Ty Cobb's Worst Card Holds Answer to Baseball Trivia Question
When card collectors think of Ty Cobb, the first cards they picture are likely this quartet from the 1909-11 American Tobacco Company “White Borders” set catalogued as T206 and affectionately dubbed “The Monster.”
Other playing era cardboard gold for the Georgia Peach includes his 1912 Hassan Triple Folder, best known for its iconic Charles Conlon photograph of Cobb stealing third base, and a lesser known but gorgeous T227 issue from that same year, which also happens to be one of the earliest examples of a baseball card roughly matching today’s 2.5” x 3.5” size standard.
Today, thanks to the numerous Cobb cards Topps continues to push out today, Trading Card Database lists more than 4,500 different cards (counting variations) of the legendary batsman. That’s even more cards than Cobb had hits!
While collectors might argue over which of Cobb’s baseball cards is his best, there is less room for debate as to which of Cobb’s cards is his very worst. How bad is it? Think 1978 Topps Greg Minton bad. Think Trump NFT bad. Think 1951 Bowman Paul Richards bad. And then lower the bar several notches.
Bizarrely, this Cobb card comes from what was one of the Hobby’s earliest premium sets! In early 1977, Hobby periodicals advertised a limited edition of 1941 Play Ball reprint sets. Collectors could take their pick between the standard set for $4 or the more deluxe "proof set" for $6. (And yes, $6 was very much premium back then!)
When their orders arrived, collectors were probably not surprised to see the first 48 cards in the set, which resembled the Play Ball originals in every way, save a wholly unnecessary and random renumbering.
Then things got weird. Mixed in with the second half of the stack were a number of crudely colorized (think third graders with crayons) 1940 Play Ball reprints of various all-time greats. Like Ty Cobb? No not yet, we’ll get to that one soon enough. More like Grover Cleveland Alexander, Christy Mathewson, and Mickey Cochrane.
By cards #63 and #64, however, I can only surmise the artist got bored with the assignment, inventing entirely new “huge head” (think 1991 Upper Deck Darryl Strawberry!) renditions of Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio. Did these players already have standard cards in the set? Absolutely!
Tigers great Charlie Gehringer also earned a second 1941 card in the set , but this time the artist was feeling even more creative. Complementing the standard 1941 reprint was...um...well, I'm not exactly sure.
When at last the artist came to the great Ty Cobb, whose card along with Babe Ruth’s would act as a checklist for the set, I can only imagine a certain Hall of Fame trivia question was on their mind.
If not, what other reason could there possibly be for dropping the Georgia Peach’s face directly on top of Mel Ott's 1941 Play Ball artwork? As for the trivia question, if you don’t already know it, here it is.
Q: Which two Hall of Famers have the shortest names?
A: Ty Cobb and Mel Ott (six letters each)
And if you made it this far, you now know the answer to another trivia question: What's the worst Ty Cobb card of all-time!
Jason A. Schwartz is a collectibles expert whose work can be found regularly at SABR Baseball Cards, Hobby News Daily, and 1939Bruins.com. His collection of Hank Aaron baseball cards and memorabilia is currently on exhibit at the Atlanta History Center, and his collectibles-themed artwork is on display at the Honus Wagner Museum and PNC Park.