Old Cardboard eNews #126 - Lections Write-Up

[ChiSoxFan]

While reading Set Profile: 1923 "Lections" Mystery Continues in the latest Old Cardboard eNews, I noticed one of the cards was of a Chicago White Sox. Being a White Sox fan, I went to the player checklist on the website to see if any other cards in this set were also White Sox. While there, I noticed the White Sox "player" was Frank Chance and the website listed the "Years Played for Team on Card" as 1898-1912. Obviously, Frank Chance did not play for the White Sox during that time, and he was never the manager for the White Sox.

My first thought was that possibly the card was in error by listing Frank as a White Sox and not a Cub. This peaked my interest to see what teams he played and manged for. While looking a Frank Chance's stats on baseball-reference.com, I noticed that he was the Manager of the Red Sox during the 1923 season. This got me to thinking that if the cards were issued in 1923, why wasn't Frank listed as a Red Sox.

So, I did a quick google search for "Frank Chance White Sox" and came across his Bio on SABR (http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/21604876) and within the article, it states:
"... He returned for a short stint in the major leagues in 1923 as a manager for the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox finished dead last in the American League that year, and the following season Chance accepted the job as manager of his old crosstown nemesis, the Chicago White Sox, drawing the ire of Chicago's Northside loyalists. However, Chance's health took an unexpected turn for the worse, precluding him taking the job. He was ill for several months and he died on September 15, 1924."

The last sentence of the 9th paragraph in the eNews articles states: Meanwhile, we will use the 1923 distribution date that is generally agreed upon within the hobby. If Frank was to manage the White Sox in 1924 and the card has the correct team for him, that would mean this set would have been issued either late 1923 (after Chance was "named" manager) or early 1924 (before Johnny Evers was announced).

I have yet to find the "announcement" dates naming either Chance or Evers as manager for the 1924 White Sox. This, in my opinion, would narrow down the release date for this set even further.

Thoughts, comments?



Thanks,
James