This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/19/2016
One of just 8 to grade NM/MT by PSA, this T206 Portrait card of Hall of Famer Walter Johnson is truly one of the most spectacular copies in existence! Like many of the legends that appeared in the expansive T206 series, Walter Johnson was far from being a household name at the time, even among the most avid baseball fans. In fact, 1909 was Walter Johnson's worst season, posting a miserable 13-25 record for the lowly Washington Senators to run his career mark to 32-48. Even though Johnson's record was clearly under water, his 1.94 ERA showed that with even the slightest bit of support, Johnson could excel as one of the best hurlers in the game. As the Senators improved and became contenders through the 1910 and 1920s, Walter Johnson became the most dominant pitcher in baseball history, tallying a 265-143 record with a 1.59 ERA while leading the National League in wins five times, ERA four times and strikeouts nine times in the decade from 1910-1919. Not even Christy Mathewson, who played for the mighty New York Giants, could match the complete ownership that "The Big Train" had for the rest of the league. And Johnson was a pretty fair hitter in his own right, notching 41 career triples and 24 home runs with a .235 lifetime batting average over his 24 seasons. His best season at the plate was in 1925 when he was 37 years old, batting .433 over 97 at-bats with two homers and 20 runs batted in, stats that would make any position player envious. Pictured dead-center within the confines of a snow-white border, the image of Johnson is delivered with flawless clarity, his steely-eyed expression almost inviting you to challenge his diamond supremacy. Supporting his image is a robust yellow backdrop that subtly changes to light brown and then orange before hovering over Johnson's clean, white uniform. Each corner easily meets the lofty requirements for NM/MT with each making a case for NM/MT+ or even MINT status, while the reverse offers deep blue printing of the Piedmont advertisement, also nicely centered and placed on a clean, off-white canvas. Most experts would agree that this beauty is worthy of review as a grade of NM/MT+ seems to be within reach and, dare we say, had this card been holdered as MINT by the graders in California, there would be few if any critics to challenge it. But at this particular moment in time, this exceptional T206 card of Walter Johnson stands as probably the finest example at the PSA 8 level!