This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/24/2020
While all cards from the 1887 Kalamazoo Bats series are exceedingly scarce, cabinet cards like the one featured here are virtually unheard of. Issued by Chas. Gross & Co., this specimen is a team card of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American Association, led by Hall of Famer Wilbert Robinson and another superstar named Harry Stovey, who many believe belongs in Cooperstown as well after leading the league in runs and triples four times during his career and home runs five times to go with over 500 lifetime stolen bases. Stovey retired from baseball in 1893 as the game's all-time home run leader, passed two years later by Roger Connor, who then held the title until Babe Ruth came along. Both Stovey and Robinson are in the back row. In addition to this team card, each player on the Athletics was featured with their own individual Kalamazoo Bats card. The offered example is authenticated by SGC and displays an extremely strong photograph of the 13-player squad with sharper image quality and focus than Old Judge cards of the same time period. Affixed to a dark cardboard mount with embossed letters that advise, "Smoke Kalamazoo Bats," the tougher of the two known variations, with typical discoloration and wear on the back but no significant blemishes that makes it appear VG overall.