19th Century Only Auction: Brooklyn Rarities

Below are some Brooklyn related items that I thought would be worth sharing from 19th Century Only's January Auction. Vintage Pre-WWI material is the focus and they do not disappoint.

Issued by Goodwin & Co. from 1887 to 1890 for their brand "Old Judge Cigarettes," it is one of the earliest large Baseball sets ever produced. In fact, it has over 500 different players and consist of over 3,000 variations. Furthermore, new variations are found all the time. It would be surprising if any collector had a complete set in hand. Although, I suspect a certain MSNBC broadcaster may be close. The cards are basically photos on thick cardboard stock, are blank-backed and can be both numbered and unnumbered.

(Update: There is a brand new 500+ page book that just came out that features photos of every known Old Judge card in existence. Go here for more info.)

Hardie Henderson was a 6 year pro who spent 2 of those years with the Brooklyn team. In those years he won 15 games and lost 12. In the card below he is seen making a pitch, but he looks more like he is doing some new-fangled stretching routine. Someone give him a late night infomercial. The most ironic part of Hardie's life is that he died in 1903 when he was hit by a train trolley.

Get it? Played for the Trolley Dodgers and killed by a train trolley.

Auction Link: Old Judge Hardie Henderson:

The aptly named Adonis Terry is considered by some to be a worthy candidate for the Hall of Fame. Adonis was known for a clean lifestyle and physical conditioning in an era of mass consumption- alcohol that is. He originally started with the 1883 Brooklyn Grays and stayed on as the team was admitted into the major leagues the following year. From there he played for the Dodgers until 1891, and had a total career than spanned 14 years in the majors. He was considered the very first Brooklyn Dodger pitcher ever, was a fan favorite and led them to 2 league titles. In his career he pitched 2 no-hitters, won 197 games, pitched 367 complete games and had a lifetime 3.74 ERA. All of his stats rival, or is even better, than some of his peers who are currently in the Hall like Jack Chesbro and Rube Waddell. In fact, considering the constant rule changes during his playing days (like moving the pitching mound by 10 feet) it's surprising that he continued to excel and be successful. check out his Wikipedia page for more details.

Auction Link: Old Judge Adonis Terry:

Below is the 1913 T200 Brooklyn Dodgers team card from Fatima Cigarettes. They are a high gloss photo on very thin stock. This set is widely collected since all 16 teams in the majors were represented. This card features 2 Hall of Famers, Casey Stengel and Zach Wheat. Also, it should be noted, that the below card is the highest graded example that exist in either a PSA or SGC holder.

Auction Link: Fatima Dodgers:

19th Century Only: Pacific Coast League Cards

19th Century Only focused their recent summer auction on the usually forgotten West Coast major league- the Pacific Coast League. During the early part of the 20th Century it was the only professional game in town.

I picked out examples of 3 different rare cards featuring players from a PCL teams local to the Los Angeles area. Below is a 1911 Pacific Coast Biscuit card of Los Angeles Angels Bert Delmas.

Auction Link: 1911 D310 Pacific Coast Biscuit of Delmas

This card has the most unusual name for a set. Below is a 1912 Home Run Kisses card of Smith from the Los Angeles Angels. These cards were produced by a candy maker named Collins-McCarthy in San Francisco. They are a bit larger than your modern Baseball card and feature sepia toned photographs.

Auction Link: 1912 E136 Home run Kisses Smith

Zeenut Pacific Coast League cards were produced for 28 years from 1911 to 1938. They are very popular and the most collected West Coast based vintage set. Below is from the 1928 offering and still retains its coupon on the bottom. It is very rare to find them with the tag in place since most were torn off and redeemed for prizes. This card is Heath of the Hollywood Stars.

Auction Link: 1928 Zee Nut Heath:

19th Century Only Auction: Harry Wright

19th Century Only is one of my favorite sports collectibles auction houses. They always feature some great rare artifacts from Baseballs past. Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot of Dodger related items available, but there is an interesting studio cabinet of "The Father of Professional Baseball" Harry Wright. This cabinet photo is part of a set of 9 cards that feature members of the 1886 Philadelphia National league team. I'll let the auction description tell you all about Harry Wright.

Born in England, Wright came to America with his father who was well known as a Cricket player. Along with Harry's brothers Sam and George, the three sons took up the game of baseball when it began in America. Harry Wright became a pioneer of this new game. Harry joined the New York base ball club, the Knickerbockers. Backed by investors from Ohio, Wright formed the Cincinnati Red Stockings with his younger brother George. This was the first professional base ball club. This team went undefeated in 1869 with 65 wins and 0 losses. Wright managed the Boston Red Stockings in 1871 through 1875, the Boston Red Caps from 1867 through 1871, the Providence Grays from 1882 to1883, and the Philadelphia Quakers (Phillies) from 1884 through 1893. Harry Wright was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953.

Auction Link: Harry Wright Cabinet: