This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/10/2015
If advanced collectors were to make a list of the top ten most coveted baseball cards in history, the T210 Old Mill Joe Jackson card would certainly be near the top. Although his major league career spanned 13 seasons, there are surprising few issues that include Jackson and the T210 card is considered to be one of the scarcest of all 20th Century pasteboards, far fewer in number than the legendary T206 Wagner. It is thought that approximately ten are known to exist, and the card derives from the Southern League "Series 8" of the Old Mill set, easily the rarest of all the series' in the massive 640-player collection. Alongside Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb, Joe Jackson is one of the most intriguing personalities in the history of the sport, simultaneously lauded for his incredible talent while renounced for allegations levied upon him from the 1919 "Black Sox" scandal that led to his ban from baseball in 1920. Unlike other players involved, there are conflicting reports regarding whether Jackson was actually a participant in the conspiracy. During the series, Jackson led both teams with a World Series record 12 hits and .375 batting average while committing no errors and throwing out a runner at the plate. News accounts from the era claim that Jackson admitted, under oath, that he agreed to participate in the fix though no such testimony appears in the actual stenographic record of his grand jury appearance. Jackson spent the next few decades proclaiming his innocence, that he refused the $5,000 bribe on two different occasions and even tried to inform White Sox owner Charles Comiskey of the fix, though Comiskey refused to meet with him. Even with his career cut short, Shoeless Joe's lifetime body of work is worthy of Hall of Fame consideration, should he be exonerated sometime in the future. Appearing as a 22-year old with limited major league experience, the magnificent black and white central image displays extraordinary contrast and sharpness, enabling the onlooker to clearly define the "NO" (New Orleans) on the left sleeve of his jacket. The front and back surfaces have survived the affects of time remarkably well with just minimal visual evidence on the Old Mill advertising reverse. The centering on the front is virtually perfect with the vulnerable red border showing some unobjectionable chipping, especially on the expectedly rounded endpoints. Crossed over from a PSA AUTHENTIC holder, where it sold for just short of $100,000 at auction ten years ago, the determination is the result of irregularities on the right edge, however it appears that all cards from "Series 8" exhibit subtle variations resulting from an inferior cutting process that was utilized only with this series. Nevertheless, the incredible scarcity of Joe Jackson's only tobacco card ever produced is the driving force that makes this museum-caliber specimen a cornerstone of any world-class collection.