The Card
Teri Thompson
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The “lively and well researched” of the 1909 T206 Honus Wagner baseball card, the most sought-after collectible in the world (Sportsillustrated.com).
“The Card is a compelling tale . . . illustrating the obsessive nature of collectors while sprinkling in the history of players who spawned the obsession.” —Newsday (New York)
Only a few dozen T206 Wagners are known to still exist, having been released in limited numbers just after the turn of the twentieth century. Most, with their creases and stains, look like they’ve been around for nearly one hundred years. But one—The Card—appears to have defied the travails of time. Its sharp corners and still-crisp portrait make it the single-most famous—and most desired—baseball card on the planet, valued today at more than two million dollars. It has transformed a simple hobby into a billion-dollar industry that is at times as lawless as the Wild West. Everything about The Card, which has made men wealthy as well as poisoned lifelong relationships, is fraught with controversy—from its uncertain origins to the nagging possibility that it might not be exactly as it seems.
In this intriguing, eye-opening, and groundbreaking look at a uniquely American obsession, award-winning investigative reporters Michael O’Keeffe and Teri Thompson follow The Card’s trail from a Florida flea market to the hands of the world’s most prominent collectors. The Card sheds a fascinating new light on a world of counterfeiters, con men, and the people who profit from what used to be a pastime for kids.
“The story of how Honus Wagner, once called “the greatest player ever,” is now remembered for little more than being the face on the most valuable card in sports collecting history is a fascinating tale, one told here in riveting detail.” —Bert Randolph Sugar, author of The Sport Collector’s Bible and The Baseball Maniac’s Almanac
“The Card is a compelling tale . . . illustrating the obsessive nature of collectors while sprinkling in the history of players who spawned the obsession.” —Newsday (New York)
Only a few dozen T206 Wagners are known to still exist, having been released in limited numbers just after the turn of the twentieth century. Most, with their creases and stains, look like they’ve been around for nearly one hundred years. But one—The Card—appears to have defied the travails of time. Its sharp corners and still-crisp portrait make it the single-most famous—and most desired—baseball card on the planet, valued today at more than two million dollars. It has transformed a simple hobby into a billion-dollar industry that is at times as lawless as the Wild West. Everything about The Card, which has made men wealthy as well as poisoned lifelong relationships, is fraught with controversy—from its uncertain origins to the nagging possibility that it might not be exactly as it seems.
In this intriguing, eye-opening, and groundbreaking look at a uniquely American obsession, award-winning investigative reporters Michael O’Keeffe and Teri Thompson follow The Card’s trail from a Florida flea market to the hands of the world’s most prominent collectors. The Card sheds a fascinating new light on a world of counterfeiters, con men, and the people who profit from what used to be a pastime for kids.
“The story of how Honus Wagner, once called “the greatest player ever,” is now remembered for little more than being the face on the most valuable card in sports collecting history is a fascinating tale, one told here in riveting detail.” —Bert Randolph Sugar, author of The Sport Collector’s Bible and The Baseball Maniac’s Almanac
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