Bob- I thank you for the debunking of my contemporaneous debunking.
I need to kick myself in the rear as two of my many Baseball biographies are of Mr. Wagner himself - and I have let the 'travels and tragedies' of life get in the way of finally reading them.
I will try not to voice any more 'facts' if I know of any evidence to the contrary.
Keep in mind that the newly published Cobb biographies 'debunk' a lot of what most of us have long accepted as fact.
Anyway, the Goudey Lajoie is clearly the most 'valuable' non-contemporary card...just based on how few were printed.
As far as what is the most desirable, well that's really up to the individual collector (good idea for a poll?) - The Leaf Ruth is mine.
-Raymond
Quote:
Originally Posted by bobbvc
That's actually a fact not a theory. There is a letter from Wagner to a sportswriter from 1909 documenting it. Also a "Baseball" magazine article from 1912 documenting it as well. (forgot the month, sorry). Wagner always chewed and drank beer but otherwise was a bit of a heath nut and had a disdain for cigarettes in particular. Either way, did not want to promote smoking to kids via his picture in cigarette packs. There are 4 very good biographies written on Wagner, I think they are all still in print.
And, please excuse the soapbox, but a personal pet peeve of mine (I've been collecting over 40 years) is when people bring up the "fact" that the 1948 card "proves" what Wagner thought or did in 1909.
Back to the topic at hand, 50 years post Major league career and still a great and not inexpensive card.
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