King Kelly was baseball royalty, at least in the N172 set issued by
Goodwin & Company. Kelly had a whopping eleven poses in the set,
highlighting the various facets of his game. This pose is designated as
254-5 by Miller, Gonsowski & Masson in their seminal Goodwin &
Company guide. Chicago sold Kelly for $10,000 in February of 1887, and he is pictured in his new Boston uniform in this image. SGC Authentic in grade due to a trimmed upper edge, the image itself is light, but intact. Slightly off-centered, the front image shows Kelly's use of the popular batting grip of the day, choked up high on the bat to allow for greater control at the plate. The blank reverse is incredibly clean, save for a small tear starting to form toward the lower right which does not seem visible on the front. A
card with Hall-of-Fame pedigree and a career that's passed into lore.