The 1907 Hutchinson (Kansas) Salt Packers were a low-level minor league team toiling in the Western Association. Just four ballplayers from this team would go on to taste major league action - pitcher Raleigh Atchison pitched in 34 games across three seasons with the Dodgers outfielder Ned Pettigrew played in two games with the Buffalo Buffeds of the 1914 Federal League and pitcher George Zackert pitched in five games with the Cardinals in 1911 and 12. The fourth player however was Smoky Joe Wood one of the most popular hurlers of his era owner of a 11-year Major League career that saw him win 34 games in 1912 and then after an arm injury ended his pitching career saw him drive in 66 runs in 1917 his first year as an outfielder. Wood remains one of the most popular non-HOFers among collectors today his memorabilia highly desirable. This early postcard is particularly scarce a "pre-rookie" card of Wood. With no postal use the card exhibits strong eye appeal though surface staining and overall wear reduce the card's technical grade. The technical grade likely in the GOOD range is not an accurate assessment of the card's considerable eye appeal however as this is a more visually appealing example of this card than a higher-grade example that we offered in our Summer 2015 sale. This example boasts square corners and strong edges along with a crisp image. A very difficult card.