T206 Demmitt & O'Hara....are they 350-only Series cards ?

[T206Collector]

For those of us who archive such threads, it is useful to have your post from 2007 on this topic as well:

Of Demmitt and O'Hara....St Louis Variations.
March 19 2007 at 8:47 PM
Ted Zanidakis (Login tedzan)

Here's my take on these two rare T206 variations. First, I will start with their brief BB careers.

.............Demmitt.............................. ......O'Hara
Major Lges.
1909.....NY Amer....123 games............NY NL......115 games
1910.....St L AL.......10 games............St L NL........9 games
Eastern Lge.
1910.....Montreal....130 games...........Toronto....122 games
1911.....Montreal....153 games...........Toronto....147 games
Major Lge.
1914-15 Chi AL.......155 games

Both players are featured 1st in the 350-only series (as NY players) with limited backs than most other
Subjects in this series. Demmitt can be found with P350, SC 350/30, Carolina Brt, EPDG, and Tolstoi.
O'Hara can be found with P350, SC 350/30, Sov 350, and Cycle 350. Note....no Polar Bear backs.

Then by mid 1910 when the ATC started designing the T206's for the POLAR BEAR chewing tobacco Co.,
both these guys had been traded to their respective St. Louis teams....of which they played only a very
few games and were sent down to the Minors. Therefore, the T206 designers saw no need to continue to
print them with any other T-brand as Major Lgers.

The Polar Bear exclusivity of these 2 scarce variations is simply just a matter of timing (and, not a mystery).
My guess is that there are probably some where between 300 - 400 of these two variations in circulation.

Subsequently, both Demmitt and O'Hara are printed in the 1912 Canadian Imperial Tob. Co. (C46) set.
O'Hara continues playing for Toronto (his hometown) till the end of the 1915 season.

Demmitt re-appears in the 1914 T-213 (Coupon Tob.) set. The T213 fronts must have been printed by
American Lithograph, as most of the fronts are the exact ones in the T206 set. Demmitt has 2 cards in
the T213 set. The one I've seen, depicts him in the St Louis uniform, but his team is Chicago American.
I've never seen the other Demmitt, which I have heard depicts him with a NY uniform.....this, I find very
strange.
Does anyone here have a scan of the T213 - NY version ?

Well, that's my theory on these two elusive T206 variations....anyone care to venture another story ?

[buymycards]

Hi guys, thank you for the interesting thread about two of my favorite cards.

Rick

[paul]

So, does that mean that if someone was inclined to complete a T206 Polar Bear set with all 350 backs, the O'Hara and Demitt would be no more challenging than any other card? (Except for the fact that they cost more).

[FrankWakefield]

No more challenging to locate, correct.

No more challenging to acquire, not correct.


If folks only collected T206 Polar Bear cards, and ignored all other T206s, then acquiring Demmitt and O'Hara wouldn't be special. But folks do collect other T206 cards. And generally, they ignore the backs. So if they're just chasing fronts, then they find way fewer Demmitt's and O'Hara's out there than other cards. So Demmitt and O'Hara ARE more challenging to acquire, and their cost reflects that.

Yea, you have it... "except for the cost"

[FrankWakefield]

................T206 Demmitt NY...............................T206 Demmitt StL............................T213 Demmitt Chi Amer....

nice display Frank. Great eye candy

[Hal Kaplan]

Thanks Ted for another great T206 thread. Is it me, or do the NY and STL versions of Demmitt have slightly different images? From looking at Frank Wakefield's scans, it appears the NY version shows slightly more hair/shorter cap. Demmitt's right eye seems to be open wider in the NY version, and his left eye in the NY version seems to have slightly more of a "shadow" next to it. The ears are also slightly different in shape. I apologize if this is just due to scan quality or is already well-known.

[ethicsprof]

very convinced, ole friend.
and the house and barns are now safe.
i still may have to win that huge wood shed, though.

all the best,

barry