There are 25 subjects with 3 or more cards in the T206 set. Of those
25, 13 are Hall of Famers. Of the remaining 12, six (including Schlei,
the subject of this example) were New York Giants. One of his poses
depicts him batting, one is a portrait, and this final variation shows
the catcher with a glove on ready to accept a throw from a teammate.
Sharp
corners and borders strongly frame the colorful image on this offering.
The centering is just slightly west on the canvas which features a
bold, gorgeous back with only minimal tobacco staining. A small surface
abrasion near Schlei's right shin and a tiny bit of color loss at the
left edge level with his cap are the only things keeping this specimen
from grading even higher than it did. SGC has
only ever graded 133 total examples of this Piedmont 150 back version of
the
Schlei, with
only 9 receiving a
higher grade than the EX 5 offered here.
George Henry "Admiral" Schlei played in 148 games for New York from
1909-1911. While he wasn't an imposing batter (he only hit .230 in 379
at bats for the Giants), his patience at the plate earned him 54 walks
and 4 HBP, raising his on-base percentage over 100 points.