T-206 cards and their stories....
 

I really enjoy doing research on T206 cards I have, to know the story of the man's life. Makes collecting more enjoyable for me. Here are three examples:

Tommy Leach - Pittsburg.
- First hit in Wolrd Series history (off Cy Young).
- First run scored in WS History.
- Still holds the record for triples in a single WS (4).

Neal Ball - Cleveland.
- Turned the first Unassisted Triple Play in MLB history

Harry Lumley - Brooklyn
- He and Ralph Kiner are the only two players to lead their league in HR in their first season.

T206 commons to most, but there are stories about these players that are very interesting.

Note: New here, but I'm on Blowout and been collecting for years. Now, my focus is on vintage and pre-war.

Gotta love Tommy Leach
 

One of my favorite signed T206 cards in my collection. I love that Tommy Leach is frequently quoted in Ken Burns' Baseball documentary.

<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/q5e6ki8ti_iCycuOjJvK6ziJm_Z5QsNdec5_I7WHZRE?feat=e mbedwebsite"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-w5HJ-5oYVmg/RsjQJjNZejI/AAAAAAAAg3Q/mhYTRwqZIzU/s800/Leach%2520Portrait%2520Auto%2520SGC%252040.jpg" height="800" width="494" /></a>

Nice auto.

Tommie? See, even that is interesting to me. :)

He also did a taped interview for another book. Read that somewhere.

You can hear his interview in the Glory of Their Times CDs...

http://www.amazon.com/Glory-Their-Ti...of+their+times

He signed both "Y" and "IE". Not sure why. Guess he didn't have a preference...

<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LUsqtOtgVjT9HFOzB-sayziJm_Z5QsNdec5_I7WHZRE?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-VquvAsxSEu8/RsjQJDNZeiI/AAAAAAAABDs/Tfm95knAZYY/s800/Leach%2520Bending%2520Over%2520Auto%2520SGC%252030 .jpg" height="798" width="514" /></a>

I bought a copy when they first came out, then a second one from Hank in Cleveland, and neither had Leach. I've listened to it a million times, or 50.

By the way - if anyone wants to write a 'T206 story' to publish on my website, please contact me. I solicit and write these in spurts, and probably about time for another. Look at examples to see the flavor I'm looking for - some are bios, but I prefer insights about the actual card design to be woven in, speculation welcome.

Speaking of T206 speculation, I still have a rough draft regarding the origins of the T206 Plank card. I have held onto it due to the conflicting theories, each of which is held to passionately by various forum members. I'm thinking some of that has probably worn off by now, so look for it soon. Wagner is still available if you are inclined to such speculation.

Scott, probably common knowledge, but what is your website?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Sorry - it used to be my signature line: http://www.t206themonster.com

Scott,

Here's what we would like released on audio, right? :)
About 45 minutes per tape, maybe 60 CDs worth?

http://rarebooks.library.nd.edu/coll...io_tapes.shtml

Jack Quinn played for 23 seasons in the major leagues with eight different ball clubs, finally closing out his career at the age of 50. As a pitcher, he accumlated 247 career wins. His best season was in 1914 with Baltimore. That year, Quinn won 26 games and posted an ERA of just 2.60. Quinn was a member of two (2) World Series champions and holds the record for being the oldest pitcher to lead his league in saves (---he did so in 1932 at age 49).

Other highlights:

- Last pitcher to "legally" throw the spitball in the major leagues.
- Held the record for being the oldest player to hit a home run in the majors at age 46, until Julio Franco hit a homer in 2006 when he was 47 years old.
- Was the oldest pitcher to win a game until Jamie Moyer broke that record in 2012.

One of the most interesting non-HOF players from the early part of the 20th century. Always thought his cards should carry a bit more of a premium.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...ps250e3ccb.jpg

Quinn is also the only player to have a card in the T206 set and 1933 Goudey.

Quinn teammate still alive...........
 

******* Bobby Doerr was a teammate of Jack Quinn in 1934 with the PCL Hollywood Stars...Doerr was 16, Quinn 50. Bobby Doerr is still alive and well in Oregon at age 96. It's quite an amazing link to the past, IMO.********

Fred Merkle was given the name "Bonehead" for his base-running blunder in 1908 that ultimately cost the New York Giants the NL pennant that season. Following that infamous play, Merkle went on to have a solid career as a first baseman, racking up 1,500 hits and more than 700 RBIs.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...ps4c64083f.jpg

Thanks Christopher and Tim.

