[GeoPoto]

Card 21: William M. "Bill" Shipke. Third baseman for the Washington Senators in 1907-1909. 110 hits in 4 MLB seasons. Debuted with the Cleveland Naps in 1906. His best season was 1908 for the Washington Senators as he scored 40 runs and stole 15 bases in 410 plate appearances.

Bill Shipke Sweet Caporal 150-30: Overall, Shipke T206 cards may be a little less common than some (PSA-408). PSA has graded six Shipke T206 cards at PSA 8 and one at PSA 10. The Shipke T206 card is in Print Group 1.

Heritage/Rounders Entry: Here we have another H/R card that is graded PSA 8. This card deserves high marks for its surface, edges, and corners. The centering is very near perfect. The side-to-side borders are tight. The back is centered a little right with moderate fading.

My Entry: My card is a PSA 4. As expected, it shows moderate wear to the surface, edges, and corners. The card is centered a little left and shows the hint of a slant cut. The borders are tight. The back is centered with good color and minor fading but shows moderate staining.

Comparison: The presentation of the H/R card is outstanding, much better than my card. The H/R card has better centering. Both cards have tight borders. The back of my card is superior.

My conclusion: I like the H/R card better. The tight borders bother me and would spur me to find a card with better borders. But my card has borders that are no better than the H/R card and suffers in comparison for everything else except backs.

The bottom line: If we ignore resale value, I would trade my card for the H/R card. The borders on my card are not good enough to support keeping it over the otherwise superior H/R card.

Additional Bill Shipke Fun Fact: He was at third base for the Senators when Walter Johnson debuted on August 2, 1907, against Detroit. When the Tigers tested Johnson by repeatedly bunting, it was Shipke defense that limited the damage.