Mickey Hughes shows how youthful enthusiasm contributed to the darker side of business, as monster years for the young star in 1886 (33-17 at age 19) and 1888 (25-13 at age 21) likely inspired Old Judge to put him on eight different promotional poses, knowing young fans could pick up a smoking habit in search of those cards of their hero.

The PSA VG 3 grade shows strong image detail and centering, with modest corner rounding and tilted top and bottom borders. A penciled number on its back could be recordkeeping by its original owner. "The Photographic Baseball Cards of Goodwin & Company" places Hughes among its "scarce cards" for overall player rarity. Despite being featured on those eight poses in Old Judge issues, PSA has graded just ten total across them all, making him a tough acquisition in any grade.

In addition to Mickey's appearance on the "scarce list," this card also appears as #240-4's reference image on page 276 of the Old Judge photography book. 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.