Goodwin "Weiser Wonder" Walter Johnson postcard

[Hankphenom]

For those interested in Johnson's time in Idaho, here's a link to an article I wrote about it. There's another link in here to a longer article about his time pitching in southern California.

http://cwcfamily.org/wj/ww0.htm

[teetwoohsix]

Wow Hank,what a great article!!Thanks for the link!!!
Sincerely,Clayton

[Joe_G.]

I'm a bit late to the thread but just wanted to add that auction houses (and sometimes grading companies) over step their knowledge when describing (or grading) our collectibles. With the long winded flowery descriptions Goodwin and others feel compelled to deliver; they place themselves at risk of exposing their lack of knowledge. I can find errors in every Old Judge lot (about the only ones I look at).

The Sam Thompson N173 for example has several errors or questionable claims:

1) ERROR: "In total, 26 of the 27 Old Judge Hall of Famers are known to exist (there is no known Comiskey cabinet), . . ."

CORRECTION: Griffith is only known Old Judge HOFer without catalogued N173, Comiskey is among the easier examples.

2) Misleading: "this just happens to be the only recorded Sam Thompson N173 on the planet!" "This “one of one” museum worthy artifact portrays . . ."

Reality: Does publishing Thompson N173s in a book constitute being "recorded"? Thompson is considered mid-pack w.r.t. difficulty. The Old Judge book shows both brown and red mount examples of Thompson. I'm a black mount away from documenting Thompson in all available mount colors.

3) Misleading to some degree (I think): "His last year in the major Leagues, at the age of 46, he shared the outfield spotlight with Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford."

Reality: I don't believe Thompson ever took the field with Crawford and Cobb but was instead filling in for a short time for an injured Cobb. I would like to confirm this.

4) Strange: "Typical with most N173 cabinets, the yellow toned color has dissipated due to some 120 years of wear, toning and soling."

Just eliminate this, are they suggesting the photo or mount was once a bright or brighter yellow?

It's a great card that I would be bidding on if it were with Detroit. I don't think the description helps its case. Like the Johnson example, it would do fine on its own merit. I do however look forward to Goodwin's auctions; he seems to always put together an interesting offering.

[barrysloate]

Joe- as I like to say, why let a small detail like facts get in the way of a good story.

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by Joe_G.

Misleading to some degree (I think): "His last year in the major Leagues, at the age of 46, he shared the outfield spotlight with Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford."

Reality: I don't believe Thompson ever took the field with Crawford and Cobb but was instead filling in for a short time for an injured Cobb. I would like to confirm this.

Actually I believe that Thompson did play alongside Cobb and Crawford for the final week of the 1906 season. I used to own a great snapshot of Thompson standing in the outfield of Bennett Park in 1906...the photo was from the Matty McIntyre album...it now resides with Sam Thompson's family.

Edited to add: I found an old newspaper on google's archives with a box score which shows Cobb, Crawford and Thompson in the lineup.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...ers+1906&hl=en

[Joe_G.]

Thank you Dan !!

I'm glad to hear the photo now resides with Keith. It is in fact because of Keith that I thought they never played side by side. Keith once thought that Sam, who remained playing baseball later in life with the DAC (Detroit Athletic Club), was only called up when Detroit was short on outfielders. So this clarification is greatly appreciated. I wasn't certain about this fact and that is why I prefaced my statement with "I believe". When I pour over old newspapers, I rarely make it to the 20th century.

Thanks! I'd really like to find a scorecard from one of those games, that would be a neat piece for a Detroit collector.

[PGACPA]

Don’t most of the big auction houses engage in this puffery to varying degrees? I think Legendary/Mastro whatever is the most verbose and wandering, with Bill Goodwin a close second. It does not really bother me; I actually find it amusing. It also does not alter my thoughts on bidding. If I need it or want it I am going to bid. Who cares if a player played with another or not, or whether he spit in an umpires eye or or got in fistfights all the time. My two cents.