Tuesday February 27th is International Polar Bear Day. The day is dedicated to raising awareness of the plight of the Polar Bear. You can even Adopt a Polar Bear for just $30 - well virtually anyway.
1911 T205 Sherrwood Magee
Sherry Magee is one of those borderline Hall of Famers from the deadball era that I don't know much about. He was traded away from the Phillies prior to their 1915 NL Pennant winning season so he did not get to play for that squad. He did manage to get into a World Series with the 1919 Cincinnati Reds who defeated the ill-fated Joe Jackson / Black Sox team.
In 2003 Magee was added to the Phillies Wall of Fame during an era that included several other early 20th century Phillies such as Gavvy Cravath and the original Billy Hamilton. Magee's best year with the club was 1910 when he led the league in Batting Average, Runs, RBI and Total Bases. In addition to those traditional stats he led the league in OBP, Slugging, OPS, OPS+, and Offensive WAR. That is a Mike Trout type year kids!
T206 may get all the notoriety because of the Honus Wagner card but I much prefer their 1911 predecessor T205 (see below). There is so much more going on with T205, The color, Gold Borders, Facsimile Signature and Team Logo are all things that stand out and then you flip the card over and...
1911 T205 Sherrwood Magee (b-side)
Look at all that text AND Stats. It may only be Games Played, Batting Average, and Fielding Percentage but they are stats. The Final Stat line includes the League Leading batting average mentioned above. The final line in the biography mentions the 263 Total Bases.
Not sure how many issues prior to 1952 Topps contain both a written synopsis and a stat box.
At the bottom of the card we return to todays theme "International Polar Bear Day". T205 were issued for a variety of Tobacco brands, This one just happens to be Polar Bear.
Retros
2002 Topps T206 #123 Pat Burrell (mini)
Among the Topps many retro brands are both T205 and T206 cards. This is a 2002 mini, which means it matches the size of the original tobacco cards from the early part of the 20th century.
Yes it is a real think and if you want to learn more about the plight of the Polar Bear you can check here.
Sources and Links
Phillies Wall of Fame Index
Polar Bears International
Baseball-Ref
Sherry Magee is one of those borderline Hall of Famers from the deadball era that I don't know much about. He was traded away from the Phillies prior to their 1915 NL Pennant winning season so he did not get to play for that squad. He did manage to get into a World Series with the 1919 Cincinnati Reds who defeated the ill-fated Joe Jackson / Black Sox team.
In 2003 Magee was added to the Phillies Wall of Fame during an era that included several other early 20th century Phillies such as Gavvy Cravath and the original Billy Hamilton. Magee's best year with the club was 1910 when he led the league in Batting Average, Runs, RBI and Total Bases. In addition to those traditional stats he led the league in OBP, Slugging, OPS, OPS+, and Offensive WAR. That is a Mike Trout type year kids!
T206 may get all the notoriety because of the Honus Wagner card but I much prefer their 1911 predecessor T205 (see below). There is so much more going on with T205, The color, Gold Borders, Facsimile Signature and Team Logo are all things that stand out and then you flip the card over and...
Look at all that text AND Stats. It may only be Games Played, Batting Average, and Fielding Percentage but they are stats. The Final Stat line includes the League Leading batting average mentioned above. The final line in the biography mentions the 263 Total Bases.
Not sure how many issues prior to 1952 Topps contain both a written synopsis and a stat box.
At the bottom of the card we return to todays theme "International Polar Bear Day". T205 were issued for a variety of Tobacco brands, This one just happens to be Polar Bear.
Retros
Among the Topps many retro brands are both T205 and T206 cards. This is a 2002 mini, which means it matches the size of the original tobacco cards from the early part of the 20th century.
2002 Topps T206 #123 Pat Burrell (mini / b-sdie)
Flipping over the card we get to see a faux Polar Bear ad, as Topps is not associated with the Tobacco company.
One of my minor collections is Polar Bear cards, both originals and retros. I have no official list, but do enjoy picking up the ones I see. Ideally I would like to have 1 T205 from each team - that would make for a good set for me.
This is all because my High School Mascot was the Polar Bear. It's a funny connection, I suppose it make me feel good when I hear stories about Polar Bears and I think of my younger days.
International Polar Bear Day
Sources and Links
Phillies Wall of Fame Index
Polar Bears International
Baseball-Ref
