This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/22/2019
Working his way up from his school team to a minor league organization at a very young age, Hall of Famer John McGraw drew the attention of major league clubs as an 18-year old when his Cedar Rapid Canaries faced Cap Anson and the Chicago White Stockings in an exhibition game. The offered cabinet card, measuring four inches square on a thick cardboard backing that brings it to 4 1/4" x 5 1/4," features McGraw (second from right) with several other members of the Cedar Rapids squad. To the far right is John Godar, who joined McGraw on their promotion to the majors and is thought to have originally owned the photo and penned the "John McGraw June 20/91" on the reverse. Accompanying the photo is an 1892 booklet of the Constitution and By-Laws of the Canaries' Illinois-Iowa League, listing McGraw among the individual batting leaders from the previous year. An incredible piece of 19th-century baseball history.