Because it turns out stosh has the incredible ability to travel through time using baseball cardsand now hes headed back to 1909, when honus wagner played for the pittsburgh pirates in a world series for the record books. It would, understandably, be easy to assume that any sports collectible as special as a t206 jumbo honus wagner card would sell itself, but as with any other industry, there are many moving parts that work together behind the scenes to present a seamless experience and product. Before honus wagners t206 card there was his henry reccius. For anyone who has collected baseball cards, this book is worth. It was also nice to learn a little something about honus wagner, a longforgotten hall of famer.
The most famous t206 honus wagner is the gretzky t206 honus wagner card. There is no caption of any kind indicates it is a reprint. The t206 honus wagner is the most famous baseball card in the world. Honus and me baseball card adventure series by dan. All star honus wagner and the most famous baseball card ever is a short, concise biography of one of historys most famous baseball players. The card is controversial and has a big impact on the card collecting industry not limited to.
Tom and ellen zappala, the cracker jack collection. Because it turns out stosh has the incredible ability to travel through time using baseball cardsand now hes headed back to 1909, when honus wagner played for the pittsburgh pirates. Shop comcs extensive selection of all items matching. The most famous baseball card ever printed is the honus wagner t206. Wagner was 23 years old when he broke into the big leagues on july 19, 1897, with the louisville colonels. Honus wagner pittsburgh pirates baseball cards for sale ebay. One day joey finds the most valuable baseball card in the world. Goldin auctions is responsible for the sale of the only known psa graded ex 5 mc 19091911 t206 honus wagner card the last two times it was sold, and both times shattered the existing records for the sale of any baseball card our honus wagner card auctions. Okeeffe and thompson spoke at the hall of fame on honus wagner day in early august, the halls celebration of the centennial of baseballs most alluring card. Of course the famous wagner t206 card has also added to the legend of the flying dutchman. This book chronicles the infamous t206 honus wagner card.
Worlds rarest honus wagner baseball card surfaces, and its for sale the backstory of this card is as compelling as the more famous t206 wagner the card certainly looks old and worn, much in the. Honuswagner has cardsin the 1914 and 1915 cracker jack sets with both cards displayingnearly identical fronts and some subtle differences on the reverse. The transaction and player splits data used here was obtained free of charge from. Known as the holy grail, the mona lisa of baseball cards and the king of cards, an example of this card was the first baseball card to be sold for over a million dollars. Honus wagner society for american baseball research. Although wagner s appearance in set c of 1910 american caramel is an early and rare card for him, the release does not have the same level of popularity as other sets of the era because the artwork used doesnt actually feature wagner himself. It is also a granter of wishes and a timetravel portal, through which wagner visits him in the present, and joe goes to the 1909 world series. While he is cleaning it out, he discovers an honus wagner baseball card from 1909.
Dating the honus wagner henry reccius card trying to determine the exact date of the honus wagner henry reccius card has been as difficult as finding copies of it. Cleaning out his neighbors attic, gawky 12yearold joe stoshack discovers a mintcondition, t206 honus wagner 1909 baseball cardthe most valuable. The card was designed and issued by the american tobacco company atc from 1909 to 1911 as part of its t206 series. It is this cards story that makes and breaks the book. It would likely sell for more today, but its hard to imagine it approaching the seven figures that wagner t206 cards sometimes command. Thoroughly researched and illustrated with blackandwhite period photographs of. Joe stoshack finds the most valuable baseball card in the world, a honus wagner. And, as the art world readily illustrates, it may be that no matter what was done or not done to the card, its value. Feb 26, 2020 a sportsthemed restaurant smack in the middle of times square. The legendary 190911 t206 baseball card set is large and complex. In mint condition or as close to mint condition as you can get for a card that appeared in cigarette packs more than 100. Wagner was born one of 9 children in the heart of american coal country in western pennsylvania on february 24, 1874.
The story of the t206 honus wagner baseball card continues. These two columns alone will help you identify reprints of t206s and all other cards, especially prewwii cards. The cards odd texture and shape led to speculation that it was altered. Before honus wagners t206 card there was his henry. Gutman is best known for the spinoff the my weird school series of novels that has more than 70 titles which is illustrated by jim paillot. You are trying to apply logic to something that is about desire, noted michael okeeffe, coauthor, with teri thompson, of the book the card, all about the wagner t206. Elected to the hall of fame in its inaugural year, wagner was truly one of the greats. Born of german immigrants and raised in carnegie, pennsylvania, honuss parents worked hard for little. The bill james historical baseball abstract new york.
Many collectors not familiar with prewar cards might be surprised by its relatively. Top honus wagner baseball cards, vintage, rookies, gallery, guide. The t206 honus wagner baseball card is one of the rarest and most expensive baseball cards in the world, as only 57 copies are known to exist. The madefortelevision movie the winning season, starring matthew modine, was adapted from this bestselling book. The honus wagner baseball card is the most valuable baseball card of all time.
And in this guide well dive into what makes this card so special, why its so valuable, and what youll have to do to acquire one. With any limited issue such as this card, pricing is not easy to determine. Grant was president of the united states and the country was still trying to heal from the civil war that had ended just 10 years prior. Wagner, a nonsmoker, objected to being included in the promotion because he did not want to set a bad example for children. His personal life was largely not explored nor discussed and that is ok because one gets enough of the personal life within these pages. Make offer honus wagner pittsburgh pirates 2009 topps piedmont mini base card.
