Moonlight Graham

[marcmandel]

Looking to add a "big card" to my PC and have been pursuing leads for a Moonlight Graham card. Any one of you guys have any ideas or leads? Willing to pay up for the right example and card.

[mrreality68]

Good luck with your hunt. Many of us have looked for his card and it is a hard find

[Casey2296]

I don't know of any cards other than his Rose PC (maybe Ryan can post his for an example), and there's a team card I think.

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

I don't know of any cards other than his Rose PC (maybe Ryan can post his for an example), and there's a team card I think.

That is all I remember seeing as well. For most of us, we have to settle for the book or the movie to get our Moonlight Graham fix.

Brian

[Rhotchkiss]

Here is the Rose Co PC - I know of two of them. There is also a team PC and a W601 (maybe 1907) of the Scranton team that has Moonlight. His stuff is crazy rare and, in my opinion, cool as hell.

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

Here is the Rose Co PC - I know of two of them. There is also a team PC and a W601 (maybe 1907) of the Scranton team that has Moonlight. His stuff is crazy rare and, in my opinion, cool as hell.

Wow that is awesome

And crazy rare is an understatement

Thanks for sharing

[robertsmithnocure]

Beautiful postcard Ryan. I wish that there was more Moonlight Graham stuff out there.

[Gastronome]

Hi everyone. Apologies in advance if this is already [well] known / has been posted, but I thought I would share.

Autographs of Moonlight Graham of ‘Field of Dreams’ fame are discovered at Baltimore medical school he attended.

Thank you.

[Kawika]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

Here is the Rose Co PC - I know of two of them. There is also a team PC and a W601 (maybe 1907) of the Scranton team that has Moonlight. His stuff is crazy rare and, in my opinion, cool as hell.

You, Kevin Struss and me. So at least three.



I picked up this 1908 Scranton team photo from REA a few years ago. Doc Graham is in the back row, second from right. The photobomber kid is not me. I had chores that day.



This is the 1906 Scranton team postcard. Not mine. Scabbed the scan from the internet. (There is also a postcard out there somewhere with Graham and a crowd of Scranton teammates in an old open car. Don't have that image).

[babraham]

Originally Posted by Kawika

You, Kevin Struss and me. So at least three.



I picked up this 1908 Scranton team photo from REA a few years ago. Doc Graham is in the back row, second from right. The photobomber kid is not me. I had chores that day.



This is the 1906 Scranton team postcard. Not mine. Scabbed the scan from the internet. (There is also a postcard out there somewhere with Graham and a crowd of Scranton teammates in an old open car. Don't have that image).

That's great stuff right there! Thanks for posting.

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by babraham

That's great stuff right there! Thanks for posting.

Great stuff and alot of jealous people here

Congrats on those items

[John V]

Here is my Moonlight "fix".

[sbfinley]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

Here is the Rose Co PC - I know of two of them. There is also a team PC and a W601 (maybe 1907) of the Scranton team that has Moonlight. His stuff is crazy rare and, in my opinion, cool as hell.

I’m fairly certain this example was in a lot of Rose PCs in REA about 12 years ago. I was going to bid, and would have went 2x-3x times higher than the close bid but REA made no mention of it’s significance and at the time I wasn’t 100% sure it was him.

[Danny Smith]

I have a W601 Scranton composite. I’ve seen maybe 4 or 5 of them since it was discovered that he was part of the team. That seems to be the most attainable of his cards / issues.

[rhettyeakley]

Originally Posted by sbfinley

I’m fairly certain this example was in a lot of Rose PCs in REA about 12 years ago. I was going to bid, and would have went 2x-3x times higher than the close bid but REA made no mention of it’s significance and at the time I wasn’t 100% sure it was him.

That is correct. I was the winner of that lot at the time and after the auction let the cat out of the bag. It wasn’t really a known thing prior to that as it had always been listed as “Peaches” Graham in all guide books.

[Gorditadogg]

If I see a Moonlight Graham available, I will outbid you!

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

[bgar3]

Ashenback’s Humor in the Minors, 1911 is a good book and nice Graham placeholder example.

[irishdenny]

Although It's Not iN the League of the forementioned,

& I'm Not so sure of what a "Big Card" is to most...

