Sam Chapman was an All-American football player for the University of California, where he also made All-American in baseball.  He was taken by the Washington Redskins in the third round of the 1938 NFL draft, but elected to play baseball, making his debut with the Philadelphia Athletics shortly after graduation.  Chapman starred for four seasons, his best in 1941 when he hit .322 with 25 home runs and 106 RBI at just 25 years old.  He missed the 1942, 1943, 1944 and most of the 1945 seasons due to World War II, when he served as a pilot and flight instructor.  Like many other players, he never quite returned to his former self after he returned, though he did have a lengthy career.  The card originates from the Shibe Park collection of autographed cards, an original owner collection carefully collected by a teenage boy who, in 1939 and 1940, obtained many autographs from players arriving at the train station near Shibe Park, and continued for many years to obtain signatures in person and through the mail.