Tom Dolan played in 116 games for the St. Louis Browns of the American Association between 1883 and 1884. After playing elsewhere for a few years, he rejoined the Browns for 11 games during the 1888 season, during which time this card was created. Dolan actually has five different cards in the N172 set. This issue depicts the St. Louis catcher at the plate with his bat at the ready, nearly vertical.

Centering is to the right, with some light diamond cutting, as well. Partially soft, rounded corners in addition to edge chipping along three of the four sides keep this card from grading higher, but it's the paper loss on the back which is the true explanation for the low grade. The card's photo is dark and has great contrast, with all text visible and legible, another sharp image ignored by the grading company in favor of penalizing the card for irrelevant back damage.