Honus wagner files at the carnegie library main branch in pittsburgh. Voted by bbwaa on 215226 ballots induction ceremony in cooperstown held in 1939. Honus wagner card what makes the t206 jumbo special. A brief history of the honus wagner baseball card history. In 2010, the fabled t206 honus wagner card once again gained national notoriety when a new card was found. My intent here is not to write the book on t206 authentication, but to offer some significant points that i. All star honus wagner and the most famous baseball card. Stosh has stumbled upon a t206 honus wagnerthe most valuable baseball card in the world. Of course, how to spot a fake honus wagner is a skill a lot of people could use, so with that, here are some tips. When joe stoshack finds the most valuable baseball card in the world while.
The t206 honus wagner card is quite simply in a league of its own and a mere pipe dream for millions of collectors. Along with babe ruth, ty cobb, christy mathewson, and walter johnson, he was one of the first five players to be elected to the baseball hall of fame. Above all, though, the book is a history of the perfect wagner card, most famously owned by wayne gretzky. The gretzky t206 wagner was first sold by alan ray to a baseball memorabilia collector named bill mastro, who sold the card two years later to jim copeland for nearly four times the price he had originally paid. It is a very interesting book with a lot of facts about honus wagner.
He could hit for average and power and could change the dynamics of a game on the base paths and in the field he played every position on the diamond in his major league career except for catcher. Mar 28, 2019 the t206 honus wagner card is quite simply in a league of its own and a mere pipe dream for millions of collectors. Honus wagner files at the national baseball hall of fame and museum in cooperstown, new york. One day when cleaning up his next store neighbors basement joe found a honus wagner card, the most valuable card in the world. To his surprise, this card works like a time machine, taking him back to wagners era and. The flying dutchman, pittsburgs finest, honus wagner.
Stay away from any high value card which has back damages. This book centers obviously on the baseball life of honus wagner with bit parts to his personal life including business, marriage, and all other personal things that occur in life. The honus wagner baseball card, one of the most valuable in existence today, was recalled in 1909. The pittsburgh pirates shortstop was a sensational hitter, a brilliant baserunner and a flawless fielder. The t206 honus wagner card has long been the most famous baseball card in existence.
It is at once a history of baseball card collecting, a history of the groundbreaking t206 set, and not immaterially a history of the great honus wagner himself. Honus wagner majority of them have sweet caporal 150 series factory 25 backing and a few of them are in factory 30 backing. The t206 gretzky honus wagner is the most famous baseball card in the world. When baseball nut joe stoshack, 12, finds a mint condition honus wagner baseball card, he discovers that it is more than the worlds most valuable card. While todays collectors may frown at a huge production run, the makers of cracker jack bragged on the back of the cards in series 1 that tenmillioncards were printed. Honus wagner was born on tuesday, february 24, 1874, in chartiers, pennsylvania. His rare 1909 baseball cardknown to collectors as the holy grail of american memorabiliafetched nearly half a million dollars at auction in 1991. Honus wagner is considered by many to be baseballs greatest allaround player. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. But he was born poor, ugly, bowlegged, and more suited to shoveling coal in his pennsylvania mining town than becoming the greatest shortstop of all time. At the time, the cards were distributed along with tobacco. Honus wagner autographed baseball cards for sale ebay. In the book, joe is cleaning out amandas attic and finds this baseball card of honus wagner.
Top honus wagner baseball cards, vintage, rookies, gallery. Honus wagner is generally acknowledged as the finest shortstop in baseball history. Buy from many sellers and get your cards all in one shipment. That very card was once owned by hockey great wayne gretzky. There are only two examples have piedmont 150 series factory 25 advertisment. The t206 honus wagner baseball card depicts the pittsburgh pirates honus wagner, a deadball era baseball player who is widely considered to be one of the best players of all time. Honus and me baseball card adventure series by dan gutman. In the whole scheme of things, however, the legacy of the great honus wagner stands on its own merit. The statistics used were obtained free of charge from the baseball databank. Worlds rarest honus wagner baseball card surfaces, and its. Honus wagner played 21 seasons, primarily with his hometown team the pittsburgh pirates, and was the total package. Few collectibles possess the kind of mystique that this card carries. It was rejected by many publishers before harpercollins finally accepted.
Because wagner is pictured with the louisville colonels, the widespread belief has been that it is from 1897 to 1899 when wagner was a member of the team. Regarded by many of his contemporaries as the greatest baseball player of all time, john peter honus wagner enjoyed a remarkable career with the pittsburgh pirates. Worlds rarest honus wagner baseball card surfaces, and it. But hes about to find out that its worth a lot more than money. With more than 2 million books sold, the baseball card adventures bring the. Belonging to the brother of sister virginia muller, he left all his possessions to the baltimorebased school sisters of notre dame convent. From mere speculation, the accusations of alteration have risen all the way to federal indictments. Thoroughly researched and illustrated with blackandwhite period photographs of wagner, this.
A sportsthemed restaurant smack in the middle of times square. Defensive regression analysis data used here was obtained with permission from michael humphreys, author of wizardry. Collectors, con men, and the true story of history. But the book also reveals much of wagners family and personal lifehis minor league career, his values. But if youre not too familiar with it, here are some fast facts about it.