Gilbert "Colonel" Hatfield followed pro baseball all around the country until age 44, finishing a remarkable career as player/manager in New London, CT, in 1899. Contemporary sources say Gill inherited a significant sum from his family around age 40, so it's possible this extended time in baseball reflected a love of the game with an expectation that he'd be financially secure in his later years.

This PSA GOOD 2 example shows decent image clarity, an angled bottom edge, and predictable corner wear from occasional handling since its original release. It will be tough (if not impossible) to improve on, since the population report shows three total examples, and this is its highest known!

This card has the distinction of appearing as #217-4's reference image on page 262 of the Old Judge photography book by Miller, Gonsowski, and Masson. Love of the Game is proud to offer several cards seen in their outstanding work of research and presentation as part of our 100+ N172 listings in this auction.