That's the kind of stuff I'm talking about. It isn't just a piece of cardboard. To me, it represents a life lived. Thanks for the input.

Check out Lena Blackburne and his Magic Mud website.

Great story. I knew they used special mud, but didn't know the story.
Here is the link:

http://www.baseballrubbingmud.com/

+Speaker and Lajoie (if you count Nap) :D

Good point Steve. I forgot about Speaker, and wouldn't really count Lajoie (but that's just my opinion). I guess I should say the only active player in each set.

Carl Leonard Lundgren:

Two poses in T206, with Chicago Cubs and Kansas City Blues (Minor Leagues)

http://baseballcardstars.com/persona...206CUBS150.jpghttp://baseballcardstars.com/persona...DMONT350KC.jpg

Lundy never in fact played with Kansas City. After a disappointing start to the 1909 season, he was placed on waivers by the Cubs. He was claimed by Brooklyn, only to be sold immediately to a team in the Eastern League. He decided to retire rather than report, and went home to his birthplace of Marengo, IL. Retirement was short lived though, and he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the Eastern League, making his debut on May 24, 1909. He went 1-3 with Toronto and left the team in June. The Leafs sold his rights to the Kansas City Blues, but he never reported to the team. Thus we can ascertain the second pose card was printed around the end of June, early July of 1909. As collectors know, the Chicago card is much scarcer.

Carl's nickname was "The Human Icicle" because he pitched best at the start of the season, when the weather was cold in Chicago. He declined as the season wore on, and was left off the 1907 Cubs World Series squad despite having a 1.17 ERA and 18 regular season wins.

Carl went on to a successful coaching career with the University of Michigan and later University of Illinois, winning several Big Ten championships.

http://baseballcardstars.com/persona...FIHANDBOOK.jpg

Excellent. This thread keeps getting better and better.
I can't be the only one enjoying the stories behind the cards.:D

Thanks for the stories.

Give us more!!

Dan McGann - my 1st T206 card

from his SABR Bio, his career and tragic death:

Dan McGann's career closely paralleled that of John McGraw, his teammate, friend, and drinking companion in Baltimore, St. Louis, and particularly New York, where the 6'0", 190 lb. switch hitter was a key member of the 1904-05 Giants that McGraw considered his greatest squad. Some regarded McGann in his prime as the National League's finest first baseman; he batted .292 and averaged 71 RBI and 29 stolen bases in his first eight full seasons, led the NL in being hit by pitches six times and in sacrifice bunts once, and placed second in total bases and on-base percentage twice, but he received even more attention for leading NL first basemen in fielding percentage six times from 1899 to 1906. As his career went into eclipse, however, the big first baseman feuded with McGraw and increasingly brooded over his family history of death and violence, eventually taking his own life in 1910 at the age of 38.

On the night of December 13, 1910, McGann was found dead in his room in Besler's Hotel in Louisville, with a bullet in his chest and a revolver in his hand. The coroner ruled his death a suicide. Indeed, McGann was said to be preoccupied with the tragic deaths of several close family members. In 1909 one of his brothers had taken his own life. The previous New Year's Eve, another brother had died due to an infection resulting from an accidental shooting. McGann's sister committed suicide in 1890 following the death of their mother. Despite that unfortunate family history, McGann's two surviving sisters believed that he'd been murdered. Missing from his hand was a diamond ring worth $800, which witnesses had noticed McGann wearing when he was last seen alive, but a diamond pin, $37 in cash, and a $1,000 promissory note were still on his body when it was found.

Mike Powers, my other favorite T206 tragedy.

from his WIKI bio:

On April 12, 1909, Powers was injured during the first game played in Philadelphia's Shibe Park, crashing into a wall while chasing a foul pop-up. He sustained internal injuries from the collision and died two weeks later from complications from three intestinal surgeries, becoming possibly the first Major Leaguer to suffer an on-field injury that eventually led to his death (though Powers himself said that he had become ill as a result of eating a cheese sandwich before the game). The immediate cause of death was peritonitis arising from post-surgery infections.