Nicknamed "Smiling Mickey" due to his temperament and ever-present grin, Mickey Welch was just the third pitcher in history to reach 300 career wins.  A cornerstone of the pennant-winning 1888 and 1889 Giants, Welch averaged nearly 300 innings pitched per season over a 13-year career, eclipsing 500 innings pitched in three different years.  

This extremely rare cabinet photo boasts an exceptional image of Welch, the pose corresponding with pose #486-2 in the N172 Old Judge card issue.  As is the case with all N173 cabinets with the possible exceptions of Anson and Kelly, examples of Welch are extremely rare in any grade. The size and outstanding clarity of the image enables us to see detail not visible in the smaller card, right down to the laces on Welch's jersey and his unusual grip on the ball.  Multiple pinholes that reduce the technical grade are restricted to the mount and do not interfere with the image itself; some light foxing is visible in places but nothing particularly distracting.  A particularly difficult to find example of a New York Giants legend.