Western Association Old Judges

[Joe_G.]

Originally Posted by Angyale

Didnt remember he was with KC. Guess I have 2 WAs.

Angyale

Hello Eric,

Great card of Hamilton, but his debut in 1889 was with the American Association Kansas City Cowboys. The Western Association KC Blues had folded by 1889 and can only be found in the Old Judge set in 1888. In 1888, there would be both American Association (KC Cowboys) and Western Association (KC Blues) cards in the set. Goodwin & Co. didn't help the consumers/collectors by signifying the difference between these two teams like they did for other duplications within a city (Chicago cards are either listed as "Chicago" for NL or "Chicago Maroons" for WA, St. Louis cards are either listed "St. Louis" or "St. Louis Browns" for NL or "St Louis Whites" for WA).

Originally Posted by pro9

Jay, are there WA N173's?

There are N173 cards for WA teams, but as Jay stated, they didn't have the same following as the popular players from big cities so they are few and far between. I think I've seen N173 examples from just about all the Western Association teams, one currently being auctioned by REA (1888 Hunkey Hines N173).

Love all the nice Fb cards posted by Jay, Kevin, and others. An interesting note on Kevin's Kansas City Blues, the last three (Gunson, Reynolds, and Swartzel) would all move to the AA KC Cowboys in 1889. Each of them would have their 1888 photos with the Blues re-issued in 1889, then as Cowboys. While the 1889 AA KC cards are relatively easy, those Fb KC Blues can be very tough.