Posted By:
Todd SchultzIf you're comfortable that the photo is really John Clarkson, then I guess it's no big deal. Where I'd be pissed is if I was paying for a HOFer at a HOFer price and got someone else, in this case his brother-ala the 1928 ice cream issues that depict Zeb Terry and call him Bill (not even brothers or lookalikes).
I admit that if that photo isn't John, it's an uncanny family resemblance, but keep in mind that 1) the card says merely "Clarkson", 2) John has not been confirmed to have been involved with the St. Louis origanization, 3) the card shows a player in a St. Louis uniform, and 4) John's brother in fact pitched for St. Louis at the time the card was issued. I also think he looks younger than the 34 or so years he would have been even if he donned a St. Louis uniform in 1895, although I am the furthest thing from an expert on telling how old people are from a photo.
I'm not bidding, so it ain't my fight. Good luck to those who do.