This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/10/2015
"Christy Mathewson gripped the imagination of a country that held a hundred million people and held this grip with a firmer hold than any man of his day or time," wrote sportswriter Grantland Rice. In the time when Giants walked the earth and roamed the Polo Grounds, none was more honored than Christy Mathewson. Delivering all four of his pitches, including his famous "fadeaway" a pitch now called a screwball, with impeccable control and an easy motion, the right-handed Mathewson was the greatest pitcher of the Deadball Era's first decade, compiling a 2.13 ERA over 17 seasons and setting modern National League records for wins in a season (37), wins in a career (373), and consecutive 20-win seasons (12). Aside from his pitching achievements, he was the greatest all-around hero of the Deadball Era, a handsome, college-educated man who lifted the rowdy world of baseball to gentlemanliness. Mathewson's biggest year came in 1908, when he set career highs in wins (37), games (56), innings (390.2), and shutouts (11). His control was never better, averaging less than one walk per nine innings. Matty's season ended in disappointment, however, when he took a no-decision in the "Merkle Game" and lost to Mordecai Brown, 4-2. I could go on and on about the amazing exploits of Mathewson both on and off the field, but this description should and will be pointed at the stunning cardboard artifact offered here. Issued in 1910 the Standard Caramel Company of Lancaster, PA. issued a subtle 30 card series of Base Ball Stars to be inserted with their caramel confectionary. Unlike the T206 to T205 series which came as a premium in tobacco and were issued during the same period, children were the recipients of these pasteboards which regaled them to a litany of condition obtrusions. Sticky fingered kids of the day cherished the offered keepsake's but offered nothing in the way of conservation, so a vast majority of the specimens offered today carry the battle scars of their survival. That is absolutely not the case here, as the offered collectible escaped the wars of "kiddum" unscathed and was almost assuredly never sentenced to inclusion in any gooey caramel packaging. When viewing this treasure it quickly becomes clear that an enthusiast does not look at the regal card from the stand point of how it gained inclusion in the select group of 13 cards from the series that have achieved MINT 9 status by PSA, but rather on how the card was not granted GEM MINT 10 status. Expertly centered with a hyper sensitive white border acting as a rightful crown that surrounds the offered gem. Each of the four corners are impossibly perfect and stand at the gates of the GEM MINT classification. The interior image is boastful in appearance with a longhorn orange surrounding the slate gray uniformed "Matty" all of this is provided in a color saturation that is beyond what is ever encountered with each pigment of color seemingly placed perfectly as if it was known that this card would someday end up as the showpiece that it has become. The surface of this collectible is elevated from the norm by a captivating ensemble of delicate gloss which has combined with a perfectly registered image to create the final stage of perfection. The reverse offers a checklist of the series presented in a perfectly struck and deeply inked state that has stood the test of time to be brought forth sans of stains and as white as could be imagined. Without a doubt one of the finest cards we have had the pleasure of offering made available in unbridled MINT condition bordering on GEM MINT condition.