Old Judge Poll

[Fred]

I call it "the Book" or the "OJ Bible" because it's a very comprehensive book about the N172 offering. This is one of those "must have" hobby books. You'll enjoy "the Book", even if you don't collect OJs. There's a lot of history in "the Book". Short player bios are just another feature.

The authors and other contributors to this incredible effort are N54baseball board members. In the acknowledgement section of "the Book" you'll also find the name of one of the contributors to this thread. Sorry Kevin, you're now exposed.

I'm sure someone here will be able to provide the information you'll need to get this amazing OJ reference. The price paid for the book is really nothing when you realize the amount of time and selflessness that it took to get this book published and into the hands of hobbyist that were begging for something like this (for years).

[barrysloate]

I was just flipping pages in the Old Judge book and found a card I have never seen or heard of before: Horner and Warner, Milwaukee. That has to be a very rare card.

[E93]

The book is called "The Photographic Baseball Cards of Goodwin & Company (1886-1890) by Jay Miller, Joe Gonsowski, and Richard Masson. All contribute to this forum. You can contact one of them to get a copy.
JimB

[oldjudge]

You can order the book via Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...&condition=all

Hope you enjoy it!

[felada]

Barry
I believe the horner and warner double player card is described in Lew's book. At the time he wrote the volume it was a relatively recent discovery along with a few other double player cards, which are also not easy to come by.

[E93]

FYI, the amazon link says they are out of stock and don't know when they will get a new one.
JimB

[barrysloate]

Thanks David. I've seen enough OJ's over the years to know that that one has to be really tough.

[Joe_G.]

As already stated, the book will be your best single source to study the set. There is a chapter dedicated to set rarities including a list of the top 100 most difficult subjects to obtain. The book is rich in photography with over 2,500 images allowing you to study the set in detail not previously possible.

If interested in a copy, there are a couple options outside of Amazon including California Sportscards, sometimes eBay, or even from Richard Masson himself in a pinch. Here is one that ended a couple days ago, I'm sure another will be listed before long.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Old-Judge-Photo-...item2c5274b239

California Sportscards:

http://www.californiasportscards.com...-p-324679.html

Back to your original post, the most difficult players to obtain are the 19 catalogued members of the California League. Some of the cards are unique with all but Veach having only a single Old Judge pose (Veach also has some tough poses with St. Paul). I should note that McDonald also has a second pose as a Gypsy Queen portrait (a unique card). Outside of the California League cards of 1889, many of the sets rarities reside with some of the players only issued 1888 Fb cards and 1886/87 Script cards. If you extend rarities to individual poses or even team change variations, the list of unique examples grows considerably including some of the 1890 NL/PL cards. My favorite unique pose is the portrait of Deacon White (496-9).

Kevin Cummings listed most of the poses I find interesting and silly. One that I don't believe has been mentioned yet is the "Long & Short" of Nicol & Reilly.

Barry, how could you miss the Horner / Warner card, you proof read an early draft for us? That is a rare two player card you don't see everyday. I too like the composition of Milwaukees pitcher and cather.

[PolarBear]

I know nothing about the N172 set. The books looks like an excellent read though, even if you don't collect them.

Just curious, how many different Indianapolis cards are there and are any rare?

[oldjudge]

Most Indianapolis cards are not very tough to find. However, the Indianapolis cards of HOFer Amos Rusie are scarce. His New York 1890 cards are true rarities.

[barrysloate]

Joe- when Jay sent me the text to proofread I had either a grainy picture or no picture at all, so I focused exclusively on the text...but you don't expect me to remember all 2000+ poses, do you?

[Joe_G.]

Indianapolis would be an interesting team to collect with numerous cards issued in 1887, 1888, and 1889 with the following break-down:

1887 (all "0" numbered cards) - team finished 8th (last)
13 players accounting for 35 poses

1888 (mostly type Fb cards) - team finished 7th
15 players accounting for 45 poses (mostly re-issued 1887 cards)

1889 - team finished 7th
18 players accounting for 48 poses (mostly re-issued 1887 & 1888 cards)

If you are serious about collecting a team set, I can pull a complete list together for you. By far, the most notable player would be HOFer Amos Rusie who was introduced to the set in 1889 with 5 poses. Other notables include Corcoran (a board member hoards these), Jerry Denny, and Pebbly Jack Glasscock to name a few.

[PolarBear]

Wow, thanks for the detailed info Joe. I apreciate the offer to pull together a list but I just had a passing curiosity.

I'm a little confused by the "reissued" cards. Are those separate cards needed for a complete player/pose set? How many different player/pose cards does Indy have?

I saw your Detroit thread on a N172 search and it had 28 cards for a complete set. I guess I was thinking Indy must be similar.

Thanks again for the info. Interesting set for sure.