Grignon postcards were issued in 1907 to memorialize the Chicago Cubs'
dominant season of 1906. The set featured 16 members of the World
Champion Cubs, including four Hall of Famers. Considered scarce and
desirable today, the horizontal cards have a green background and white
border, with the central figure not being an actual player but a teddy
bear in a baseball pose. The player image is inset in the upper-right
corner, with a line of infield chatter (i.e. "Good eye, good eye")
printed in the center.
This postcard
features center fielder James Slagle in the inset, and is postmarked from
Chicago on October 9, 1908. While the reverse has some sweet writing about Chicago, the true greatness comes from the writing on the front of the card.
"Cubs 4 Giants 2 10/8/8
And once again Chicago wins.
3 times champions of National League, and in a few days, World's Champs.
Chi's are winners. ALWAYS."
October 8, 1908 was just two days before the start of the 1908 World Series, and while the sender of this postcard didn't sign their name, they were correct in their prediction that the Cubs would win the World Series in a few days. They clinched their second of back-to-back World Series on October 14, just six days after this postcard announced they were going to.
Centering is just slightly southeast on the canvas, and while the corners are slightly rounded, they and the edges are nicer than
the grade would indicate. However, some surface abrasions on the front, writing on both sides, and light staining keep this
card from grading higher. Nevertheless, an extremely unique card, especially
given the context of the time during which it was sent.
SGC has only ever graded 11 total
examples of this 1907 Grignon postcard, with only six receiving a higher
grade than the Poor 1 offered here of center fielder James Slagle.