1911 M116 Sporting Life Collection (315)

Auction: May 2003

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1911 M116 Sporting Life Collection (315)

<font size="3"><a href="javascript:popuplist()">Click to see full listing of PSA grading</a></font><br><script>function popuplist(){ window.open('http://www.lelands.com/psa_grades.htm','popupm116','width=420,height=400,scrollbars=yes,resize=yes'); }</script>There was a time not too long ago when certain “finds” would send shockwaves throughout the entire industry and dominate the hobby headlines. They were by no means commonplace, although they did occur frequently enough to keep the industry excited but more importantly interested. Those thrilling days of discovery have now become all but extinct due to a host of different factors. Subsequently, the few “new” finds that have surfaced have sold for astronomical prices due to their scarcity and the enthusiasm spawned by their discovery. This is one of those finds! Presented here is the “Philly Find”, discovered in the Philadelphia area, close to where the cards were printed for the Sporting Life newspaper back in 1910. These cards have been in the hands of one owner for over twenty years and they have never before been offered for public sale. The 1910-11 Sporting Life M-116 series has long been considered to be one of the most attractive card issues ever produced. Traditionally the set has been plagued by a variety of production flaws. This set boasts some of the highest graded examples extant. To date, before the set was graded, a total of only 50 PSA-Mint 9 examples and one PSA-Gem-Mint 10 have been certified over the years. Even locating PSA Near-Mint to Mint 8 specimens has become a great challenge. We at Leland’s are proud to offer this remarkable set, one that not only possesses the utmost historical significance but is also unmatched in terms of condition. This set has been unearthed from the baseball card gods!The “Philly Find” collection is headlined by the Amby McConnell Chicago Americans variation (graded PSA 8 NM-MT), the Ty Cobb Blue Background variation (graded PSA 9 Mint), and one lone PSA 10 GEM MINT example of Topsy Hartsel. The PSA grades of the set break down as follows: PSA 10 Gem Mint (1), PSA 9 Mint (50), PSA 8 NM-MT (163), PSA 7 NRMT (54), PSA 6 EX-MT (26), PSA 5 EX (15), PSA 4 VG-EX (2), PSA 3 VG (1), PSA 2 Good (1) for a total of 315 cards. The “Philly Find” is on each PSA holder. The following 50 are graded PSA 9 Mint with appropriate population numbers in parentheses: Ty Cobb-blue background (the only example graded PSA 9), Doyle-blue background (the only example graded PSA 9), Tenney-blue background (the only example graded PSA 9), Eddie Collins-pastel (the only example graded PSA 9), Sam Crawford-pastel (the only example graded PSA 9), Vic Willis (the only example graded PSA 9), Walter Johnson (one of three examples graded PSA 9), Home Run Baker-black back (one of two examples graded PSA 9), Demmitt (the only example graded PSA 9). The following are the only examples of each graded PSA 9 Mint with no examples graded higher- Purtell, Niles, Livingstone, Morgan, B. Graham, Donahue, Downey, Elberfeld, Dessau, Birmingham, Bates, Fletcher, Clyde Milan, McLean, McBride, Jacklitsch, Dougherty, Davidson, Jim Doyle, Criger, Bergen, Barry, Bemis, P. Donovan, Suggs, Strunk, Summers-blue back, Smith, Phelan, Perring, Moriarity “9 oc, Hummel “9 oc, Charles “9 oc, Krueger “9 pd, and Linke “9 pd. The following have two examples of each graded PSA 9 Mint to date with no examples graded higher- Barger, Bliss, Block, Wild Bill Donovan-pastel, LaPorte, Simon, and Strunk. Some of the highlights of the 163 PSA 8’s include: Amby McConnell Chicago Americans variation (only four examples total graded to date, this is the highest!), Ty Cobb-pastel, Honus Wagner-blue background (the highest example graded to date!), Honus Wagner-pastel, Mathewson-pastel, Home Run Baker-blue back (the highest example graded to date), Plank (one of two with none graded higher), Speaker, Mack (one of two with none graded higher), Smokey Joe Wood (the only ‘8 graded to date with one example graded higher. It is one of the toughest cards in the set to find in high-grade), Lajoie-blue background (one of two with one graded higher), Lajoie (one of three with none graded higher), Bender-blue background (only two examples total graded to date, this is the highest!), McGraw (one of three with none graded higher), Davy Jones-blue background, Clarke-blue back (one of two examples graded to date, this is the highest), Bresnahan-pastel (the highest example graded to date), Jennings-pastel, Clarke-black back, Chase-blue background, Chase-pastel, Evers-blue back, Huggins, Flick (one of two with none graded higher), Hooper, Tinker-blue back, Ed Walsh, etc. Some of the highlights of the 54 PSA 7’s include: Cy Young-black back, Mathewson-blue background (one of three with one example graded higher), Bresnahan-blue background (one of two with none graded higher), Bender-pastel, Jennings-blue background (one of four with none graded higher, Eddie Collins-blue background, Joss, Duffy, etc. There are five commons missing from the regular base set: H. Davis-pastel, T. Jordan-pastel, McQuillan-pastel, Tenney-pastel, and I. Thomas-pastel. There are a total of 33 of the 38 variations found throughout the set including the scarce blue background cards as well as black backs. The George McQuillan Cincinnati variation is offered in another lot. 315 total cards. A mere 10 cards short of a complete master set including all variations, all graded by PSA. Also included are 35 original series envelopes (all encapsulated by PSA) and 4 individual outer mailing envelopes. This collection is nothing short of a masterpiece. It is the number one ranked set on PSA’s Set Registry. You can view all of the grades on our web site at www.lelands.com. An astounding piece of sports card history, truly unparalleled.