(LOT 35)
"Fresh to the Hobby" & Extremely Rare Jim Thorpe 1913 E270 Colgan's Chips Tin Top - PSA 1 Poor – Thorpe's True Rookie Card - The Only PSA Example w/Only One Documented SGC Specimen!
This remarkable "PSA 1" 1913 Colgan's Chips E270 Tin Top Jim Thorpe marvel resides as one of the most exalted hobby collectibles in existence. One of two know graded examples, it proudly stands tall as the sole PSA encapsulated copy with the SGC census report likewise listing only a single specimen! Not since 2007 has a Colgan Chip Jim Thorpe surfaced, when the SGC copy sold in a public auction as part of the renowned Skydash collection. Fresh to the hobby, this PSA 1 offering is part of a miraculous find from a family that kept their cardboard collectibles behind closed doors for roughly 113 years. Similar to the family's 1909 Joe Jackson rookie also in our auction, its origin can be traced back to our consignor's loving grandfather Abe Bullington who purchased the Thorpe disk in 1913 as a passionate 16-year-old baseball fan. A resident of LaHabra, CA., young Abe zealously collected both tobacco and candy cards, ultimately choosing to work at a "Boys & Girl's" club in Orange County, where he coached aspiring young baseball players.

Passed on to his granddaughter who clearly understood the cherished memories of her grandfather's baseball cards, it anxiously awaits a new home in any serious vintage card compilation. Of utmost significance, it irrefutably resides as Jim Thorpe's inaugural professional baseball card, easily preceding his 1916 M101-5 and 1922 Zeenuts issues. The lineage of the Colgan Chips' cardboard disks can be traced back to 1909, when the Colgan Gum Company of Louisville, Kentucky began placing MLB player cardboard disks (designated as E254) within their small round canisters that included their Colgan's gum product. For three consecutive years, these same disks were inserted in gum canisters until a minor change was made to the disk style in 1912, whereby a red border was placed around the circumference outer edge. Additional changes included subtle revisions to the verso's advertisement as well as the obverse side player and team names now appearing in vertical fashion alongside the player's image (as opposed to a horizontal text). In 1913, a new 1-7/16" Colgan Chip round disk was designed called Tin Tops which eliminated the red border.

Dubbed as E270's, the critical change was seen on the verso whereby the redemption process for a "Pennant Winning Team Photo" now required a 2 cents stamp along with the tin tops in return for the photograph (the previous year's redemption process did not necessitate a 2 cents stamp). It is critical to note that Thorpe only appeared on the 1913 Colgan Chip checklist since he wasn't an official MLB rostered N.Y. Giants player until April 1913. One of the premier all-time athletes, the Associated Press (AP) named Jim Thorpe the world's greatest athlete in 1950, and in 1999, the AP placed him third in their updated 20th century vote. In the 1912 Olympics, Thorpe won gold medals for both the Pentathlon and Decathlon events, was a collegiate All-American football player in 1911/'12, and played both professional baseball and football. There are only a handful of Thorpe cards available for cardboard enthusiasts to collect, and as previously stated, this unfathomable Colgan Chip offering pre-dates both Thorpe's revered 1916 M101-5 and 1922 Zeenuts subjects. Thorpe's MLB career commenced in 1913 when the fleet footed outfielder tallied only 35 official at-bats with John McGraw's N.Y. Giants, ironically prompting the Colgan's Chips Company to include a disk carrying his revered image within their 1913 checklist.

Unique to the PSA "Pop" Chart, the sheer paucity level of this absolutely extraordinary offering cannot be overemphasized, for until this year, it has been safely tucked away for some 109 years. Stray creases, modest soiling to the sepia-toned image and paper loss on the verso justify the PSA 1 assessment. However, one can clearly see that the iconic Jim Thorpe portrait pose has still retained a majority of its original hues, emanating fine visual appeal. The "THORPE" and "NEW YORK Nat'l" captions are completely intact, with the flipside revealing the aforementioned paper loss. The factory issued circular perimeter is intact, and the "2 Cent STAMP" reverse side verbiage that distinguishes this particular Colgan's Chip as a definitive 1913 issue has remained unscathed. The iconic Jim Thorpe will forever hold an esteemed place within our National Pastime's storied past, substantiating why this near-impossible to find 1913 Colgan's Chip rookie card suffices as one of the hobby's most significant cardboard treasures, standing as a bona-fide testament for Thorpe's unparalleled athleticism!
MIN BID $2,500
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