I couldn't pass it up! This is quite possibly my favorite Walter Johnson "card" made. The full body shot is perfect. The sepia tone, the background fading from sharp to blurred bottom to top ... everything is excellent.
I had my hesitations because truth be told, I didn't know who the other guy was, and I like my cards with only one player on them. Come to find out, he was Walter Johnson's mentor!
Called “Old Sarge” due to his service in World War I where he was wounded in the Battle of the Argonne, Gabby Street is an interesting player from the Dead Ball era we don’t hear much about.
He set a record for catching a ball from the top of the Washington Monument for 555 feet.
“Gabby had a great arm, and he was pretty proud of it. I’d be tossing to first, and you could hear Gabby chattering all over the park, ‘Let ‘em run; Gabby’ll get ‘em.’ He would too. He’d throw anyone out at second. I’ve seen him make Ty Cobb quit on a steal many a time. What a receiver he was – a perfect target, a great arm, spry as a cat.” –Walter Johnson, speaking of his catcher, Gabby Street.
“All the catchers in those days had their gloves made special. The leather was hard, yet pliable, and once you got the glove broke in and the center pocket deep enough, you could bring off some mighty good noises. I made Walter Johnson’s pitch pop extra loud. I think sometimes the people who sat right back of the plate got scared.” –Gabby Street
Here they are, perhaps the greatest pitcher baseball has ever seen, and his mentor:
