(LOT 3)
1903-04 W600 Sporting Life Cabinet Type 3 Mount Charles Bender Street Clothes Rookie SGC 2 GOOD – One of Only Two SGC 1903-04 Street Clothes Examples!
THE CHIEF'S ROOKIE!!! One of the highly coveted rookie cards of the legendary HOF twirler Charles "Chief" Bender is his 1903 W600 Sporting Life Street Clothes Cabinet reflecting a Type 3 mount. First issued on July 4, 1903 and portraying Bender in formal attire, it shares the spotlight as Bender's inaugural card with his likewise renowned 1903 E107 Breisch Williams subject. The prestigious turn-of-the-century W600 Sporting Life Cabinet Prototypes were issued from 1902 through 1911 by the Sporting Life weekly newspaper, measuring approximately 5" x 7-1/2". These spectacular premiums were originally issued in transparent/glassine envelopes for three 2-cent stamps and a coupon from the Sporting Life periodical.

Eventually, the redemption methodology was revised to simply requesting a particular player for 10 cents apiece or 12 for a dollar. The earliest released cabinets depicted players with Carl Horner's renowned portrait images in formal attire, with later issued subjects portrayed in their uniforms. As a point of reference, W600 Sporting Life cabinets were released in Type 1, 2, 3, and 4 Mount formats, with the four different types distinguished by their different lower border designs. The 1903 Type 3 mount designation is validated by the absence of the "COMPLIMENTS OF" text directly above the crossed bats, with 1902 Type 2 mounts including this obscure caption. Its utmost rarity is substantiated by the SGC census report only listing a single other Type 3 Bender Street Clothes rookie! The classic Carl Horner portrait pose is brilliant to say the least, emanating superior contrast and resolution.

Stray soiling and/or foxing, some light surface scratches, and a diminutive area of line drawings on the verso account for the assessment. The great Charles Albert Bender ably assisted Connie Mack's A's in capturing three world championships in a four-year period (1910-1913). The Chief ultimately won 212 games to the tune of a sparkling 2.46 lifetime ERA, while claiming six Fall Classic victories in his spectacular 16-year career. It's a rare occurrence that the most sophisticated rookie card collectors are afforded an opportunity to capture one of Bender's true inaugural cards, and considering the SGC Pop Chart only lists a single other Bender Type 3 rookie card mount, we highly advise you to capture this extremely elusive world-class offering!

MIN BID $2,000
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