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Posted By: barrysloate

Everyone has wondered that and all I can think of is they were popular for some reason at the time of issue. Anson, Kelly, Ewing- no issues. Some of the others may have had fleeting fame in 1887. Look at the four ballplayers in the Kimball set- not exactly a Who's Who of the game's greatest stars. These cards were used to promote their respective cigarette brand, so the public had to be familiar with the players.