*I'm jus a humble Student of David's

I do hav this of Mr. Graham's to pass on to a New Collector...
I've been wantin' to put'em on the BST all this week!

Soon He'll be there ~

[Baseball Rarities]

Originally Posted by irishdenny

Although It's Not iN the League of the forementioned,

& I'm Not so sure of what a "Big Card" is to most...

*I'm jus a humble Student of David's

I do hav this of Mr. Graham's to pass on to a New Collector...
I've been wantin' to put'em on the BST all this week!

Soon He'll be there ~

That is a great card and very scarce in its own right, but that is George "Peaches” Graham, not Archibald "Moonlight" Graham.

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by Baseball Rarities

That is a great card and very scarce in its own right, but that is George "Peaches” Graham, not Archibald "Moonlight" Graham.

...perhaps he was also known as George "Moonlight Peaches" Graham? Which of course would then make it a suitable replacement for an Archibald Graham card.

Brian

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by Gorditadogg

If I see a Moonlight Graham available, I will outbid you!

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

would be great demand and many bidders beyond us. but i would hope i would outbid you

[topcat61]

I saw a 1907-08 Rose Co. Postcard of Moonlight Graham, which shocked me. I thought there was a possibility that he was in this set since the discovery of several minor league player of the New York State League, but I don't think there are many of this particular card. Possibly just a handful.He also is in a 1902-03 team cabinet with Charlotte of the North Carolina League, a 1906 Scranton Miners team postcard and I believe a Sporting Life team postcard as well. I don't know who would have a copy of any of these and I've never seen any in person which I believe are rarer than a T206 Wagner.

[Bigdaddy]

Apologize for the slightly off-topic question, but does Moonlight's status above lots of other common players rest almost entirely on his inclusion in Field of Dreams? Did his cards carry a premium before the movie?

I for one, was not aware of his story before the movie came out, and even then, was not sure that his character was an actual player.

There was a recent thread about why certain players cards are more desired than others given similar on-the-field performance, and a major reason that came out was having a relevance to something outside of baseball. That seems to certainly be the case for Moonlight Graham, thanks to Burt Lancaster and Kevin Costner and WP Kinsella.

[Baseball Rarities]

Originally Posted by topcat61

I saw a 1907-08 Rose Co. Postcard of Moonlight Graham, which shocked me. I thought there was a possibility that he was in this set since the discovery of several minor league player of the New York State League, but I don't think there are many of this particular card. Possibly just a handful.He also is in a 1902-03 team cabinet with Charlotte of the North Carolina League, a 1906 Scranton Miners team postcard and I believe a Sporting Life team postcard as well. I don't know who would have a copy of any of these and I've never seen any in person which I believe are rarer than a T206 Wagner.

Ryan - The only Minor Leaguers in the 1908 Rose Co. postcard set are the 14 players from the Scranton Miners, who won the New York State League pennant that year.

I do not believe that he is pictured on a Sporting Life team postcard. AFAIK, only Major League teams are part of that set.

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by Bigdaddy

Apologize for the slightly off-topic question, but does Moonlight's status above lots of other common players rest almost entirely on his inclusion in Field of Dreams? Did his cards carry a premium before the movie?

I for one, was not aware of his story before the movie came out, and even then, was not sure that his character was an actual player.

There was a recent thread about why certain players cards are more desired than others given similar on-the-field performance, and a major reason that came out was having a relevance to something outside of baseball. That seems to certainly be the case for Moonlight Graham, thanks to Burt Lancaster and Kevin Costner and WP Kinsella.

I read the Shoeless Joe novel (a great book, by the way) shortly after it was released in 1982, and I highly doubt anyone really knew about Graham before the novel. I don't think it was on collector's radar even after the novel was released. The Field of Dreams movie that was released in 1989 is what really brought him more widespread interest, but I still think it wasn't until the internet era that slowly unearthed and identified what was available for him (note sbfinley's mention of this REA lot of Rose postcards https://robertedwardauctions.com/auc...anton-players/ that had a Graham in it, without identification, actually less than 10 years ago), and only after all of this did Archibald Graham finally become something for many collectors to pursue/crave.

W.P. Kinsella really set this cornfield craze into motion. Heck, there have even been Major League games held in Iowa cornfields now, which just adds to the mythical luster surrounding Graham (and Shoeless Joe too).

