This dynamic M101-4 shows fleet-footed Rabbit Maranville during the salad days of a long career that led to Cooperstown enshrinement in 1954. Rabbit made his biggest impact across 15 years as a Boston Brave, winning a 1914 World Series title as part of their "Hitless Wonders." His dramatic black home uniform no doubt led to sweaty afternoons under Boston's summer sun!

Rabbit's swinging pose brings you right onto the field, where a hint of "NO PEPPER" runs along its backstop fence. ("Pepper" emphasized agility drills that could tear up a field's valuable topsoil.) The card's PSA NM-MT 8 grade reflects sharp corners and strong borders, with exemplary centering and registration. Few M101-4 cards, let alone Hall of Famers, survived the last century in such great shape. Their population report shows just one more at this level and none higher! Look for more elite grade M101-4 cards offered in this auction.

The 200-player M101-4 set itself originated with printer Felix Mendelssohn, who sold advertising on its card backs. Sports newspaper The Sporting News sponsored so many of these sets that many in our hobby also call M101-4 blank back examples "Sporting News" cards. Contemporary advertising from the 1910s shows most M101-4 advertisers gave cards away as an incentive for in-person shopping or sold their sets by mail order.