I like T204's too, which is odd, because I'm not big on portrait cards. It's one of two sets, where the design trumps the portrait aspect for me, with the other being the C46 set. That being said, I don't collect the set and haven't bought one in at least eight years. As you have mentioned, they are pricey, they are rare and if you went for the set, you'd have to get a lot of obscure players.
I have no idea why they put Tom Reilly is the set. He had played 34 games over two seasons when the set was made and he could neither hit, nor field well. He also only played one game in the majors after the set was made, yet he was one of the 121 choices and not a single Pirates player made it into the set. It's not like they took their own photos for the set, they just used photos that were already out.
You may want to check out the C46 set. It still has a few name players you would recognize, Dummy Taylor, Doc Adkins, Joe Kelley, Chick Gandil, Joe McGinnity, etc. It's a smaller set and cheaper, plus it has info on the back. I bought one as a type card years ago and I've thought about collecting them.
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