[GeoPoto]

Card 13: Clark C. "The Old Fox" Griffith. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1912-1914. Debuted with the St. Louis Browns in 1891. 237 wins and 8 saves in 20 MLB seasons. Was 1898 MLB ERA leader. Managed the Chicago White Stockings (1901-1902), the New York Highlanders (1903-1908), the Cincinnati Reds (1909-1911), and the Washington Senators (1912-1920). Was principal owner of the Washington Senators from 1920 until his death in 1955. In 1946, was inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame.

Clark Griffith Portrait Piedmont 150: Griffith Portrait T206 cards are common (PSA-921). His presence in the Hall of Fame is reflected in the high number of cards graded. PSA has graded fifteen Griffith Portrait T206 cards at PSA 8 and one at PSA 9. The Griffith Portrait T206 card is in Print Group 1.

Heritage/Rounders Entry: This PSA 8 presents a beautiful image with minimal surface, edge, and corner wear. While arguably very well centered, it is centered low to my eye, cramping the name and team designation badly. Which gets us to this card's weakness -- the borders are tight, particularly top-to-bottom. The back is fine, centered a little right with good color, with only minor fading.

My Entry: Graded PSA3, my card presents a very nice image with modest surface, edge, and corner wear. The card is well centered to my eye, perhaps a little high. The borders are substantial. The back is bright, with very minor fading.

Comparison: My card presents very well compared to the H/R card despite somewhat more heavily worn surface, edges, and corners. Both cards are well centered -- I like my card's centering better; some might prefer the H/R card. The borders of my card are superior, particularly top-to-bottom. The backs compare favorably, with my card getting the edge.

My conclusion: I like my card better. The borders on my card are much nicer. The H/R card has a tight, cramped bottom border, which is quite off-putting to my eye. Both cards present clean, clear images and the greater wear evidenced by my card, though significant, does not offset the smaller bottom border of the H/R card.

The bottom line: If we ignore resale value, I would not trade my card for the H/R card. The H/R card is done in by its cramped bottom border.

Additional Clark Griffith Fun Fact: It was he who persuaded Secretary of War Baker to allow ballplayers to perform military drills on the field with bats rather than rifles, allowing the 1917 season to go on through Labor Day.