(LOT 9)
1908-09 Rose Company Postcard Christy Mathewson – Extremely Rare "No Team" Variation PSA 3 VG – The SOLE "No Team" Mathewson Listed on the PSA Pop Chart!
MATTY RARITY!!!... This highly coveted PSA 3 VG 1908-09 Rose Company postcard of the immortal right-handed twirler Christy Mathewson resides as one of Matty's scarcest pre-1910 cardboard issues. It's near-impossible to find "no team" variation places it as the SOLE example on the PSA Pop Chart, with SGC listing only a single Mathewson "no team" specimen! In 1908 and 1909, the Rose Company produced a set of postcards considered to be one of the most ornate cardboard relics extant. The Rose Co. aggressively advertised in 1908 trade newspapers, announcing they would be offering 12 different players for each of the 16 MLB teams (originally 192 subjects). Later updates included eight additional MLB players as well as a 14-card set featuring players from the New York State League's Scranton Miners, updating the total known subjects to 214.

Issued during the 1908 campaign, this season would ultimately be the finest of Mathewson's iconic career, with Matty winning the NL pitching Triple Crown via his incomparable 37 wins, microscopic 1.43 ERA, and 259 strikeouts! Unfortunately for Big Six and Giants, September 1908 would lead to the iconic "Merkle Boner" that cost the Giants the 1908 pennant. In the bottom of the ninth of a tightly contested 1-1 September 23, 1908 game started by Mathewson against the Cubs, Merkle failed to step on second base after what should have been a game-winning two-out hit by Giants shortstop Al Bridwell (with Moose McCormick scoring what should have been the decisive run). The ever-alert Johnny Evers found the baseball, touched second base, and Merkle was called out, discounting the game-winning run and depriving Matty of his 38th win. The tie game was replayed a week later, and Chicago's ace hurler Mordecai Brown out-dueled the immortal Christy, with the Cubbies eventually claiming the 1908 pennant by a single game.

Of momentous importance is the classic black and white Matty portrait pose originally struck by renowned photographer Benjamin Falk, an image also utilized on Mathewson's 1903-04 W600 Sporting Life Cabinets, 1910 E103 Williams Caramel and 1911 M116 Sporting Life subjects. Presenting itself in fine VG-EX fashion, only some negligible even corner wear, and scattered toning on the unmarked postcard back prevent a higher assessment. Most significantly, the breathtaking Christy portrait image, elaborate gold embossed oval/bat designs and tranquil green setting boast a majority of their original eye-pleasing qualities. One of the Christian Gentleman's most sought-after early 1900s cards, it was issued during the decade when Mathewson would dominate opposing batsmen, arguably better than any pitcher who ever toed an MLB rubber.

Big Six would end his remarkable career with 373 lifetime victories and a 2.13 lifetime ERA (baseball's fourth lowest all-time mark), and tantamount to Babe Ruth's legendary stature, he established himself as the true hero for thousands of aspiring young ballplayers during the Deadball Era. His three shutouts in the 1905 World Series against Connie Mack's mighty Athletics stand as an unbreakable record, and it came as little surprise when the baseball writers selected him as one of the five 1936 HOF charter members. After being shut down by the Christian Gentleman in the 1905 Fall Classic via an unfathomable three complete game shutout wins, Athletics' HOF manager 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"; a resounding testament to one of our National Pastime's greatest all-time hurlers!

MIN BID $4,000
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