26. 1887 Keith Bros. Cabinet Lincoln Team W/Jake Beckley (HOF) – SGC AUTHENTIC
Exceptional composite cabinet photo featuring the 1887 Lincoln Tree Planters of the Western League. The team featured many future and former major leaguers, most notably 19-year-old Jake Beckley, the future Hall of Famer in his second professional season. Beckley would swat 10 home runs and bat .422 in 391 at bats in Lincoln, beginning a Hall of Fame career that included 20 seasons of major league play, and a lifetime .300 average.
The cabinet is the only example of its kind we have encountered and is quite likely the only surviving example. Produced by the Keith Brothers studio in Lincoln, the appearance is very strong, with some minor soiling here and there, and corner and edge wear consistent with its age. The blank back is largely clean, with a few minor spots of foxing here and there. Despite the fact that it is a standard-size cabinet, SGC has elected to grade the piece “Authentic,” telling us that it is, indeed, a cabinet, but electing not to comment on its condition. There was once a day that SGC, as a grading company, would grade cabinets like this; those days appear long gone. We would call it G-VG due largely to the corner wear. Beckley is not the only player with major league experience pictured on the card. Other players include J.W. Seibel, Joe “Cyclone” Miller (2 major league seasons), Bill Hart (8 major league seasons), Park Swartzel (1 major league season), James Brown (2 major league seasons and countless amazing funk songs), Fred Lange, Charlie Hall (1 major league season), Charlie Hoover (2 major league seasons), Joseph Herr (3 major league seasons), Ed Toohey, Dave Rowe (7 major league seasons), Tom Dolan (7 major league seasons), and Orator Shafer (13 major league seasons). The key here is Beckley, however, pictured as just a youngster, at the start of a legendary career.
MINIMUM BID: $4,000
27. 1887 N690 Kalamazoo Bats Harry Stovey (Hands on Hips) – SGC VG-EX 4
This 1887 N690 Kalamazoo Bats card features Harry Stovey in the “hands on hips” pose, labeled on the card using his alternate surname of “Stowe.” Born Harold Duffield Stow, he used the name “Stovey” to conceal his identity from his mother, who would have otherwise read accounts of “Stow” playing in baseball games. The CdV-sized photographic image came mounted on heavy cardboard and presents the slugger Stovey standing against a plain, soft-focus background. Many consider Stovey the very best player not yet selected for the Hall of Fame, perennially discussed as a possibility for the Classic Baseball Era Committee, which meets next in December of 2027 to review candidates for 2028 election. This SGC VG-EX 4 grade reflects moderate technical wear along its periphery that mostly missed its impressive main image. Small areas of foxing, light on the front and more visible on the reverse, are visible enough to reduce its technical score but not its eye appeal. The retains strong visual impact, thanks to Stovey’s gunfighter- like resolve and detailed photo of his A’s uniform. The SGC population report contains just two encapsulated examples, and this one is easily the higher of the two. This tough find will please any collector seeking standout 19th-century cards, distinctive player images, or sluggers from the past. A truly rare card of a potential Hall of Famer.
MINIMUM BID: $2,500
SPRING 2026 PREMIER AUCTION − CLOSES APRIL 11, 2026 27
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