) (HOF)

Cleveland

American

Code Key:

Following identifies each of these codes and the associated backs. Note that the

starting point for these codes originated from the codes developed by Lew Lipset

in his 1986 Encyclopedia of Baseball Cards – Volume 3.

Code 1 = Players issued only in the 150 series

There are 9 subjects only available in the 150 series with the following backs:

 El Principe De Gales

 Hindu (brown)

 Old Mill

 Piedmont, 150 subjects

 Sovereign, 150 subjects

 Sweet Caporal, 150 subjects, factory 25

 Sweet Caporal, 150 subjects, factory 30

 Sweet Caporal, 150 subjects, factory 649

Code 2 = Players issued in the 150 series and the 350 series

There are 143 subjects available first in the 150 series and then again in the 350

series with the following backs:

 El Principe De Gales

 Hindu (brown)

 Old Mill

 Piedmont, 150 subjects

 Piedmont, 350 subjects

 Sovereign, 150 subjects

 Sovereign, 350 subjects

 Sweet Caporal, 150 subjects, factory 25

 Sweet Caporal, 350 subjects, factory 25

 Sweet Caporal, 150 subjects, factory 30

 Sweet Caporal, 350 subjects, factory 30

 Sweet Caporal, 150 subjects, factory 649

Code 3 = Players issued only in the 350 series

There are 252 subjects only available in the 350 series with the following backs:

 American Beauty, 350 subjects (with frame line)

 Broad Leaf, 350 subjects

 Carolina Brights

 Cycle, 350 subjects

 Drum

 El Principe De Gales

 Hindu (brown) (Southern League players only)

 Old Mill

 Piedmont, 350 subjects

 Polar Bear

 Sovereign, 350 subjects

 Sweet Caporal, 350 subjects, factory 25

 Sweet Caporal, 350 subjects, factory 30

 Tolstoi

Code 4 = Players issued only in the 460 series

There are 39 subjects only available in the 460 series with the following backs:

 American Beauty, 460 subjects

 Broad Leaf, 460 subjects

 Cycle, 460 subjects

 El Principe De Gales

 Hindu (red)

 Lenox

 Old Mill

 Piedmont, 350-460 subjects, factory 25

 Piedmont, 350-460 subjects, factory 42

 Polar Bear

 Sovereign, 460 subjects

 Sweet Caporal, 350-460 subjects, factory 25

 Sweet Caporal, 350-460 subjects, factory 30

 Sweet Caporal, 350-460 subjects, factory 42

 Sweet Caporal, 350-460 subjects, factory 42 (with scroll)

 Tolstoi

 Uzit

Code 5 = Players issued in the 350 series and the 460 series

There are 73 subjects available first in the 350 series and then again in the 460

series with the following backs:

 American Beauty, 350 subjects (no frame line)

 American Beauty, 350 subjects (with frame line)

 American Beauty, 460 subjects

 Broad Leaf, 350 subjects

 Broad Leaf, 460 subjects

 Carolina Brights

 Cycle, 350 subjects

 Cycle, 460 subjects

 Drum

 El Principe De Gales

 Hindu (red)

 Lenox

 Old Mill

 Piedmont, 350 subjects

 Piedmont, 350-460 subjects, factory 25

 Piedmont, 350-460 subjects, factory 42

 Polar Bear

 Sovereign, 350 subjects

 Sovereign, 460 subjects

 Sweet Caporal, 350 subjects, factory 25

 Sweet Caporal, 350-460 subjects, factory 25

 Sweet Caporal, 350 subjects, factory 30

 Sweet Caporal, 350-460 subjects, factory 30

 Sweet Caporal, 350-460 subjects, factory 42

 Sweet Caporal, 350-460 subjects, factory 42 (with scroll)

 Tolstoi

 Uzit

Code * = Special cards, see individual breakdown below.

