From Collins-McCarthy, the company which offered the long run of Zeenuts cards, this 1917 set now known as E135 offered 200 new subjects. While the company had been known for producing cards featuring players of the Pacific Coast League, the E135 set switched their focus to the National and American Leagues. Produced at a time when few sets were being issued, it gave collectors and baseball fans on the West Coast a look at players they had only read about in the newspapers or  in the annual Spading guides. While this set shares many photos with the later E121 set and the much-later E126 issue (both from American Caramel), this E135 set came first.

Cincinnati's "Greasy" Neale is the subject of this example, which is centered very nicely on the canvas. A slightly compromised right edge, along with a crease in the bottom right and top right corner keep this one from grading even higher than it already has. While there are some faint surface abrasions and light soiling, Neale's fantastic pose and the card's great contrast give it tremendous eye appeal.

Neale batted .357 in the 1919 World Series for the victorious Reds who defeated the Black Sox, but he is more well known for his connection to football than baseball. In addition to baseball, Neale also played professional football between 1917 and 1919. He served as head football coach with a number of different colleges both during and after his baseball career, compiling a career record of 82-54-11. In 1941, Neale began to coach the Philadelphia Eagles, where he remained until 1950, winning NFL Championships in 1948 and 1949. Neale was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969.

SGC has only ever graded 11 total examples of this 1917 E135, with only five receiving a higher grade than the Good+ 2.5 offered here (though none higher than VG 3) of Football Hall of Famer A.E. "Greasy" Neale.