Lot # 227: 1889 E.R. Williams Complete Set (52)

Category: 19th Century

Starting Bid: $2,000.00

Bids: 102 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Fall, 2024 Premier Auction",
which ran from 11/12/2024 12:00 PM to
11/30/2024 9:00 PM



One of the more interesting 19th Century baseball issues, this 52-card game was advertised as the "Egerton R. Williams Indoor Base Ball Game." The cards were designed like conventional playing cards, each of which show a specific baseball play, so players could complete innings and score runs by turning over cards and revealing the play shown on each.  Of the 52 cards, 19 included illustrations of popular 19th Century players, each card featuring portraits of two players, for a total of 38 players. Since the cards were packed in a box and issued as a complete game, no one card is any more scarce than another, but the cards themselves are quite scarce - PSA has graded fewer than 200 in total. Due to their age and intended use, they can also be a challenge to acquire in higher grade.

Presented here is a complete set of 52, including the 19 player cards.  A higher-grade set, each of the player cards has been graded by PSA, including the only MINT 9 example of the set's key card, featuring Buck Ewing and Cap Anson, as well as one of only two NM-MT 8 examples of the set's second-most important card (with none higher), featuring King Kelly.  A breakdown of those 19 cards is as follows: PSA MINT 9 (4 cards): Carroll/Carpenter, Ewing/Anson (HOF), Reilly Hoy, Tucker/Glasscock. PSA NM-MT 8 (8 cards): Connor/Comiskey (HOF), Corkhill/Fogarty, Irwin/Williamson, Kelly/Foulz (HOF), McKean/Griffin, Stricker/Myers, Tierman/Denny, Wolf/Pfeffer. PSA NM 7 (2 cards): Buffinton/Carruthers, Orr/Galvin (HOF). PSA EX-MT 6 (5 cards):  Brouthers/Latham (HOF), Keefe/Clarkson (HOF), Tener/King, Welch/Ward (HOF), Weyhing/Ramsey. The remaining game cards average EX/MT to NM with some stronger and a few lesser.  A scarce, unusual 19th Century set, a precursor to the card game issues from the early 20th Century that featured actual players.  Many of the most important players of the 19th Century are included here, along with the highest-graded examples of the Buck Ewing/Cap Anson and King Kelly/Dave Foutz card.  52 cards total.

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