Bob Unglaub Piedmont 350
Card 25: Robert A. "Bob" Unglaub. Infielder for the Washington Senators in 1908-1910. 554 hits and 5 home runs over 6 MLB seasons. Debuted with the New York Highlanders in 1904. Managed the Boston Americans in 1907.
Bob Unglaub Piedmont 350: Unglaub T206 cards are plentiful (PSA-646). PSA has graded eleven Unglaub T206 cards at the PSA 7 level and five at PSA 8. The Unglaub T206 card is in Print Group 2.
Heritage/Rounders Entry: This is another (and final) H/R card graded PSA 7 with wonderful surface, edges, and corners. It presents nicely and is perfectly centered. As seems to be the pattern, however, it has tight borders. The back is not so good. Though it is well centered, it shows moderate wear, fading, staining, and toning.
My Entry: My card, a PSA 3 looks quite nice. The image is good, the corners are soft and rounded, but overall, not bad. The centering is good, a little right. The borders are quite pleasing. The back is centered, but shows moderate fading, wear, staining, and toning.
Comparison: The H/R card presents better than my card does, but not as much as the grades might imply. My card is centered very well, but not quite as well as the H/R card. The H/R card has tight borders, my card does not. The backs are similar, but both are a little disappointing.
My conclusion: I'm definitely favoring my card. The issue, as so often seems to be the case, is the borders. All of the advantages enjoyed by the H/R card are undone by the tight borders. The peace of mind provided by my card is substantial.
The bottom line: If we ignore resale value, I would not trade my card for the H/R card. The H/R card looks a little better, until you consider the borders. I would rather have my card despite, its deficiencies. Its borders are better by far.
Additional Bob Unglaub Unfortunate Fact: In 1916, he was still playing and managing in the minor leagues when he was killed during his off-season job while superintending repair work on a locomotive.
This brings us to the end of our comparisons with the final tally: my cards -- 18; H/R cards 4; with three ties. I'll be back tomorrow with some final thoughts.
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