[z28jd]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

My original assumption and I think that of the hobby as a whole was that they were error cards, with the intent to depict the HOF Cy Young but with the wrong pic. But the information that Irv Young was also called Cy seems to leave open the possibility that they were not error cards at all, but that the intent was in fact to depict Irv Young. I have not studied the team designations for each of the cards in question admittedly.

My guess is that when they issued the e97 back and white, the intention was to be Irv Young, since he was on Boston at the time. The team is right (they had the NL designation on the card) and the name is right, so it has to be him. When they switched the team name to Cleveland for the color versions, it was probably just someone noticing the original Cy Young on Cleveland at the time, while Irv Young was in the minors (1909).

I can't be sure of the intentions with the 1910 E98 card, but I assume those to be Cy Young cards with the wrong picture. If you look at the 1911 E94 cards, they even add in the "old" to his name and change the picture.

Personally, I wouldn't pay extra for the E97/E98 over common prices because the picture is Irv Young and at least one of the cards has the right team for Irv listed. Maybe you add a little to the price as a conversation piece, but I wouldn't pay close to Cy Young prices for them.