James Laurie "Deacon" White batted .312 in 20 seasons, hitting over .300 in 12 of them. He was considered one of the premier catchers of his era before switching over to third base, where he was also a star. He was a two-time batting champion who paced the National League in nearly every offensive category in 1877. He played for the Detroit Wolverines from 1886 through 1888, nearing the end of his Hall of Fame career.

Despite the fact that White has nine different poses in the N172 issue, they are all extremely scarce, with White being the most difficult Hall of Famer to find, even more so than Bid McPhee or Wilbert Robinson, who were considered the toughest before White's 2013 induction.

Despite the upper-right corner having been cut away, it is still an important piece. The bottom left corner of the card was ripped but reattached and is still with the card, thankfully. The printing on this one is gorgeous, with the high contrast beautifully showing the shiny shoes and thick mustache worn by Deacon. The gradient background is tremendous, and we get a good look at it since White only takes up half the frame in his crouched position while he fields the ground ball. With image quality among the finest we have seen in any N172 Deacon White card, this is an extremely sought-after card in any grade.