T206 Print Groups-A Quick Overview

[DixieBaseball]

I have seen quite a few Southern Leaguers. I have a couple questions, and the first one might be stupid.

1. Is the Southern Association the same thing as the Southern League? (I know, stupid question)

Leon - Definitely not a stupid question-actually a very good question. The answer is yes and no. I think the reverse of the Old Mill T206 SL card is the reason for the confusion. It cleary states on the reverse of any of the T206 SLer card "Baseball Series Selection from Texas, South Atlantic, Virginia, and Southern Leagues." The Southern League started in 1885 and ended around 1900, and the Southern Association was officially formed around 1900. Essentially many of the same Southern cities/teams were represented in both leagues, and this is where the confusion comes in.... Although they are referred to as Southern Leaguer's (1909-11 time frame), they are technically Southern Association players/teams. Due to verbiage on the reverse of the OM card, and the ease of the words Southern Leaguer as opposed to Southern Association player, we collector's call them Southern Leaguer's, but technically they are Southern Associationer's ! (See 1908 Southern Association Champions PC which includes Harry Bay, Bill Bernhard, and Hub Perdue, 3 of the "SLer's" from the T206 OM group) - So, technically they are not SLer's, but this is what the collecting universe calls them.