Brian

[Shoeless Moe]

So who won it?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/31436781333...rdt=true&rt=nc

[sbfinley]

Damn, at least let the stamps get applied. But it wasn’t me. Got blown out at the last second. It was crazy this thread started about 12 hours after I saw it. Wrong category, no mention… I thought it would slip by most.

Originally Posted by Shoeless Moe

So who won it?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/31436781333...rdt=true&rt=nc

[Andrew1975]

This arrived in the mail today. Couldn’t believe it when it popped up on eBay, without even a mention of Graham… Looks even better in person. Not for sale/trade.

[babraham]

Looks beautiful! Congrats!!

[Rhotchkiss]

Nice Andrew!! Now I can out that eBay auction you won it in!! Bring it to the trade show

[Andrew1975]

Thanks, Brian!

Ryan, I definitely will.

[Baseball Rarities]

Beautiful card Andrew. Congratulations.

[Andrew1975]

Thanks, Kevin!

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

I've said it before, and it's always met with some backlash...

The huge interest, and especially the high values of anything related to Graham, will never fail to confound me.

People who are so enamored of him do realize that they're just buying into a half-fictional character as created by Kinsella and portrayed so wonderfully by (mostly) Burt Lancaster, right? Values of our collectibles are usually based on achievements or legends that actually transpired or may have happened. There's some basis in reality. The Moonlight Graham stuff that people so eagerly eat up simply sprang from the mind of an author of fiction. Beyond the fact Graham played in the Majors and was a doctor in Chisholm, MN, the rest is all Kinsella. The factual part of Graham's story is pretty typical and ho-hum. Yes, he was a kindly doctor and was remembered fondly by generations of children, but this wouldn't have affected collectability or value without Kinsella's intervention.

If Kinsella had thumbed through his MacMillan Encyclopedia and instead decided to craft a story around Kewpie Pennington, another Deadball Era guy who played in one game, none of the Graham diehards would have a clue who he was and his memorabilia would be of much more limited interest and value. Pennington had a cool nickname and only pitched one MLB inning with zero strikeouts. There's your story! "If only I could have struck one player out!". Same basic concept of a dream not realized, but now everyone is infatuated with the fictional legend of Kewpie Pennington!

I know, I know...but it was Moonlight Graham who Kinsella selected.

[Andrew1975]

Everything you say is correct. But for most of us with an interest in such items (I'll speak for myself anyway), it is pretty simple. I love the movie, I love the story of the real Archibald Graham, I love the scarcity and aesthetics of the related items, and as a collector, would have gladly paid substantially more than I did for the postcard shown above. I'll save you the trouble of an eBay search, I paid $3,000. The prices such items command are simply supply and demand (like everything else), and there is a very low supply. If you don't understand the demand, I can get that. I don't understand the demand for lots of things in this hobby... At the end of the day, it is all just old cardboard, so do it because you enjoy it and buy what you like!

Andrew Finkelman

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Incidentally, lest anyone think otherwise, I like Graham, too, but I love the stories of all MLB players! The most interesting life stories you might ever hope to find are often hiding behind the most obscure MLB careers! I suppose I like my player biographies to be of a non-fictional nature as opposed to anything otherwise. That one fact can likely explain my long-held position on Doc Graham.

[Zan]

Originally Posted by Andrew1975

Everything you say is correct. But for most of us with an interest in such items (I'll speak for myself anyway), it is pretty simple. I love the movie, I love the story of the real Archibald Graham, I love the scarcity and aesthetics of the related items, and as a collector, would have gladly paid substantially more than I did for the postcard shown above. I'll save you the trouble of an eBay search, I paid $3,000. The prices such items command are simply supply and demand (like everything else), and there is a very low supply. If you don't understand the demand, I can get that. I don't understand the demand for lots of things in this hobby... At the end of the day, it is all just old cardboard, so do it because you enjoy it and buy what you like!

Andrew Finkelman

Well said.

[Rhotchkiss]

Yup, fully buying into the Hollywood myth. I could care less. I agree with Andrew 100%. And here are some pics from my trip to the real field of dreams, which was F-ing awesome! I highly encourage people to go - admission is only $20, as Terry Mann suggests

[topcat61]

Originally Posted by Baseball Rarities

Ryan - The only Minor Leaguers in the 1908 Rose Co. postcard set are the 14 players from the Scranton Miners, who won the New York State League pennant that year.

