BF uncatalogued red felts

[aelefson]

Hi-
I recently acquired the Chief Meyers red felt scanned below and I had a couple of questions regarding it and the "set" it belongs to.
1. How many players are in this "set"? I know of the Meyers, as well as Leon's McBride. When I searched the forum, it appears that other known ones are Cobb, Lajoie, Matthewson, and a blue Ainsmith. Any more?
2. I ran a search and I found a thread from 2006 in which the Cobb was discussed (the image is long gone). Does anyone still have a scan of the Cobb? Or, please post any others you might have. I am most interested in seeing the blue Ainsmith as that might eliminate the notion that these were cut down from a larger piece (unless the larger piece had both blue and red on it).
3. Any further ideas on what these are?
4. For those that have one of these (or multiples) what are the dimensions? The Meyers is approximately 3.75 inches tall and 1.5 inches wide.
5. Please post any that you have or have seen. I am curious about the population of these pieces. The Meyers I recently obtained is not the first one I remember seeing but my memory could be cloudy. The Meyers had been sitting in a dealer's display case at Wilmington for at least a couple of years (most likely because it was priced too high. I got it at a substantial discount)
6. Frank (FKW) thinks that the felts are from 1912. Any other thoughts pertaining to the year of issuance? Or, the manner of issuance? Or their purpose?
6. Any additional information would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance,
Alan Elefson
aelefson@hotmail.com

[Leon]

I think I remember us discussing these and someone did in fact finally find where they came from. I forget the specifics though. I have seen about a handful in the last several years....

http://luckeycards.com/pbuncmcbride.jpg

[birdman42]

Alan,

Here's a link to Frank Ward's Web site with a picture of a Cobb, and what is now Leon's McBride. http://www.centuryoldcards.com/Uncataloged.html

And here's my Ainsmith, which is, sorry to say, not blue. It is 3.75 high by 1.75 wide. I picked it up off of eBay about a year ago, from another Washington collector.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e317/birdman42/Ainsmithfelt.jpg

As much alike as these three look, I don't think they're just a generic "catcher" pose. Look at the caps, the lines on the glove, and the way the socks and shoes are shown. I think the differences are more than what you'd see just from printing variation.

What's even more odd about Leon's is that McBride was a shortstop for most of his career--never played a game in the majors as catcher.

Bill

[Hal Kaplan]

From various auctions/websites ... the Wheat and Mathewson appear to be the same pose except for the team insignia on the throwing shoulder. If anyone owns these and does not want them shown, I apologize and I'll take them down. Hope this helps!

[aelefson]

Hal and Leon, that is a great help, I really appreciate it! The Cobb looks slightly different in terms of the lettering from the other ones. Has anyone seen different colors for the Matthewson Wheat or Lajoie? Or other colors for the red ones shown above and on Frank's site? I think the different colors and relative uniformity might rule out a cut down from a larger piece. Thanks again for the scans and information!
Alan

[Bridwell]

I have the Meyers, except on blue felt.

[aelefson]

Excellent! That is the first I have heard of with different colors and the same player. Could you post a scan? Do you notice any differences between the Meyers above and the blue one you have? I think that might settle the possibility of it being cut down from a larger piece. I really appreciate everyone's posts!
Alan

[lhardem]

http://www.oldcardboard.com/o/b/felt-cards/bender.jpg

[birdman42]

Frank can update his site now. With the 7 shown here, plus the Cobb, that's 8 definite players known.

It looks like there are differences among the pitcher poses, too. Look at the angle of the lines on the front of the uniform. That's not just sloppy printing. Facial features sure do look alike, though.

Bill

[matty39]

There was also a FORD posted by a member in a March 2005 post. The color was blue.

[matty39]

Sorry. That was LORD not FORD.

[fkw]

http://centuryoldcards.com/images/cobbfelt.jpg

Not mine, grabbed the scan from eBay a couple years ago.

Very Rare and Ugly!

[Bridwell]

Here's a scan of the Blue Felt Meyers I mentioned earlier. Looks like the same pose as your Red Felt. Not sure why the scan makes mine looks larger, but it is small like the others.

Ron