T-206 Centennial

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Posted By: T206Collector

End Of A Century
by Paul (aka T206Collector).

As the confetti settles from New Year’s Eve 2006, we move a year closer to the 100th anniversary of the T-206 White Border tobacco baseball card set, which was issued over three years by the American Tobacco Company beginning in 1909. When I began collecting T-206 almost a decade ago, I never thought I would ever complete the set, even without the ultra elusive Honus Wagner, Eddie Plank, Sherry Magie and “Slow” Joe Doyle variation cards. I was content with my first two -- Christy Mathewson (White Cap) and Chief Bender (Portrait) cards that I acquired from a friend who wanted a little spending cash for a trip to Las Vegas and had some of his grandfather’s cards to sell (my only regret was that I could not convince him to sell his Walter Johnson (Portrait) card). But thanks to the Internet, with special thanks to eBay, I have accomplished the goal of a set of 520 T-206 cards. Just three years shy of the centennial, it is time to begin considering how to celebrate a century of cardboard magic as the “Monster” turns 100.

There are many ways to commemorate the 100th birthday of the most celebrated baseball card set ever issued. Those lucky enough to own a genuine T-206 Honus Wagner card might stick a candle (unlit, of course) in a cupcake in front of their card, and offer it to the image of the “Flying Dutchman” in honor of its legacy as the greatest baseball card ever known. Others might build a Field of Dreams in their study or living room for the two members of the Black Sox featured in T-206, Chick Gandil and Eddie Cicotte, giving the pair a supernatural opportunity to right an old wrong. Two other players featured on T-206 cards -- “Sleepy” Bill Burns (wearing a left-handed glove on his right hand in his T-206 card) and Hal Chase (whose fame at the time was reflected in five different T-206 cards, unsurpassed in number even by the great Ty Cobb, who was only represented on four issues) -- were involved behind the scenes of that 90-year old scandal and could also be afforded a shot at redemption.

It would be truly special if those with complete or partial sets of T-206 would feel comfortable enough with available insurance and security to bring their collections to a convention at midnight, December 31, 2008, where T-206 collectors would be able to swap stories and, of course, cards. While none of these suggestions may come to fruition, I would settle for an approximate tally of how many collectors out there own at least 520 of the 524 different T-206 cards on the first day of 2009. It would be interesting to track how much that number grows or diminishes the further we get from a time when Polar Bear was the finest scrap tobacco.

My New Year’s resolution for 2009 will be to have a complete T-206 set on the SGC Set Registry. I would, of course, settle for 99% completion, missing only the four cards alluded to above. As of the writing of this note, there were only two SGC graded T-206 sets registered at 99% completion. My collection currently stands at just over 40%. While I may be able to get to 99% on the Set Registry by January 1, 2009, it will be quite a challenge to get there with a minimum average grade of 40/3/VG, above which my graded collection currently resides. But somehow I acquired 518 more T-206 cards than I dreamed I would own less than 10 years ago. In collecting T-206, as in life, anything is possible.