1917 HONUS WAGNER (HOF) DOHERTY SILK SOX (PATERSON, NJ) ADVERTISING CARD- 1 OF ONLY 2 KNOWN.
Item Description
Presented here is one of those items that you simply cannot pass up because you may never have the chance to acquire one of these again. As one of only two known to exist, this amazing 1917 Doherty Silk Sox (Paterson, NJ) Honus Wagner advertising card was produced in honor of "Honus Wagner Day" on August 26, 1917. That season represented the final year of Wagner's playing career and this special day was organized by the local Paterson, NJ faithful to celebrate their local hero, who starred for the 1896 Paterson baseball club prior to his indoctrination into Major League baseball the following year in 1897 with the Louisville Colonels. The highly anticipated contest between Wagner's Pittsburgh Pirates and the local Doherty Silk Sox (Paterson Industrial League) took place at the famed Doherty Oval, where former baseball greats such as Babe Ruth, Rogers Hornsby and Wagner himself once played. The Pirates would prevail with a final score of 9-8 as Honus would log one hit in four official at bats.
As one of the five inaugural members elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936, Wagner joined fellow greats Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson in the newly established Cooperstown, NY museum. After spending his initial three Major League seasons with the Louisville ball club, Wagner would join a number of his other teammates in shifting teams to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1900. Playing for future HOF owner, Barney Dreyfuss' team for the remainder of his career, Honus would join fellow Cooperstown enshrines, Fred Clarke, Vic Willis and Max Carey to form one of the National League's pre-eminent teams of the first decade of the 20th century. Competing against the American League's Boston club in the inaugural World Series of 1903, The Pirates would end up losing in a closely contested 8 game series. However, Wagner's team would finally gain their long awaited World Championship in 1909, defeating Ty Cobb's Detroit Tigers in 7 games w/Honus playing a big role in the victory. For his career, Wagner would wind up with a career batting average of .328 along with an impressive dead ball era total of 101 homers and 1,732 RBI's to go with 1,739 runs scored, 3,420 hits and 723 stolen bases. Most impressive was the Flying Dutchman's total of 8 batting titles.
Card is 4x7". Blank back. Top right corner piece missing. Scattered creasing. Moderate dust soiling and aging. Small trace of surface paper loss on top back edge. Good but image remains sharp and distinct.
The other example sold at auction in 2017 for $7,534, a modest sum in our opinion. Compared to the holy grail T206 Honus Wagner card which sells for $1 million plus every time one comes up for public auction these days, this card is infinitely rarer when you consider the approximately 80 known T206 cards compared to only two of these. Combine this rarity w/the connection to Wagner's earliest known professional baseball memories with the 1896 Paterson, NJ ball club and you have a baseball collectible worthy of even the most advanced collections.
