(LOT 124)
"Fresh to the Hobby" c.1910s Tris Speaker PSA Type I Encapsulated Underwood & Underwood Photo - Measures Approx. 6-1/2" x 8-1/2"
This ultra-rare c.1910's Tris Speaker PSA Type 1 image stands as one of the "Gray Eagle's" his most obscure collectibles you will ever come across. Simply stated, original photos of Speaker from his early playing days with Boston are very few and far between, with this "fresh to the hobby" find portraying this outstanding Cooperstown Inductee completing a throw with his powerful left arm. Along with Mays and DiMaggio, experts consider Tris Speaker to be one of the top three centerfielders to ever play the game.

His illustrious career commenced with Boston in 1907, and while he played sparingly for the Red Sox in 1907 and 1908, Speaker's breakout season came in 1909 when he accumulated over 600 plate appearances and a stellar .309 batting average. The rest of the story is history for the highly skilled Speaker finished his incredible 22-year career with an amazing 3,514 safeties to the tune of a .345 lifetime batting average that suffices as the 6th finest figure in baseball history. Speaker's 792 lifetime doubles stand as the highest all-time figure and after being traded to the Cleveland Indians before the 1916 campaign, he claimed his only batting title in 1916 via a sensational .386 mark that just happened to end Ty Cobb's nine-year consecutive batting title streak.

Nearly as impressive as his magnificent batting skills was the fleet footed Speaker's remarkable defensive prowess that enabled him to play an extremely shallow centerfield. This ultimately led to Speaker accumulating the most outfield assists in baseball history, with his 449-record setting figure besting the second place Cobb by an overwhelming 57 margin (including a single-season record of 35 assists in his first full 1909 season). That said, this amazing Speaker throwing image is a perfect testament to his "cannon-like" left arm that ultimately led to his uncanny outfield assists. Donning his classic Boston pinstripes, the 6-1/2" x 8-1/2" photo reveals awe-inspiring aesthetics including fine resolution and near-perfect contrast.

A few scattered faint scratches/wrinkles do not impede the critical central image, and the verso includes the renowned Underwood & Underwood credit stamp as well as a 'Tris Speaker – Boston Red Sox" pencil notation. We cannot imagine a more fitting heirloom for the "Gray Eagle's" immortal legacy than this super scarce Type 1 photo that transcends time to an era when Speaker graced centerfield as good if not better than any of our National Pastime's greatest players!

MIN BID $300
___