There are 11 subjects for which the patterns described above don’t fit. Following

identifies the backs available for each:

55b. George Brown (Browne), Washington

 American Beauty, 350 subjects (with frame line)

 Broad Leaf, 350 subjects

 Carolina Brights

 Cycle, 350 subjects

 Drum

 El Principe De Gales

 Old Mill

 Piedmont, 350 subjects

 Polar Bear

 Sovereign, 350 subjects

 Sweet Caporal, 350 subjects, factory 25

 Sweet Caporal, 350 subjects, factory 30

 Tolstoi

115b. Bill Dahlen, Brooklyn

 American Beauty, 350 subjects (with frame line)

 Broad Leaf, 350 subjects

 Carolina Brights

 Cycle, 350 subjects

 Drum

 El Principe De Gales

 Old Mill

 Piedmont, 350 subjects

 Polar Bear

 Sovereign, 350 subjects

 Sweet Caporal, 350 subjects, factory 25

 Sweet Caporal, 350 subjects, factory 30

 Tolstoi

122b. Ray Demmitt, St. Louis, Amer.

 Polar Bear

143a. Joe Doyle, (hands above head), N.Y. Nat’l.

 Piedmont, 350 subjects

155b. Kid Elberfeld (portrait), Washington

 American Beauty, 350 subjects (with frame line)

 Broad Leaf, 350 subjects

 Carolina Brights

 Cycle, 350 subjects

 Drum

 El Principe De Gales

 Old Mill

 Piedmont, 350 subjects

 Polar Bear

 Sovereign, 350 subjects

 Sweet Caporal, 350 subjects, factory 25

 Sweet Caporal, 350 subjects, factory 30

 Tolstoi

285a. Carl Lundgren, Chicago

 El Principe De Gales

 Hindu (brown)

 Old Mill

 Piedmont, 150 subjects

 Sovereign, 150 subjects

 Sweet Caporal, 150 subjects, factory 25

 Sweet Caporal, 150 subjects, factory 30

 Sweet Caporal, 150 subjects, factory 649

287a Sherry Magie (Magee) Phila. Nat’l.

 Piedmont, 150 subjects

355b. Bill O’Hara, St. Louis Nat’l.

 Polar Bear

385. Eddie Plank, Phila. Amer.

 Sweet Caporal, 150 subjects, factory 25

 Sweet Caporal, 350 subjects, factory 25

(Note: The Plank card has been seen with a Piedmont, 150 subjects back. This

card was in the Barry Halper collection and was a printing error. The card had a

white background, instead of the regular blue, and had an irregular cut.)

438b. Frank Smith, Chicago and Boston Amer.

 American Beauty, 460 subjects

 Broad Leaf, 460 subjects

 Cycle, 460 subjects

 El Principe De Gales

 Hindu (red)

 Lenox

 Old Mill

 Piedmont, 350-460 subjects, factory 25

 Piedmont, 350-460 subjects, factory 42

 Polar Bear

 Sovereign, 460 subjects

 Sweet Caporal, 350-460 subjects, factory 25

 Sweet Caporal, 350-460 subjects, factory 30

 Sweet Caporal, 350-460 subjects, factory 42

 Sweet Caporal, 350-460 subjects, factory 42 (with scroll)

 Tolstoi

 Uzit

486. Honus Wagner, Pittsburg

 Piedmont, 150 subjects (2 known)

 Sweet Caporal, 150 subjects, factory 25

 Sweet Caporal, 150 subjects, factory 30 (1 known)

Appendix B: PRICE HISTORY

The road from a penny to $1.265 million dollars. A chronological listing of T206

prices throughout the years.

1909 Collector John Wagner of Pennsylvania purchases a Topsy Hartsel from a

friend for a penny.

1940 Advertised Prices: Wagner $2.50, Plank $1.00

1940 Noteworthy Transaction: Jefferson Burdick pays $25.00 to John Wagner

for a Wagner card.

1946 Advertised Prices: Wagner $25, Plank $10, Commons 4 cents, Southern

leaguers 20 cents

1955 Advertised Prices: Wagner $50, Plank $10, Commons 5 cents, Southern

leaguers 25 cents.

1960 Advertised Prices: Wagner $50, Plank $10, Commons 10 cents, Southern

leaguers 50 cents, Demmitt and O’Hara variations $1.00

1962 Noteworthy Transactions: Based on auction sales from 1961, these were

the average prices for T206 cards: Commons 10 cents, Southern leaguers

25 cents, Demmitt and O’Hara varations $6.00, Kleinow/Dahlen/

Lundgren were $0.25 to $1.00. Brown/Elberfeld (Washington)/Magie/,

and Demmitt (NY!) $2.00, Ty Cobb with the Cobb back $5.00

1966 The Richard S. Egan book lists the Wagner value at $50 with many

collectors believing the true value to be five times that. Common cards are

priced at 55 cents.

