The Ewing family contributed a great deal to baseball's foundational era, and pitcher "Long John" experienced its full range of success, losing 30 games for Louisville in 1889 before winning 21 (and an NL ERA title) for New York just two seasons later. This pose captures John at full windup, one of six different ways Old Judge covered his four major league years with three different franchises. He passed too soon at the age of 31, cutting short aspirations for a longer, successful Giants career.

Every Old Judge card proves a treasure today, given their ability to survive a century-plus of drawers and albums as they moved through generations of collections. This SGC VG 3 grade reflects its modest corner wear, lower contrast along its top front, and small surface spotting. 19th century cards with clear images remain tough to find in any condition, and its population report includes just two examples, with this being SGC's highest!