The first series of cards in the T206 set were issued beginning in 1909 in cigarette and loose tobacco packs through 16 different brands owned by the American Tobacco Company. It is a landmark set in the history of baseball card collecting due to its size and rarity, with cards of over 500 major and minor-league players issued in the set through 1911. It is known informally as the "White Border" set due to the distinctive white borders surrounding the quality color lithographs on each card.

Montgomery's Jimmy Hart reaches down to field a ball in front of an orange sky and green grass background. Centering is far south on the canvas, unfortunately cutting off the bottom half of the text under the image, explaining the (MC) qualifier in the grade. The colors are bold and brilliant, though, retaining tremendous eye appeal despite the cutting error. The Old Mill (SL) back has some general toning, with light soiling through the center which does not affect the front, but does probably keep the card from grading even higher than it already has.

Among the more popular subsets in the T206 issue, Southern League (SL) cards are lauded for their scarcity. The cards of 48 players from the Southern Association, the South Atlantic League, the Texas League, and the Virginia State League were printed in total. These cards were printed separately from the rest of the T206 cards, resulting in a shorter supply than other T206s, and creating a high demand among collectors.