1970 Noteworthy Transactions: Bill Haber purchases a T206 Wagner from Wirt

Gammon for $500, Frank Nagy of Michigan is offered $800 for his copy of

the Wagner card believed at that time to be 1 of only 7 known

1972 Noteworthy Transactions: Bill Mastro of Bernardsville, New Jersey (with

assistance from Dan Dischley) purchases a T206 Wagner card from an

unknown collector for $1,500 at the New York Collectors Convention.

1975 Advertised Prices: Commons 60 cents, Minor leaguers are $1.00, Lajoie

(Uzit back) $75.00.

Noteworthy Transaction: Dan Dischley sells a T206 Honus Wagner for

$1,300 to an anonymous collector. According to Dan, this is the fourth

Wagner that he has found and the fifth he has been involved with either as

seller or buyer!

1975 Commons are priced from 85 cents to $1.00, while Hall-of-Famers are

priced at $1.50 to $3.00. Prices in The Sports Collectors Bible show the

Wagner at $1,500.00, Plank at $550.00, Demmitt and O’Hara variations

at $30.00, Elberfeld (Washington) $10.00, Kleinow $8.00, and Smith

(Chicago & Boston) at $5.00. Minor leaguers are currently 75 cents to

$1.25 and Southern leaguers priced at $3.00 to $5.00.

1978 Commons are listed for $2.00

1981 Baseball Card Magazine lists the following prices for T206 cards:

Commons $4.00, Minors $5.00, Southern leaguers $15.00, Hall-of-Fame

players $15.00 to $35.00, Cobb $100.00. The Wagner is listed at

$17,500.00, Plank at $7,000.00, and Magie $1,500.00 to $2,000.

1983 T206 cards with the Drum back are priced in the $25.00 to $50.00 range.

1986 Prices in Lew Lipsets Encyclopedia of Baseball Cards, Volume 3 are as

follows:

Wagner at $22,000.00, Plank at $4,500.00, Magie $2,00.00, and the

Demmitt and O’Hara variations at $500.00 each. Commons are priced

between $12.00 and $20.00, Hall-of-Famers at $25.00 and Cobb between

$200.00 and $300.00. Ty Cobb with the Cobb brand back is listed at

$2,000.00. Premiums are also listed for the tougher backs, with Drum

adding $75.00 to the value. Add-ons for Uzit and Lenox are $35.00, while

Broad Leaf and Carolina Brights add $15.00 to card values.

1987 A T206 Joe Doyle variation is purchased by Larry Fritsch for $10,000.00

in the Bill Hughes auction.

1991 A Wagner card is sold at the Copeland auction for $451,000.00. It is

purchased by Bruce McNall and Wayne Gretzky. Other notable T206

prices realized at this auction included a Mathewson proof card selling for

$3,250.00, Nodgrass (no “S”) batting pose for $3,250.00, Walter Johnson

with a Drum back for $2,250.00, a Carolina Brights back Ty Cobb (red

portrait) at $3,200.00 and a Uzit back Ty Cobb (bat off shoulder) for

$5,500.00

1994 A fair to good example of a Ty Cobb with Cobb back is sold for $20,123 in a

Robert Edward Auction.

1997 Michael Gidwitz buys the McNall/Gretzky T206 Wagner card for

$640,500.00

2000 A T206 Joe Doyle variation is sold for $178,598.00 in a Ron Oser auction.

Bill Mastro of Mastro Fine Sports Auctions sells the Gidwitz T206 Wagner

card to Brian Seigel for $1.265 Million!

The 2000 edition of the Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards published by

Krause added a special section for the T206 errors and variations. Cards

and prices are as follows: Shappe ($850.00), Nodgrass – batting pose

($2,500.00), Nodgrass – catching pose ($2,500.00) and the infamous

Sweeney – plain white uniform ($7,500.00). T206 commons in mint

condition are priced at $90.00, while Southern leaguers are priced at

$225.00

Appendix C: Reference Material

Although there have been few comprehensive works written on the T206 set;

there have been some books and articles written over the last 50 years. This is

not intended to be a comprehensive listing. Instead it can be considered more

like a suggested reading list.

