1907 W600 Cobb

[Baseball Rarities]

Originally Posted by paul

Were the players that were offered early on -- like 1902 -- offered for the entire print run? In other words, was Delahanty still available in the 1907-10 time frame?

Paul

The Sporting Life continued to offer players after their playing days until their supply of that player ran out. In the case of Delehanty, the SL offered his card through October of 1903 - three months after his death.

Other players, such as Louis Castro, were offered for years after they played baseball. Castro's last year in the Majors was in 1902, but the SL was still offering his card as late as 1907 - the last year that I have records for. Obviously, he was not a popular choice by the readers of the SL.

When the SL offered their cards, they organized most of the players by their current team. In September of 1903, they began offering "Other Noted Players" which consisted of retired players.

[sb1]

It would be hard to believe that only 6 or perhaps even 10 Cobbs are all that exist. In the last 15 months four different ones have been sold, and I am aware of at least two others. Surely there are more out there than 6-10??

As Kevin and others have alluded to the W600's offered changed on an ongoing basis. Many players were offered for several years, others only a short time. As late as 1913 they were stilling offering left over stock.

[Baseball Rarities]

Originally Posted by sb1

It would be hard to believe that only 6 or perhaps even 10 Cobbs are all that exist. In the last 15 months four different ones have been sold, and I am aware of at least two others. Surely there are more out there than 6-10??

Scott - you would surely know more than I. I only remember seeing 2 in all of my years of collecting and dealing until the recent 3 "new" examples hit the market - I believe that the other one was previously offered before. I know of another example, so that makes 6. There are probably more than 4 more in private collections that I am not aware of.

[paul]

Kevin, thanks for answering my question. That's very interesting. I always assumed the W600s were "made to order." I guess I was wrong about that since the SL obviously had a stock of retired players lying around. But it sure makes me wonder why a stash of unpurchased Branch Rickeys have never been found. He may have been unpopular, since he wasn't a great player. But SL must have made a few of them for its inventory. Maybe they were all destroyed when the promotion ended.

[Johnny Ballgame]

Originally Posted by Baseball Rarities

Other players, such as Louis Castro, were offered for years after they played baseball. Castro's last year in the Majors was in 1902, but the SL was still offering his card as late as 1907 - the last year that I have records for. Obviously, he was not a popular choice by the readers of the SL.

When the SL offered their cards, they organized most of the players by their current team. In September of 1903, they began offering "Other Noted Players" which consisted of retired players.

Originally Posted by sb1

As Kevin and others have alluded to the W600's offered changed on an ongoing basis. Many players were offered for several years, others only a short time. As late as 1913 they were stilling offering left over stock.

Here's a scan of the cabinet ad in the April 27th, 1912 issue of Sporting Life. I've tried to clean it up a bit for detail.

At that point, the players were listed in alphabetical order, en masse. Castro was still available, a full decade after his only year in the majors.

Wish I could go back and tell my great-great-grandpa to spend $2 on some premiums and take good care of them.

[paul]

Cobb, Evers, and Mack all were still available which makes their scarcity even more puzzling. Burkett was not available. Interestingly, George Van Haltren was available even though he hadn't played in about a decade. I hope my Van Haltren was actually made during his career.

[Baseball Rarities]

Originally Posted by paul

Cobb, Evers, and Mack all were still available which makes their scarcity even more puzzling. Burkett was not available. Interestingly, George Van Haltren was available even though he hadn't played in about a decade. I hope my Van Haltren was actually made during his career.

Paul - what mount does your Van Haltren have? That will give you the approximate production date. FWIW, I do not ever remember seeing a Van Haltren with a type 4 back, which means that the latest that they were printed up is early 1904. My guess is that they printed up a quantity of one player at a time and continued to give them out until the were out. For example, in the case of Castro, I believe that all of his known cards come with a type 1 mount, which means that it was produced in 1902. I would guess that someone requested a Castro in 1902, the Sporting Life printed up a certain quantity of him which lasted them for the next 10+ years.

[paul]

Sorry for the low quality scan, but here is my Van Haltren. The caption says that he is a member of the New York team "of 1902".

[Baseball Rarities]

Originally Posted by paul

Sorry for the low quality scan, but here is my Van Haltren. The caption says that he is a member of the New York team "of 1902".

That is a Type 1 mount - it was made in 1902. Great card.