Lot # 600: Extremely Rare 1916 M101-5 Morehouse Baking #176 Jim Thorpe PSA POOR 1

Impressive example of the legendary Jim Thorpe from the 1916 Morehouse Baking Co. set (D352) issued in 1916. This is one of only a handful of cards of Jim Thorpe issued during his baseball-playing days as a Major Leaguer, when he was a member of John McGraw's New York Giants. The 1916 D352 Morehouse Baking card is identical to M101-4/5 Sporting News except for the different advertisement on the reverse. Morehouse Baking reverses are seen much less frequently than Sporting News reverses. This is one of only two examples of Thorpe to ever be graded by PSA (both PSA POOR 1, one cancelled and one uncancelled). SGC has graded a single Thorpe example. To date, only 97 examples featuring a Morehouse Baking back (of all players) have been graded by PSA (SGC has graded 116). While exact population numbers for ungraded examples cannot be known, in their extensive research into the M101-4/5 sets and their advertising backs, collectors Tim Newcomb and Todd Schultz estimate that Morehouse Baking cards are among the most difficult to find (along with Holmes to Holmes and Indianapolis Brewing) and account for two percent of the entire M101-4/5 production run of all back varieties (Morehouse Baking has been confirmed to appear both on M101-4 and -5 cards). The card features Thorpe in uniform on the field with his bat in hand. Graded POOR 1 by PSA (submitted by REA) due to heavy creasing and moderate corner wear. The reverse has the "Morehouse Baking" advertisement boldly printed in black, along with a purple factory-stamp ("Cancelled"). Despite the appropriately modest grade, this is an extremely appealing example of one of the most classic and sought-after of all Jim Thorpe cards. This is a very unusual, rarely offered, and extremely desirable low-grade example of this classic card.