October 2009 Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on:
10/7/2009
In 1913, "Smoky Joe" Wood slipped on wet grass in Detroit and broke his thumb. He pitched for three more seasons in pain, sitting out most of the 1916 and 1917 seasons and deferring his former superstar status to Boston's new ace, Babe Ruth. Nevertheless, baseball historians Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included him in their 1981 book on The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time, coining the phrase, "the Smoky Joe Wood Syndrome," to refer to a player of superhuman talent whose career was unfortunately curtailed by injury or illness (i.e., Addie Joss). Offered here is an exceptionally high-end example of Wood's 1915 Cracker Jack for the grade of NM/MT 8 by PSA. 1 of just 11 copies in its class at the Newport Beach grading firm, the presented specimen boasts uncharacteristically accurate centering for the issue with noticeably strong NM/MT+ corners between MINT edges for what appears to be an ultra conservative final opinion from PSA.
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