(LOT 1561)
c.1914-15 Ty Cobb - Type 1 Charles M. Conlon PSA Encapsulated Original Photograph PSA/DNA LOA
In the early 1900s, there were two professionals at the top of their game and arguably two of the greatest in their respective fields, ballplayer Ty Cobb and sports photographer Charles Conlon. During his tenure with the Detroit Tigers (22 years), Ty Cobb led the American League in batting an astonishing 12 times including nine straight seasons, posted an untouchable .419 average in 1911 and retired with a historic MLB high of .366 over 24 years in the big leagues. His 4,191 career hits stood as the mark for more than 57 years when Pete Rose surpassed him in 1985.

To this day, nearly a century after he retired, The Georgia Peach is considered among the top five hitters in history. On the other hand, Charles Conlon revolutionized the role of a photographer in sports, especially baseball. Photographs in the 1900s & 1910s were more often portrait images and posed shots taken off the field, but Conlon inserted himself into the action on the sidelines, allowing for much more in-action and candid images of ballplayers. It wasn't too out of the realm of possibility that Conlon would need to dodge a bullet up the line or avoid getting tangled up with a layer fielding in foul territory. Standing along the third base line in 1909, chatting with Jimmy Austin, Ty Cobb, standing on second took off for third as Conlon looked on as Austin was "greeted by a storm of dirt, spikes, shoes, uniforms … and Ty Cobb. When Cobb stole, he stole."

Presented here is another brilliant Charles Conlon capture, slightly less turbulent, of the great Ty Cobb, resolute and ready for action. Caught standing outside what appears to be the dugout on the side of the field, Conlon's office, the wily veteran watches intently as players warm. The collar on the uniform indicates that the image was shot in 1914 or 1915, with the swoosh of the serif on the "D" on his left check narrowing the time. This 6-1/2" x 8-1/2" Charles Conlon photograph had been deemed and holdered an original Type 1 by PSA. The borders remain strong with even corner touches and wear and a light crease at bottom left. The reverse displays "Ty Cobb – Detroit" in Conlon's own hand with other pencil notations. This relatively subdued photograph of arguably the greatest hitter of his generation taken by the greatest photographer of all-time certainly deserves a place in the most elite of photograph collection and possibly the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

MIN BID $1,500
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