Auction Item Details
Lot 417
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Lot Number: 417
Description: Important Shoeless Joe Jackson photographic postcard c.1908-09. Joe Jackson began his baseball career in 1900 at the tender age of 13 with the Brandon Mill baseball team in his hometown in South Carolina. From an early age it was evident that Jackson was truly something special. Even the rural sandlot fields of South Carolina could not mask Jackson's raw talent and eventually the rest of the baseball world began to take notice. In 1908, Connie Mack and the Philadelphia Athletics purchased Jackson's contract from the Greenville Spinners of the Carolina Association for $325. Jackson had recently married and was reluctant to leave the comforts of his Southern hometown for the bustling Northeastern city of Philadelphia. Genuinely unhappy while in Philadelphia for portions of both the 1908 and 1909 seasons, Jackson had some trouble adjusting to life with the Athletics. In fact, on several occasions Connie Mack had to literally chase Jackson down after he fled the team. Consequently, he spent a portion of that time in the minor leagues. Jackson played most of the 1909 season with the South Atlantic League team in Savannah, Georgia for which he batted an astounding .358. It was clear that Jackson was simply not content with Philadelphia, and manager Mack was equally frustrated even though he clearly recognized the talent that Jackson possessed. Although Connie Mack was certainly one of the finest tacticians that the game has ever seen, he made a grave misjudgment in Jackson's case. After the 1909 season, Jackson was traded to the Cleveland Naps for Bris Lord and the rest is history. Offered is an exceptionally scarce and possibly unique surviving exemplar of a regionally issued photographic (printed) postcard picturing the young Jackson while playing for the Greenville Spinners. More interestingly, the caption under the image on the front of the card reads, "Joe Jackson, the Greenville Boy now with Philadelphia". As such, the card must date to Jackson's inaugural Major League seasons of 1908-09. Furthermore, while it is impossible to document whether the card was originally produced in 1908 or 1909, based on the language in the printed inscription, "...now with Philadelphia" it would seem that the card may have been produced shortly after Jackson left South Carolina for Philadelphia in 1908. This is further evident given Jackson's on-field struggles in late 1908 and 1909, making the odds of a postcard manufacture relatively low. The 1909 E90-1 Joe Jackson card also pictures Jackson in a Philadelphia uniform, but could not have been issued in 1908 as the set dates to 1909-11. The card itself measures 3 1/4"x5 1/4" with the front displaying an early image of a young Joe Jackson standing with a bat in Greenville uniform. Card front remains fairly clean overall with two light corner line creases and even corner wear. The reverse is postally used with a postmark date of Sep. 14, 1909 from Greenville, SC. The card is hand addressed in black fountain pen to "R.E. Barlow" in Lawrence, Mass. Given the relatively short period of time in which Jackson played for the Spinners, it is highly likely that the original production quantity of the offered postcard, and any others like it of Jackson's teammates, was extremely small. With respect to the definitive rookie era dating, unique image, and scarcity, the offered card is without question one of, if not the earliest documented card depicting Joe Jackson as a Major League player. The card itself grades VG-EX overall and has been graded "Authentic" by SGC.
Estimated Price: ($20,000.00-$30,000.00)
