T210 Old Mill "Mystery" Players

[Michael Peich]

Patrick--Great dander response!

Frank--Once again, using the example of Foley White, it's entirely possible that Ellam was with Nashville before the season began, and after photos were taken for the cards. But he may have been cut/quit and then signed with Birmingham. Once again, there was tremendous player movement during this era.

If you're interested I can tell you the story of one of the rarest t209-2 cards, Steinbach, who started the season with Goldsboro, and then abruptly quit and left the team to return home, this after the season had just begun. His card is scarce because I suspect no one saved it because he left the team. For years it was thought his card didn't exist until the Pelaez collection was offered by REA, containing a copy of Steinbach's t209.

The other piece to remember is that record keeping, both by the teams, AND by the card manufacturers was not the precise, factually based system we expect. This era was, at times, post-truth.

Cheers, Mike