For the baseball hobbyist... Early TCMA commemorative card made from 1890 Harper's Weekly woodcut engraving, The Leading Players of the Base-Ball Season of 1890 A DIVE FOR SECOND BASE, Pittsburgh Alleghenys roster (National League) on reverse Issued by TCMA in 1973 | Commemorates the 1890 baseball war between the established National League (League) and the upstart Players League (Brotherhood) One of the earliest (and scarcest) commemorative baseball card sets issued by The Card Memorabilia Associates, Limited (TCMA) was the now near-half century old The Leading Players of the Base-Ball Season of 1890. While technically reprints of larger engravings made from woodcuts that originally appeared in late 19th century copies of HARPER'S WEEKLY, they were never issued as cards. Accordingly, we call them "commemoratives". (We should add that TCMA called them Reprints noting their year of publication, "1973".) One interesting aspect of this set is the inclusion of Players League stars. Eighteen-ninety was the only year of operation by the Players League (noted as "Brotherhood" by Harper's Weekly). Most 19th century base-ball cards are unaffordable to average hobbyists so these commemoratives offer an alternative without pinching the purse. Card size is approximately 3-1/8" by 4-1/2". Cards of this rather unusual size will display well in standard 4-pocket sheets designed for smaller postcards (up to 3-1/2 by 5-1/2 inches) with full card coverage. While we could find no record of production numbers, our experience tells us Leading Players of the 1890 Base-Ball Season was likely produced in small quantities despite the fact that the current Standard Catalog of VINTAGE Baseball Cards reports reliably that the full set retailed for just $3.00 nearly a half century ago. Condition: Excellent - check the high-resolution scans. A colored background is provided to assist in evaluating card corners and edges. Since we have just this one single example of this card, this is the card the buyer will receive. > As with all our single cards, ANY number of singles up to and including 8X10 inches in size will be shipped for the USPS Ground Advantage single card shipping price if the buyer requests a combined invoice before paying. eBay standard envelope service is also available where applicable. ~ For Collectors Wishing to Collect the Full Set, here are all 30 Cards Included in Set | Arranged Alphabetically ~ Header Card ~ A. C. Anson (League) ~ Dan Brouthers (Brotherhood) ~ Thomas E. Burns (League) ~ John G. Clarkson (League) ~ C. A. Comiskey (Brotherhood) ~ Roger Conner [Connor] (Brotherhood) ~ E. N. Crane (Brotherhood) ~ Jeremiah Denny (League) ~ William B. Ewing (Brotherhood) ~ D. L. Foutz (League) ~ John W. Glasscock (League) ~ W. Hallman (Brotherhood) ~ Edward Hanlon (Brotherhood) ~ Timothy J. Keefe (Brotherhood) ~ M. J. Kelly (Brotherhood) ~ M. Kilroy (Brotherhood) ~ W. A. Latham (Brotherhood) ~ John A. "Bid" McPhee (League) ~ Joseph Mulvey (Brotherhood) ~ W. D. O'Brien (League) ~ David Orr (Brotherhood) ~ John G. Reilly (League) ~ S. L. Thompson (League) ~ M. Tiernan (League) ~ John M. Ward (Brotherhood) ~ M. Welsh [Welch] (League) ~ A. Weyhing (Brotherhood) ~ Charles Zimmer (League) ~ "A Dive for Second Base" [with Pittsburgh National League player list on reverse] League = National League | Brotherhood = Players League | Burgundy = Hall of Fame member _______________________ Important: Shipping Information Our goal has always been to keep shipping costs low. Our objective is to sell cards and other things of interest to baseball hobbyists - not make money by overcharging on shipping. ~ The Baseball Hobbyist and Gram invite you to visit their eBay Store ~ |