This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/25/2012
While it's impossible to tell how many of the 11 "unknown back" T206 Nap Lajoie PSA 8s on the pop report have the Piedmont reverse, we do know that there is only one listed under "Piedmont back." Presented is a perfectly centered and beautifully bold example of Nap Lajoie's T206 "Throwing" variation that features a "Piedmont 150 subjects" ad back and has been graded PSA 8 NM/MT. Incredibly precise NM/MT and better points for corners join equally incisive edges around a bold NM/MT image. Lajoie (pronounced "LAJ-a-way" by Larry himself) was considered the greatest player of the American League (batting .426 in 1901, his first year with the A's) until a fiery young competitor named Ty Cobb came along in 1905. In 1910, their rivalry reached a peak when the Chalmers Auto company promised a new car to the league's batting champ and MVP. To the angst of fellow players and fans alike, Cobb sat the last two games of the season, confident that his numbers would hold. Lajoie, on the other hand, went 8-8 on the last day of the season in a double-header against the St. Louis Browns, whose manager, Jack O'Connor, ordered their third baseman, Red Corriden, into shallow left field so that Larry could drop five bunt singles in a row. His sixth bunt attempt was mishandled and recorded as an error by the official scorer, a woman, who turned down offers of a new wardrobe from O'Connor and another Browns coach, Harry Howell, if she would change the at-bat into a hit. She refused, and O'Connor and Howell were subsequently banned from baseball for life. In the end, the Chalmers Auto Company remained neutral and awarded cars to both Cobb and Lajoie for their efforts.