Questions about 1911 Sporting Life (M116) - John McGraw
 

I recently picked up a 1911 Sporting Life (M116) - John McGraw on eBay. It's graded PSA 4, and I got it for a pretty good price (I think.)

I find a couple of things about this card quite interesting. First, McGraw is depicted in street clothes (a suit). I could understand Connie Mack being depicted in a suit, but McGraw? I believe that several other players in this set are depicted in street clothes as well. I wonder what the fans of the time thought of this. Did they find it as strange as I do?

The second thing that I find interesting about this card, is that the photo used had to be at least ten years old. McGraw was stout and much older looking by 1911. You can see for yourself by the photos below. I've attached my 1911 card, and an 1899 Sporting News photo of McGraw (12 years before the 1911 card) that looks a lot like the photo used in the Sporting Life card. I've also attached a 1912 Hassan triple-folder and a 1912 stock photo of McGraw, which probably better depicts how McGraw looked in 1911. So, of course I'm wondering why Sporting Life would use such an outdated photo. The fans of the time would certainly notice this immediately. Again, I'm wondering if they found it as strange as I do.

As a side note, I told/showed my wife all of this. She said (and I quote), "You have way too much free time on your hands."

Well, your card appears to be a nice 4, not a 5. And since there was no television back in those days, it's quite possible fans didn't know what he looked like. I think some of the other cards from this series were also taken much earlier than the issue date.

I guess if I had a card today, I'd want it to portray the 12 year ago version of myself. :D

I love your wife's quote, by the way. I've heard something similar.

Oops! Thanks for pointing out the typo John.

In 1911, McGraw was extremely well-known and popular. He would probably rank among the top three in baseball popularity at the time. And although there was no television or internet, they did have newspapers, periodicals such as Sporting Life & The Sporting News, and of course, baseball cards.

The wife quote made me smile too.. :)