T206 n00b

[T206Collector]

The last two survivors from the T206 set were Paddy Livingston (d. 9/19/1977) and Hall of Famer Rube Marquard (d. 6/1/1980). Featured in this photograph during their playing days, it is interesting to note that because they each played in different leagues at this time, this photo was probably taken during the 1911 World Series. Ironically Livingston did not participate in the World Series, at least not on the field. Moreover, while Marquard was a rising star of the National League – the 24-year old Marquard started two games for the Giants in the 1911 World Series, recording 8 strikeouts over 11.2 innings pitched and an ERA of 1.54 – Livingston was not a particularly noteworthy player for the World Champion Athletics – he hit just .239 over 71 at bats for the A’s that season and did not play in the World Series. It is thus curious to wonder why a photographer would decide to capture their photograph together. It is almost as if the photographer held the key to the players’ longevity – that somehow he knew that these two players would be the last surviving members of the legendary T206 set.



Featured here are their signatures on T206 cards.






The following is a list of T206 baseball players that survived past 1970, including their dates of death in parenthesis:


Harry Pattee (07-17-1971)
Chief Meyers (07-25-1971)
Zach Wheat (03-11-1972)
Donie Bush (03-28-1972)
Davy Jones (03-30-1972)
Fred Parent (11-02-1972)
Dutch Jordan (12-23-1972)
George McBride (07-2-1973)
Larry Doyle (03-01-1974)
Fred Snodgrass (04-05-1974)
Al Shaw (12-30-1974)
Paddy Livingston (09-19-1977)
Rube Marquard (06-1-1980)

These are, not surprisingly, also the most common signatures to find on T206 cards; excepting Pattee, Bush, Jordan and Shaw. There are known signatures of Bush on T206 cards, but I've never even heard of a signed Pattee, Jordan or Shaw. It is likely that the relative scarcities of those T206 cards (if not the difficulty in tracking those players down) is why there are none known to exist.