1954

American Tobacco Co.

Sold American – The First Fifty Years

1904-1954, The American Tobacco Company

1955

Carter, Lionel

“The Carter Card Column”, Sport Fan Vol. 5, No. 9 (Nov 1955)

1956

Cartophilic Society

The World Tobacco Issues Index, published by The Cartophilic

Society of Great Britain (Page 39)

1960

Burdick, Jefferson R.

The American Card Catalog

1962

Corson, Walter E.

Issue Dates of T-206 Baseball Cards”, The Sport Hobbyist

Pages 11-13 (July-Aug. 1962)

1962

Barker, Charles “Buck”

“Prices of the T206, etc.”, The Sport Hobbyist

Pg. 3 (Sept.-Oct. 1962)

1963

Nagy, Frank

“T-206 Baseball Series, White Border”, The Sport Hobbyist

Pages 9-13 (Mar.-Apr. 1963)

1966

Egan, Richard S.

T-206 Cigarette Baseball Cards, Part One Baseball Series, White

Borders 1909-1910

1970

Goczkowski, Ted

Sport Fan (Nov.-Dec. 1970)

1971

Nagy, Frank

“T-206 Baseball Series, White Border”, The Sport Hobbyist

Pages 9-12 (Oct.-Nov.-Dec. 1971)

1972

Lerner, Irving W.

Sport Fan (Sept.-Oct. 1972)

1974

Egan, Richard S.

“T-206 White Borders”, The Trader Speaks (Sept. 1974) Pages 4-8

1975

Sugar, Bert Randolph

The Sports Collectors Bible (pages 135-137)

1977

Halper, Barry

“Should Wagner move over?”, The Trader Speaks (April 1977) (T206

Collins Proof)

1979

Heitman, William R.

T206 Back Premiums, The Trader Speaks (November 1979)

1980

Heitman, William R.

T206 The Monster (published by The Sport Americana)

1981

Lipset, Lew

“Tough Treasures: Collecting the T-Cards”, Baseball Cards Magazine

Vol. 1, No. 2 Autumn 1981, pages 74-88

1982

Benjamin, Christopher

“The Other John Wagner”, The Sport Americana Baseball Card Price

Guide #4

1983

Lipset, Lew

“Tales of T206”, Baseball Card Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 1. Spring 1983

Pages 42-49

1983

Haber, Bill

“T206 Rest in Peace”, The Trader Speaks (July 1983) Pages 5-6

1986

Lipset, Lew

The Encyclopedia of Baseball Cards, Volume 3, 20

Century Tobacco

Cards 1909-1932

1991

Lemke, Bob

Sports Collectors Digest (Krause) “T206 Southern Find”

1995

Sloate, Barry

“The Glorious T206 Set: A Little Piece of Heaven”, The Vintage &

Classic Baseball Collector (Issue #4) Pages 12-14

1995

Hamlin, Judson

“T206 Back Collecting: A Closer Look”. The Vintage & Classic

Baseball Collector (Issue #4) Pages 16-17

1997

Olbermann, Keith

“How Many Cards in the T206 Set?”, The Vintage & Classic

Baseball Collector (Issue #9) Pages 22-24

1997

Purdy, Dennis C. Jr.

“Anatomy of a Find”, The Vintage & Classic Baseball Collector

(Issue #10) (Cobb with the Cobb backs) Pages 40-41

1998

Lemke, Bob

Sports Collectors Digest (Krause) T206 Nodgrass error card.

September 18, 1998. Page 106.

1999

Purdy, Dennis C. Jr.

The Vintage & Classic Baseball Collector (Issue #18)

Page 111 (Tolstoi factory letter)

1999

Bussineau, Greg

“T206 – The Ultimate Challenge”, PSA Grading Report (No. 10)

2000

Olbermann, Keith

“Slab This”, The Vintage & Classic Baseball Collector

(Issue #23) (Doyle variation story) Pages 18-19

2000

Olbermann, Keith

“Eight Men In”, The Vintage & Classic Baseball Collector

(Issue #23) (Eight Southern League Proofs) Pages 22-23

2000

Lemke, Bob

2000 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards (Krause)