Why is Fred Tenney Always So Tough?

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Posted By: barrysloate

I was just reading Robert Adesso's fine article on D304's- great research Robert- and he noted that among the toughest cards in the set is Fred Tenney.

Well, Brian McQueen and I often discuss the tough cards in each set and it almost always comes down to the same player- Fred Tenney. He's a tough E103, tough E98, some even think he's a tough T206. And I'm sure I'm leaving out a couple of other sets.

Why is that?

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Posted By: paulstratton

I think one of reasons is that a relative of Tenney buys up his cards whenever he can.

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Posted By: Brian McQueen

Regardless of the set I'm working on at the time, Tenney is a player that I've always had a tough time with. I've never been able to acquire his e103 card which left me needing one card to finish that set. His e98 also eluded me for a long time. I know Rob had a hard time finding a d304 for him as Tenney is a player he and I have discussed in the past as being a "thorn in our sides". It took me forever to get an m116 blueback of him. Finally one was offered to me by a board member. I also made a run at an e107 Type 2 set last year and one of the cards I was never able to find....yet again...was Tenney.

For any set that he's a part of, Tenney is consistantly one of the very last, if not final card I'm able to find. I've been curious for a long time why this player is so difficult on the whole as well.

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Posted By: barrysloate

I know Carroll Tenney, he used to buy up every Tenney card I had, then told me he wasn't even related to him.

As Robert pointed out, Tenney's last two seasons were 1909 and 1911, and he sat out 1910. One way to look at it is he was near the end of his career during the time most of the T and E cards were issued, so that could explain the shorter print run.

On the other hand there were some 300-400 major leaguers in 1910, and only 25 to 30 made it into any of these caramel sets. Then why was Tenney included at all? There had to be several players who were more popular than him, especially since he sat out one full season.

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Posted By: jay wolt

I'm slowly approaching competion of my Turkey Red set
and I still need the Tenney and seldom see them offered.

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Posted By: barrysloate

See- Jay found another set we hadn't even thought of.

There has to be a reason for this mystery.

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Posted By: Bruce Babcock

Tenney (or Tenny) was the last D304 I needed. Finally found it on ebay in 2001. In a surprise bonus, the seller was a sportwriter living in Florida who bought this card from Buck Barker, whom he met while covering the Cardinals in 67 or 68. The card has a bit of a pinkish hue. Don't know why.

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Posted By: Bob

I knew about the relatives of Wood, Coombs and Miller (from the PCL sets) buying up cards of their relatives, but this is the first time I heard about Mr. Tenney. Not even a relative you say? Hmmm. Strange. I once sold a couple of cards to a woman who said her children were the great grandchildren of Hal Chase and would really be excited to get them. I didn't have the heart to tell her about her grandfather.

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Posted By: Dan Kravitz

I have one, but I am still looking for over half to finish the set.

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Posted By: Tim Newcomb

I have noticed the Tenney phenomenon too: didn't obtain with T206, but the M116 was really difficult (I think I traded Brian his blue-back), and the caramels too for the most part.

My guess is that there is (or was at one time) a relative who did suck up a lot of copies. He or she may not do the boards or even the net, but could be out there at shows, etc.

Tim