Lot # 3196: 1917 Chicago White Sox and New York Giants "Photographic" Scorecard with Jackson, Cicotte, Gandil, Williams, Collins, Risberg, McMullin, Weaver, Felsch, Thorpe, and McGraw

Issued as a promotional vehicle for a clothing manufacturer in Altus, Oklahoma, this baseball scorecard features portrait images of sixteen members of both the 1917 World Champion Chicago White Sox and 1917 National League Champion New York Giants. The images appear along the top border of each side, and all of the players are identified in print in the upper right corner. Among the notables pictured here are John McGraw, Jim Thorpe, Eddie Collins, and all eight players who later conspired to "throw" the 1919 World Series: Joe Jackson, Eddie Cicotte, Chick Gandil, Buck Weaver, Lefty Williams, Swede Risberg, Hap Felsch, and Fred McMullin. The front of the scorecard features a full-length image of Ray Schalk in a "hands on hips" pose, as well the name of the local company: "Perlberg Tailored Clothes." On the reverse are listed all the past American and National League champions, World Series winners, and the top ten batters in each league for 1917. Since Chicago is listed as the 1917 World Champions, this piece was obviously issued after the World Series, maybe as late as the spring of 1918. This is the first example of this promotional piece we have ever offered, and the fact that it features "Shoeless Joe" Jackson, his only World Series Championship in 1917, makes it especially significant. The scorecard (13.75 x 5.5 inches), which has not been scored or folded over, displays a clear tape repair along the top edge, light creases, moisture stains front and back, and edge chipping. Poor condition.