Card #237-2 of Bill Hawes (often called Howes) retains strong image contrast, highlighting a range of uniform details from shiny boot-tops to padded trouser hips that reduced pain from sliding. Old Judge cards do a great service for collectors and researchers by documenting exactly what players like Bill wore on the field, hoping to look and play their best. Crossing jersey strings, high collars, and striped hats are all details that have faded from modern baseball, so we need records like this to remind us how America's pastime looked during its formative years.

The SGC VG 3 grade reflects full borders with rounded corners and a bit of surface noise on each side. Its bottom tilts a bit, with visible chips along some edges, and Hawes's nameplate shows a mix of clean and somewhat foggy text. The base at his foot implies Bill's great deal of experience as a first sacker, as well as work in the outfield as teams needed it. Combined population reports note five total graded cards, with this being the best known!

This card appears as #237-2's reference image on page 274 of the Old Judge photography book by Miller, Gonsowski, and Masson. Love of the Game is proud to offer several cards seen in their outstanding work of research and presentation as part of our 100+ N172 listings in this auction.