Along with the Series 8 card of Shoeless Joe Jackson, the Casey Stengel card is one of the two key rarities of the T210 Old Mill issue. The first pro card of the future “Old Professor” is depicted here as an outfielder with the Maysville Rivermen of the Blue Grass League. Stengel would play three minor league seasons with nine different teams prior to launching his legendary major league career with Brooklyn in 1912.
Culled from the issue’s sixth series, the Stengel is an extreme rarity, with approximately 15 examples known. Due to its extreme rarity and desirability, the card rarely appears at public auction; we can find just three examples to come to auction in as many years.
Graded GOOD 30 by SGC, the card presents far better than many examples from the issue. Some corner wear and edge chipping are present throughout, with a heavy crease traversing the front of the card from left-to-right, along the bottom third of the card. Despite the crease being heavy, it is relatively unobtrusive due to its location on the card. The reverse is clean, but off center.
One of the more widely desirable cards of all the tobacco issues, and certainly one of the more rare, the “rookie” card of Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel, one of the game’s most popular and lovable figures.