This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/22/2010
An exceptionally presentable example of the father of professional baseball, Harry Wright. Issued circa 1887 by the Charles Gross & Company of Philadelphia, the renowned Kalamazoo Bats issue is indisputably one of the single most difficult 19th century tobacco issues extant. Long ago, the American Card Catalog had confirmed the existence of at least 61 checklisted players, designating the set N690, but PSA has since graded only 9 different specimens for a total of 14 on record. Offered here is an exceptionally presentable example of the set's most coveted card, Harry Wright, the famed organizer, manager, and centerfielder of baseball's first fully professional team, the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings. To put things into perspective, prior to the Civil War, Wright played for several of the leading amateur clubs of the National Association of Baseball Players. When the war ended in 1866 and baseball experienced its first full peacetime season, Harry was already 31 years of age, well past his athletic prime. Few stats remain from his playing career, but we know that he was a versatile and very intuitive player, often credited with inventing and promoting the backing up of outfield plays and the shifting of defensive positions based on a hitter's tendencies. Under his intelligent management, and with his co-Hall of Fame brother, George, the Red Stockings toured the country in 1869 and didn't lose a single game! Henry Chadwick, the officially recognized "father of baseball," is cited at Baseball-Reference.com making the following quote about Wright: "He was the most widely known, best respected, and most popular of the exponents and representatives of professional baseball, of which he was virtually the founder." The offered example of Harry's Kalamazoo Bats issue reports just 3 examples on record at PSA, another example in the GOOD 2 tier and one superior graded EX/MT 6, plus an additional 4 examples at SGC, all in the VG to VG/EX range. Despite its low technical assessment, it displays in the VG/EX to even EX range, thanks to its near perfect centering and remarkably well-preserved image. Like other similar tobacco issues of the period, N690s are unusually susceptible to fading, but the image on the offered example shows a bearded, bespectacled Wright with excellent focus and contrast, producing a superior NM to even NM/MT image overall. VG or better corners join stalwart EX to EX/MT edges around the perimeter, while a water stain on the revere bottom edge combines with some light horizontal creasing of the interior card stock, primarily evident on the reverse, to provide a basis for the accurate if not somewhat harsh assessment of GOOD 2 from PSA. Importantly, the reverse also features the "prize" back, a perceived scarcity among N690s featuring Philadelphia members. Very strongly encouraged, this museum quality centerpiece would make for a fine cornerstone upon which to begin building or continue expanding any respectable 19th Century collection.