As a manager Bucky Harris was a Hall of Famer. As a player he was a hard-nosed infielder with a .274 lifetime batting average. It was deception however that may have gotten him to the big leagues. In 1917 Harris had played 15 games with Norfolk of the Virginia League when his team disbanded due to so many teammates enlisting in World War I. Harris searched for another team for which to play but was unsuccessful. He returned to his hometown of Pittston Pennsylvania and played local ball to stay in shape. Meanwhile the Reading Pretzels of the New York State League were in need of a second baseman. Manager Hooks Wiltse had heard of a decent infielder from Pittstone named Merle Harris the older brother of Bucky. He sent a telegram to the elder Harris inviting him to Reading to join the team. The telegram was intercepted by the younger brother who reported to Reading and latched on with the team. There are several versions of the story but all conclude the same way: Harris remained with the team for the remainder of the season and by late in the 1919 season was playing with the Washington Senators the beginning of a 12-year playing career. Brother Merle had a five-year minor league career between 1912 and 1916. By 1924 he was playing with a local Pittston team and on September 12 of that year Bucky brought the Senators to Pittston for an exhibition game against the team. On that date this photo was taken (it is featured in Jack Smiles' Harris biography Bucky Harris: A Biography of Baseball's Boy Wonder). This real photo postcard has been graded POOR 10 by SGC though the wear on the postcard front is hardly the culprit. Pencil notations adorn the reverse describing the subjects on the front. A John Rogers Archive decal unfortunately (for various reasons) is affixed to the reverse. Regardless of the unfortunate sticker it is an exceptional postcard.