Lot # 25: Rare 1911 Western Playground Association Roy Castleton - SGC GOOD 2

Category: Featured Items

Starting Bid: $500.00

Bids: 58 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Spring, 2024 Premier Auction",
which ran from 3/11/2024 12:00 AM to
3/30/2024 9:00 PM



Another incredibly rare card from the 1911 Western Playground issue, a set of baseball cards featuring members of the Pacific Coast League, with membership certificates to the "Western Playground Association." The cards were a promotion run by the Mysell-Rollins Company, one of the leading printers in San Francisco, whereby youngsters were encouraged to present their certificates to teachers, who could redeem the cards for "School Apparatus or Playground Supplies."

 This, also, most likely explains why cards from this incredibly unique set are so hard to find today. Only 86 total examples from the 40-card set have ever been graded by SGC. The Roy Castleton card has only been graded twice, with this offering receiving a grade of SGC GOOD 2. Condition is secondary when it comes to an offering this scarce, but rounded corners and snow are the main contributing factors to the grade here.

Several of the cards in the Western Playground set are labeled as "P.S. League," including this example featuring Roy Castleton. This is believed to be in error, since all players in the set belonged to the Pacific Coast (P.C.) League. While Castleton is shown batting left-handed on this card, he was actually a left-handed pitcher who batted right-handed during his career. Castleton appeared in 11 games over 3 seasons in the Major Leagues, but spent 8 seasons in the minors, with 1911 being the best year of his career. He went 22-13 with a 1.177 WHIP in 327 innings pitched for the Class A Vernon Tigers of the Pacific Coast League.


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