This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/7/2009
Up for auction is a beautifully bold example of Nap Lajoie's T206 "Throwing" variation that features a Sweet Caporal "150 Subjects" ad back and has been graded PSA 8 NM/MT. To date, the offered example is the single highest graded specimen on record in PSA's Sweet Caporal specific population report for this variation, with none higher. Incredibly precise NM/MT+ points for corners join equally incisive edges around a bold NM/MT image that microscopically favors the left border by perhaps the width of two hairs. Lajoie (pronounced "la-ZHWAH" or "la-ZHWAY" in French Canadian, or "LAJ-a-way" as Larry usually pronounced it himself) was considered the greatest player of the American League (batting a mere .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, but the story reminds us of something that career stats and vintage baseball card prices so often fail to do. A hundred years ago, Nap Lajoie was a far more popular player than Ty Cobb.