5 minutes and poof, up in smoke.....

[Leon]

Interesting story of how this card almost went up and flames...

" Thought I would share how I got this card. About 1963 I was a hungry college student and was doing odd jobs including house painting for Mrs. Smith, or Royal Oak, MI, age then perhaps 80+. One afternoon I went into the back yard to throw out some trash and Mrs. Smith was busily feeding letters and post cards into a fire. I asked her if I could have some as I had inherited a card collection from my mother. She looked at me kind of odd, went through the shoe box of cards, threw a few more into the fire and gave me the box of cards. I kept the cards all this time and not till recently decided to look thru her cards and sell on eBay. As I am not a big baseball fan the Ty Cobb card escaped my first inventory. But, of course, eventually realized I had a nice find. If I would have walked out into the back yard back them 5 minutes later all would have been ashes."

[ScottFandango]

if only we can turn back the clock and stop our mothers from destroying our cards!

[tcdyess]

Originally Posted by ScottFandango

if only we can turn back the clock and stop our mothers from destroying our cards!

Then there would be too many of them....

[batsballsbases]

Hi Leon,
Nice find but I do believe Im older than you so you might want to check that 1963 hungry college student date! maybe 1983?

[Leon]

Originally Posted by batsballsbases

Hi Leon,
Nice find but I do believe Im older than you so you might want to check that 1963 hungry college student date! maybe 1983?

In 1963 I was 2.


.

[batsballsbases]

Originally Posted by Leon

In 1963 I was 2.


.

Thats what I meant how could you be a hungry college student if you were 2? Am I missing something or is this story not about you.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by batsballsbases

Thats what I meant how could you be a hungry college student if you were 2? Am I missing something or is this story not about you.

No, you are missing something. The story is an email I received from the person that sold me the postcard via ebay.

[nolemmings]

The story was about the ebay (or other) seller of the postcard, although in 1963, two-year old Leon was a sophomore, so I can understand the confusion

[batsballsbases]

Ah, my mistake because the way it starts out says I want to share how I got this card , meaning I thought it was You! I didnt know you were posting it for someone else. Carry on my friend!

[Leon]

Originally Posted by batsballsbases

Ah, my mistake because the way it starts out says I want to share how I got this card , meaning I thought it was You! I didnt know you were posting it for someone else. Carry on my friend!

My fault. I usually communicate better. Just found it interesting...plus the postcard is always said to be from 1907-1909 but with this one having the 1907 postmark makes it a little more special. Plus the story is from the guy that was helping clean the original recipients home, which is sort of neat for provenance. That means there has been a total of 3 owners, including me, in 106 yrs.

edited to correct postmark date

[DaveW]

Originally Posted by Leon

...plus the postcard is always said to be from 1907-1909 but with this one having the 1909 postmark makes it a little more special.

Leon - on my screen it looks like the postmark reads 1907. Is that correct?

[Leon]

Originally Posted by DaveW

Leon - on my screen it looks like the postmark reads 1907. Is that correct?

yes, I am doing a few things at once. Thanks, I corrected my post. A 1909 postmark wouldn't have been quite as special.

[DaveW]

Thanks, I'll cancel that eye doctor appointment. Nice pickup and a neat story.

[Piratedogcardshows]

Cool story to go with a nice card.Thanks for sharing it.It makes me wonder what she burned before handing over the box.

[pawpawdiv9]

1907-09 H.M. Taylor Postcard – Ty Cobb Rookie Card (SGC 40/3) - “1 of 2” – Only 1 SGC Example Graded Higher!

This 1907 H.M. Taylor Ty Cobb SGC 40/3 postcard resides as one of the “Georgia Peach’s” inaugural appearances on any baseball card, and is widely regarded as one of Ty Cobb’s true rookie cards! Ty Cobb broke into the Major Leagues with the Detroit Tigers in 1905, playing in a mere 41 games while hitting a paltry .240. Quickly, Cobb bounced back in 1906 to bat an impressive .316, the first of an unfathomable 23 consecutive years of exceeding the exalted .300 benchmark. Throughout his incomparable 24 seasons, he led the American League a record 12 years in batting average including an incredible 9 consecutive years from 1907 thru 1915! He also happened to exceed the exalted .400 mark three times, with all of the above totaling to an unimaginable .367 lifetime average. After his sterling 1906 season, he stroked 212 hits in 1907, his first full season in which he batted .350, and led the American League in hitting for the first of his incredible 12 league leading seasons. Due to his newly found star status, manufacturers began utilizing his image on various cardboard related products throughout the 1907 season including several postcards and the seldom surfacing and ultra valuable W600 Sporting Life Cabinet. Some of the postcard issues include the A.C. Dietsche, Wolverine News, H.M. Taylor, and Novelty Cutlery with all of these issues staking claim (along with the W600 Sporting Life Cabinet) as Cobb’s rookie card. So which of the above is actually Cobb’s true rookie card? Bottom line is no definitive answer exists since they were all produced during the 1907 season and equally share the renowned distinction as being Cobb’s inaugural Major League cardboard issue. The H.M. Taylor Cobb SGC 40/3 presented here is an extremely tough card to locate, with only eight other SGC encapsulated copies extant of which only one other carries a “VG-3” grade and a SOLE specimen is graded higher! The imposing Cobb batting stance just may suffice as his most impressive image on ANY baseball card as a youthful Cobb stares down the overmatched pitcher with the classic grandstand background. While the illustration does favor the upper border, the crystal clear focus and impeccable contrast “steal the show”, with the technical assessment primarily attributed to expected corner wear ad some reverse side soiling. The postcard undivided verso is un-cancelled, and no glaring blemishes are evident on either side. What could be more impressive than one of the immortal Ty Cobb’s inaugural and obscure Major League 1907 cardboard issues, portraying the legendary Detroit star in one of his most imposing batting black & white early 20th century images!




I was looking forward at maybe bidding on this one and have something special..now that Leon claims to have one, i'll pass it by for something else.

[CW]

Very cool, Leon, thanks for sharing.

I also think it's cool how in 1907 all you had to do was address a postcard as name, city, and state, and the postcard actually got there (no street address, no zip). Ah, the good ol' days....

[bbcarddan]

Originally Posted by Jason

Cool story to go with a nice card.Thanks for sharing it.It makes me wonder what she burned before handing over the box.

I was thinking the same thing.

[xcgrammer]

Petoskey MI, great town to vacation in. The have a special type of stone only from that area that they sell in the tourist shops Petoskey Rocks. Weird fact.

[Ease]

Nice pickup Leon!

[Jay Wolt]

Neat story, glad it survived the flames