10. Stunning 1889 N173 Old Judge Cabinets Harry Wright (HOF) - SGC EX 5 Spectacular Old Judge cabinet photo of baseball pioneer Harry Wright, one of just four graded examples (all by SGC), with only one NM example graded higher.
A highly desirable subject among advanced collectors, Wright was a player and manager, as well as a member of the game’s first professional team (the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings). The son of a professional cricket player, Wright emigrated to the United States in 1837 and at 22 became a member of the National Association of Base Ball Players, joining the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club. Wright was dubbed the “father of professional base ball playing” by Henry Chadwick, his 1869 team achieving a perfect 57-0 won-loss record. All told, he would win 1,225 games as manager, capturing a total of six pennants in two different leagues. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1953. The card itself is tremendous, the image bold and with strong contrast, a tiny bit of fading evident near the top of the photo. The detail is superb, however, the individual hairs in Wright’s beard discernible, as is the glass in his spectacles. The mount has retained most of its original peach color, the gold printing of the Old Judge brand in the lower border rich and clear. The reverse is largely clean save for some minor soiling and a few spots of foxing, along with a small ding in the upper-right corner. Simply a tremendous card, an extremely difficult Hall of Famer, one of the founding fathers of the game. MINIMUM BID: $1,000
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