Presenting a fine looking W600 Cabinet of a very young looking John McGraw, appearing nothing like the more prevalent images from his later days.  While more famous as manager of the Giants for 31 seasons, he was an excellent player, known for his quick mind and oft-prohibited antics on the diamond. He was already in his third year of managing in 1902 and has three differently captioned cards in this Sporting Life set. This is the "type 1" example showing him as an infielder and it was issued in 1902, when he got into 35 games. W600 cabinet cards are a well-known, yet under-researched set.  Scarcity explains some of the that, while the daunting checklist of over 700 subjects is also a factor. The card the sole type 1 specimen in their pop report.

The wide borders of these Cabinets have always served to protect the central image and that's exactly what has happened here.  The corners have all rounded a little but not excessively, with a light stain in the right border. The reverse has some stains, with foxing also seen and a chipped top border that just affects this side. The technical grade is largely driven by the back, as is often the case with very old cards.

It is important to note that although John McGraw is well-represented on cardboard throughout the years, it is nearly impossible to find a card that pictures him as a player.  This extremely rare example lists him as "Infielder of the New York (NL) Club of 1902." While McGraw is best-remembered today for his incredible baseball mind and managerial prowess, he was a .334 lifetime batter with a career OBP of .466, ranking him third all-time, ahead of such luminaries as Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner.  McGraw clearly posted Hall of Fame numbers and was one of the great players of his time.