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T206CollectorKeep in mind that the easiest variations to find of Evers is the one with Chicago written down his shirt -- his portrait card and his batting card with blue background and Cubs on his shirt are much rarer and will go for substantially more as a result. Similarly, the Red Portrait version of Chance is also quite rare and will sell for more than his Chicago on shirt variation. Each of the Tinkers are a bit hard to come by, but the most valuable appears to be his portrait.
"Baseball's Sad Lexicon"
These are the saddest of possible words:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,*
Making a Giant hit into a double--
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
In 1910, New York newspaper columnist Franklin Pierce Adams immortalized the Cubs double play team Joe Tinker (SS), Johnny Evers (2B), and Frank Chance (1B) in verse, cementing their legend and helping them gain election to the Hall of Fame as a trio 36 years later.
*The term "gonfalon" refers to a flag or pennant, and Adams uses the phrase "pricking our gonfalon bubble" to describe the repeated success of the Chicago Cubs and their celebrated infield against their National League rivals, his beloved New York Giants.