(LOT 189)
1909-11 T206 Christy Mathewson Dark Cap – Sweet Caporal 350-460/25 PSA 7 NM
NM "BIG SIX" T206!!!... This magnificent PSA 7 NM T206 Mathewson "Dark Cap" gem has been joined by only a single other Sweet Caporal 350-460 Subjects/Factory 25 example at this hallowed plateau with a mere two specimens with the exact same ad back graded higher! By 1910, Mathewson's had established himself as baseball's greatest pitcher, with the handsome right-hander having already claimed an astonishing four 30+ win seasons and seven-consecutive years of posting 20+ victories. The 1910 campaign, the year this particular card was actually issued, would see Matty post another 27 wins and 184 strikeouts, with these AL leading figures joined by a microscopic 1.84 ERA. The Big Six would ultimately tally an amazing 373 lifetime victories and 2.13 lifetime ERA (baseball's fourth lowest all-time mark), and synonymous with Babe Ruth's legendary stature, had established himself as the true hero for thousands of aspiring young ballplayers during the dead-ball era. His three shutouts in the 1905 World Series against Connie Mack's mighty Athletics stands as an unbreakable record, and it came as little surprise when the baseball writers selected him as one of the five 1936 Hall of Fame charter members.

After being shut down by the Christian Gentleman in the 1905 Fall Classic, Connie Mack eloquently stated: "Christy Mathewson is the greatest pitcher I've ever seen. It was a pleasure to watch him pitch when he wasn't pitching against you". Likewise, this grand PSA 7 offering reveals record-breaking aesthetics, starting with an extremely robust "hands at chest" Carl Horner image that arguably resides as the most iconic pose of the immortal right-hander twirler. Standing tall with hands at chest, Matty surely looks as though he is the lord of all dead-ball era right-handed twirlers, and his crystal-clear pose and flawless rich blue setting is extremely well-centered between four white borders (with only the slightest hint of partiality towards the left edge). Right-angled corners depicting minimal wear, super clean surfaces, and a bold red Sweet Caporal 350-460 Subjects ad back complete this truly sensational offering that tantamount with Mathewson's superior pitching prowess, suffices as one of the finest Mathewson "Dark Cap" examples extant!

MIN BID $4,000
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