October Legends Closing November 1
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/2/2014
Offered is a fully untouched, brand new to the hobby complete set of 1916 M101-4 Sporting News cards, with each card off a fresh find of mostly high grade examples. Another Goldin find!
This is one the finest set M101-4 sets the hobby has ever seen and is the #2 on the current PSA registry and #4 All -Time Finest Set on the PSA Registry. All 200 cards have been encapsulated and graded by PSA, except for one card #11 Jack Barry, which was graded 'authentic' due to a unique printing error on the back of the card that reverses the image of the front of the card on the back. The 1916 M101-4 set is commonly referred to as “The Sporting News set”, but was actually issued by more than a dozen companies, but extensively advertised in and sold through The Sporting News publication.
Created by Chicago based photographer and printer Felix Mendelsohn, the cards are one of the most significant pre-war card sets due to its tremendous photography, solid lineup of existing stars and two of the most highly regarded singles – the Babe Ruth rookie card and the very scarce Joe Jackson card, one of the handful of different regular issue Joe Jackson cards. Cards were printed with advertising for 18 regional issuers as well as with blank banks.
Numbered in alphabetical sequence and displaying superior photo quality compared to other issues of the day, Mendelsohn had the idea of selling his 200 count blank-backed product to various businesses that would then add their own advertising on the reverse and distribute them as de facto “business cards”. Examples can be found promoting department stores, bakeries, a brewery and clothing stores.
But Mendelsohn’s biggest client was The Sporting News, who originally sold uncut sheets. Then, beginning in or around April of 1916, complete sets of these cards were sold. However, despite the ramped up production for expected orders, very few complete graded sets existed. In fact, this is only the second completely graded set on the PSA Set registry, currently ranked third overall. The other 100% completely PSA graded set registers at a 3.11 overall GPA.
This other 100% complete set was also a recently found fresh to the hobby offering, being sold in a catalog auction a year ago. As with other finds which have surfaced as this set has, it’s quite often when a family finds within a grandfather’s old relics a product of childhood wishes and unfulfilled dreams.
As with several of the other “finds” of M101-4/5 Sporting News cards, this set originates from the Midwest, a short distance from Chicago, the home of that venerable publication. Our consignor’s father was a stamp collector as a boy, and also owned a tobacco and candy business during the 1960s and 70s. When our consignor’s parents passed away, he went through their belongings, and came across his father’s stamp collection. However, within that collection of stamps was a uniquely ornate tin box, which housed these cards – a complete set of 200 different Sporting News M101-4s. Our consignor figures his grandfather must have purchased the set at the time of original distribution (he would have been around 17 in 1916), and held on to them for decades before eventually storing them in his son’s collection of stamps, all which were held in larger boxes. At that point our consignor immediately placed each of the cards into plastic holders, where they have resided since being unearthed in 2004. The cards were sent to PSA in the original holders the consignor placed them in 10 years ago, untouched by human hands.
Now, these fresh to the hobby gems are available as one complete set at auction. The entire content of the set can be viewed on the psacard.com website titled “Goldin Auctions October Legends.”
This is only the second completely PSA graded M101-4 Sporting News set ever sold at auction, and with the highest GPA ever assembled as an auctioned complete set. This is a world-class set of one of the most important and rarely offered of all prewar baseball card sets, including all the top stars of the day. This set is loaded with Hall of Famers, including Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Nap Lajoie, Casey Stengel, Walter Johnson, Three Finger Brown, Grover Cleveland Alexander (in PSA 8!) and the Babe Ruth rookie, extremely desirable key cards of "Black Sox" players such as Eddie Cicotte, Hap Felsch, Chick Gandil, Buck Weaver and of course, Joe Jackson. The overall condition is extraordinary and appears nicer than the recently assigned technical grades. For example, the Babe Ruth cards are centered better than any we have seen, has sharp corners and great gloss, but some light toning is evident. But a PSA VG-EX 4? No way. We see this card minimally as Excellent (5) if not possibly EX-MT (6). Many other cards also appear to be severely under graded. Condition Composite: PSA NM-MT 8 – 13 cards w/#4 Alexander, 53 (OC), 55 (OC) Faber, 71 (OC), 84 (OC) Hooper, 93 (MC), 127, 128, 130 (OC), 153, 165 (OC), 187 and 193; PSA NM+ 7.5 – 2 cards w/#8 and 47; PSA NM 7: 35 cards w/#5, 20, 25 (MC), 33, 36 (OC), 37, 40, 52, 58 (OC), 59, 63, 80 (OC), 82, 88, 92 (OC), 96 (OC), 101, 103, 107 Mack, 125 (MC), 126, 129, 131, 132, 134, 148, 152, 157, 172, 177, 189, 191, 194, 198 and 200; PSA EX-MT+ 6.5 – 7 cards w/#6, 14, 48, 49, 60, 149 and 199; PSA EX-MT 6: 65 cards w/#3, 7, 12, 15, 16, 22, 23, 24, 27, 29, 34 Collins, 35, 38 Cobb, 39, 44, 45,50, 56 Felsh (Black Sox), 57, 61, 62, 64 Gandil (Black Sox), 65 (OC), 70, 78, 86 Huggins, 87 Joe Jackson, 89, 90 Jennings, 95, 97 Lajoie, 98, 104, 105, 106, 108, 109, 111, 113 Marquard, 116 McGraw, 135, 136, 139, 142 Rixey, 143, 144 Robinson, 145, 146 Roush, 147, 150, 154 Schalk, 155 (MC), 158, 160, 166, 167, 169 Stengel, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182 Wagner, 186 Weaver (Black Sox), 190, 195 (OC) and 196; PSA EX+ 5.5 – 6 cards w/#18, 1, 68, 83, 137, 170 and 171; PSA EX 5 – 29 cards w/#17 Brown, 26, 30, 31, 42, 46, 66, 67, 69, 76, 79, 81, 91 Johnson, 94, 99, 100, 114, 115, 133, 156, 161, 163, 164 (MC), 168, 174 Tinker, 175, 176 and 185; PSA VG-EX+ 4.5 – 5 cards w/#2, 28, 41 Crawford, 77 and 102; PSA VG-EX 4 – 13 cards w/#9 Baker, 10 Bancroft, 13 Bender, 19, 32 Cicotte (Black Sox), 117, 118, 141, 151 Ruth, 159, 173, 192 and 197; PSA VG+ 3.5 – 1 card, #51; PSA VG 3 – 8 cards w/#43, 110, 112 Maranville, 119, 120, 138, 140 and 162; PSA GOOD+ 2.5 – 1 card, #121; PSA GOOD 2 – 10 cards w/#1, 54 Evers, 72 Griffith, 74, 75 (MC), 123, 124, 183, 184 Walsh and 188 Wheat; PSA FAIR 1.5 – 2 cards w/#73 and 122; PSA AUTHENTIC – 1 cards w/#11.
This set appears much nicer than some of the assigned grades, with all cards having square corners, heavy original gloss and crisp images. There is little, if any, print or staining. Any lower graded examples are the result of horizontal production creases across the middle, which are mostly visible when the card is held at an angle. A complete set of this magnitude might not become available again in one complete set form. No muss, no fuss here at Goldin Auctions. However, if so desired, the winning collector could slowly upgrade the lower graded cards as higher graded examples become available, already knowing they have one of the highest graded 1916 M101-4 Sporting News complete set, but is still want to enjoy the process of working their way up the PSA GPA ladder.
Completely graded PSA set of 200 cards.