T202 Hassan Triplefolder Set

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A relative emailed me this from today, either the Boston Globe or the Globe's Rhode Island version. (Possibly from an email newsletter? I don't have a link, not sure who wrote the piece.)

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It’s Friday and tonight is Game One of the World Series, so let’s end the week on a bright note.

Phil Rosenzweig, a professor, author, and (most importantly) a part-time Block Island resident, recently came out with “One Splendid Season: Baseball and America in 1912.”

It’s about the 1912 season (the year Fenway Park opened), but it’s told using the T202 Hassan Triplefolder Set of baseball cards from that year. It’s truly one of the most creative ideas for a book I’ve ever seen, and the layout is beautiful. Now it has been named a finalist for the 2025 CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year.

You can order a copy by clicking here, and I asked Rosenzweig to tell us more about his book below.

Q: Writing a book using a set of baseball cards is such a unique and creative way to tell a story. What made you choose 1912 and this set of cards?

Rosenzweig: The Hassan Triplefolders are my favorite baseball card set, with colorful end panels and fast-shutter speed photos on the center panel. I began collecting them in the 1970s, while in high school, and gradually assembled the full set. In those days, they were affordable! At first, my goal was to create an annotated presentation of the set, exploring the images and captions. Fortunately, the set was issued in 1912, which was such a memorable year in baseball. So I decided to use that season as a vehicle to showcase the cards.

Q: Any fan of baseball or sports cards is going to find the layout of the book to be truly beautiful. Beyond the research, how much thought did you put into getting the presentation right?

Rosenzweig: I put a lot of care into arranging the cards to tell the story of the 1912 season, from Opening Day to the World Series. I made sure to highlight key events, such as the opening of Fenway Park, the pivotal Fourth of July series between the Red Sox and Athletics, and a clash between the Giants and Cubs in late July. Archival photos, postcards of stadiums, newspaper clippings, and other memorabilia added to the richness. As for the visual appeal, credit goes to the graphic designer, Studio A in Alexandria, Virginia, who did a fabulous job with colors, spacing, and fonts.

Q: There has been some fantastic writing about rare cards - I'm thinking of the search for Honus Wagner cards. Do you have a sense of how many cards from the T202 Hassan Triplefolder Set still exist?

Rosenzweig: The famous T206 Honus Wagner card is really the exception – in fact, tobacco cards from that era were issued in abundance and are not hard to find, even today. One of the leading grading companies has documented several thousand T202s. Finding them in excellent condition is harder, of course, since many old cards have creases or corner wear. Although most are not very rare, some T202s are quite valuable, especially those that feature great players like Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Cy Young, Christy Mathewson, Tris Speaker, and Napoleon Lajoie.

Q: If you could do this book using a modern set of cards or a modern season - say in the last 25 years - is there one you would pick?

Rosenzweig: I haven’t collected baseball cards for a long time, so I really can’t comment on the last 25 years. But if you let me go a bit further back, one of my favorites is the 1967 Topps set, with its lovely clean design, which I collected avidly at age 12. And of course, that season not only featured a magnificent pennant race, but was unforgettable for any Red Sox fan. That could be a fun project!

Q: Tonight is Game One of the World Series, so I have to ask. Who wins: Dodgers or Blue Jays?

Rosenzweig: I generally cheer for whichever city has suffered the longest drought, so my heart is with the Blue Jays, but if Snell, Yamamoto, Glasnow, and Ohtani are on their game, I’d have to say the Dodgers. My favorite player is still Mookie Betts, so I won’t be too sad if the Dodgers prevail.