Lot # 78: 1895 N300 Mayo's Cut Plug Ed Delahanty PSA VG-EX+ 4.5

Graded VG-EX+ 4.5 by PSA. Only two examples have been graded higher by PSA to date. Stunning 1895 N300 Mayo's Cut Plug card of Philadelphia Phillies Hall of Famer Ed Delahanty. This formal studio portrait presents him dressed in street clothes. This is one of the 19th century's most highly prized Hall of Famer cards, from the most significant set of the 1890s. There are very few baseball cards of Delahanty, both due to his untimely and tragic death in 1903, and the fact that so few baseball-card sets were issued during the years in which he played (1888 to 1903). Delahanty was one of the premier stars of the 19th century. It is interesting to note that Mayo misspelled his name as "Delehanty" on this card. The offered card exhibits outstanding image clarity and honest corner wear. Clean reverse. Delahanty enjoyed his best two seasons in 1894 and 1895, batting .407 and .404, respectively. This is a tremendous example of one of Delahanty's most important cards, dating from the peak of his career, and one of the most desirable Hall of Famers in the Mayo's Cut Plug series.