Of all the 8x10 photo supplements inserted into The Sporting News from 1909-13, none are as sought after as the March 17, 1910, piece featuring Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner. This iconic photo taken by Louis Van Oeyen features the two greatest ballplayers of the era in the prime of their Hall of Fame careers. Because they played in different leagues, it wasn’t until the 1909 World Series that the pair faced each other in an official game. Cobb had won the American League Triple Crown that season while Wagner led the National League in hitting. Though it is tempting to think the two were bitter rivals in 1909, the opposite was true. After the Pirates won the World Series in seven games, Cobb invited Wagner to join him on a hunting trip that winter. Their admiration for each other’s talent can be seen in Van Oeyen’s classic image used for this Sporting News supplement.

Because these blank-backed, sepia tone prints came on such thin paper, those that have survived typically become brittle with age and are nearly impossible to find in acceptable condition. This hobby-fresh example is certainly the exception. The image is strong and crisp, while the corners and edges show little to no wear whatsoever. With such impressive presentation, one would predict a grade far higher than its GD+ 2.5 designation from PSA. Either this was a blatant miss by a lackadaisical grader or maybe it’s the fact that no other has ever achieved higher than GD 2 out of the ten previous entries into the pop report. Lucky number eleven has easily trumped them all. We’d sure love to see the condition of that lone GD 2 compared to this near-perfect specimen. Our guess is it’s not even close. It’s as if they graded this early 1900’s photo-card to the standards of an ultra-modern Panini Prizm! The piece comes encapsulated in a PSA jumbo holder.