1871 Troy Haymakers Photo Scorecard

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1871 Troy Haymakers Photographic Scorecard

1871 "Burr Penfield's Base Ball Photographic Cards of the Haymakers" scorecard features a portrait of Troy Haymakers catcher Michael H. McGeary on the front of the two-page fold-over scorecard. 1871 was the first year of the newly formed National Association, organized baseball's first professional league. Few relics of any kind survive from the National Association. There were two series of scorecards issued in 1871 featuring photographs of ballplayers. Many collectors are familiar with the Mort Rogers scorecards featuring images of Boston club members. Fewer are aware of the rarer still Troy series, of which this is a magnificent example. These are so rare that, while we have no doubt there are others in the series, we have never actually seen another example. The Troy club was unable to survive beyond the early stages of the 1872 season, when the poor financial condition of the club forced it to withdraw from the league. McGeary, fortunately, was a career player of relatively star status, and he went on to play for the Athletics in 1872-74, and the Philadelphia Centennials in 1875, and even continued on with several teams in the early years of the National League from its inception in 1876 to 1882. The scorecard is in Very Good to Excellent condition, with some general wear mostly to the corners. It is very clean and has an insignificant corner crease in the lower right (which affects the corner of both pages). The photograph appears a touch light, primarily in the background (it is not clear to us if this is as made), the scorecard portion is unscored, and all printing including advertising of local merchants on reverse is extremely bold. It may be a long time before we see another example from this extremely significant photographic scorecard series. Reserve $1,000. Estimate $2,000/$4,000.