Produced in 1910-11 by the American Tobacco Company, the Turkey Red cabinet cards were redeemable by mailing in coupons found in packs of Turkey Red, Fez and Old Mill brand cigarettes. The large-format cards were produced on heavy stock, measuring 5 ¾” x 8” and feature beautiful, colorful lithographic printings featuring one of 126 different subjects (including 25 boxers, which are catalogued as T9 cards, but are actually part of the same set).  

Cards are found with checklists on the reverse, or in the case of card numbers 77-126, with a Turkey Red advertisement. Due to their size, the cards are often found with pinholes and back damage from mounting in scrapbooks or hanging on walls, and are seldom found in higher grades. Difficult to find in quantity, they are considered to be among the most beautiful and desirable of all the baseball tobacco issues.

One of the most popular Hall of Famers of his era, Cubs first baseman Frank Chance compiled a .296 batting average across 15 seasons with Chicago and two abbreviated ones with the Yankees, most of which were simultaneously spent as team manager. Chance navigated the Cubs to four pennants and two World Series championships, and was at the helm for the Cubs' last World Series in 1908 before they broke the curse in 2016.

Represented here on one of the most stunning Turkey Reds you will ever see, this card has achieved a high level of popularity among collectors due to its horizontal orientation. One of the few horizontal "action" images in the set, Chance is portrayed mid-swing with a catcher behind him awaiting the pitch.

SGC has only ever graded 34 total examples of this T3 Turkey Red with a checklist back displaying the mail in offer, with only seven receiving a higher grade than the VG-EX+ 4.5 offered here of Hall of Famer Frank Chance.