I do not believe that he is pictured on a Sporting Life team postcard. AFAIK, only Major League teams are part of that set.

Your probably right. I thought it was a team composite which I haven't seen in a while.

[brianp-beme]

Glad to see it is no longer the Field of Sideway Dreams.

Brian

[darkhorse9]

If you can't afford a Moonlight Graham card, then get yourself this.

It's George Browne from the T206 set...He's the guy that Moonlight Graham replaced in right field that gave his his infamous moment in history.

[Snapolit1]

No backlash here. I hear you and loud and clear. I have one Graham piece and it's very cool, but his fame is a fictional character and not as an actual ballplayer.
Personally I would not spend thousands on a Graham item. But I get the allure also.


QUOTE=BillyCoxDodgers3B;2314315]I've said it before, and it's always met with some backlash...

The huge interest, and especially the high values of anything related to Graham, will never fail to confound me.

People who are so enamored of him do realize that they're just buying into a half-fictional character as created by Kinsella and portrayed so wonderfully by (mostly) Burt Lancaster, right? Values of our collectibles are usually based on achievements or legends that actually transpired or may have happened. There's some basis in reality. The Moonlight Graham stuff that people so eagerly eat up simply sprang from the mind of an author of fiction. Beyond the fact Graham played in the Majors and was a doctor in Chisholm, MN, the rest is all Kinsella. The factual part of Graham's story is pretty typical and ho-hum. Yes, he was a kindly doctor and was remembered fondly by generations of children, but this wouldn't have affected collectability or value without Kinsella's intervention.

If Kinsella had thumbed through his MacMillan Encyclopedia and instead decided to craft a story around Kewpie Pennington, another Deadball Era guy who played in one game, none of the Graham diehards would have a clue who he was and his memorabilia would be of much more limited interest and value. Pennington had a cool nickname and only pitched one MLB inning with zero strikeouts. There's your story! "If only I could have struck one player out!". Same basic concept of a dream not realized, but now everyone is infatuated with the fictional legend of Kewpie Pennington!

I know, I know...but it was Moonlight Graham who Kinsella selected.[/QUOTE]

[Casey2296]

Thanks a lot...

Now I'm on a Kewpie Pennington hunt.

[abothebear]

My neighbor was a pitcher in the Brewers organization. He got called up to the big team once, during September call-ups, but never got into a game. I don’t ask him about it.

[seattlerainiers]

Here he is again, back row, hatless.

[JollyElm]

The ears don't match...

moonlightgrahamcomp.jpg

[Bicem]

Incredible Dave, that's my favorite Moonlight piece.

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

Thanks a lot...

Now I'm on a Kewpie Pennington hunt.

He has a 1919 Zeenut card. Just sayin'

Brian

[brianp-beme]

The prior post about the Zeenut of Pennington reminded me of my post almost three years ago, pasted below, which surprisingly showed/revealed the six 1911 Obak cards of players who only appeared in a single MLB game.

Phil Cooney - 1905 New York Yankees 3 AB
Lee 'Flame' Delhi - 1912 White Sox 3 IP
Monty Pyfl - 1907 Giants 1 PA
Hunky Shaw - 1908 Pirates 1 AB
Dave Skeels - 1910 Tigers 6 IP
Con Starkel - 1906 Senators 3 IP

Brian

[seattlerainiers]

Originally Posted by brianp-beme

The prior post about the Zeenut of Pennington reminded me of my post almost three years ago, pasted below, which surprisingly showed/revealed the six 1911 Obak cards of players who only appeared in a single MLB game.

Phil Cooney - 1905 New York Yankees 3 AB
Lee 'Flame' Delhi - 1912 White Sox 3 IP
Monty Pyfl - 1907 Giants 1 PA
Hunky Shaw - 1908 Pirates 1 AB
Dave Skeels - 1910 Tigers 6 IP
Con Starkel - 1906 Senators 3 IP

Brian

One of my favorite real photo postcard pairings includes two of these fellows, Hunky and Phil. 1912 Spokane Indians, Northwestern League. Taken at Dugdale Park in Seattle. Love their road uniforms.