This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/4/2020
Graded NM 7 by PSA. Offered is one of the single finest T206 Sweet Caporal Christy Mathewson "Dark Cap" variations extant. Graded PSA 7 NM, the offered specimen boasts incredibly accurate centering with NM/MT corners joined by NM/MT edges around a positively shimmering image of "The Christian Gentleman." The only flaws that keep this card from a higher grade are the two small tobacco stains which assure enthusiasts of the card's original status. One of the "five immortals" elected into the inaugural class of the Hall of Fame, Mathewson is remembered as much for his sportsmanship as he is for his talent. He appeared in four World Series, posting a combined 0.97 ERA, and he ranks #3 on the all-time wins list, but the HOF Standards test for measuring major league pitching performance ranks him as #1. Off the field, he was one of very few players to openly speak out against players he believed were throwing games. Quoting Judge Landis: "His sense of justice, his integrity, and his sportsmanship made him far greater than Christy Mathewson the pitcher." In World War I, he served as a Captain in the newly formed Chemical Service, along with Ty Cobb, and was accidentally exposed to poison gas during a training exercise in France, which would contribute to his untimely death in 1925.