1909–11 American Caramel (E90-1) Christy Mathewson
Mathewson at the height of his powers, in the most collected caramel set of the era.
- Issue
- 1909–11 American Caramel (E90-1)
- Year
- 1909
- Subject
- Christy Mathewson
- Grade
- SGC 2.5
- Cert #
- 8922716
- Population
- 2 at this grade (per Card Ladder)
1909–11 American Caramel (E90-1)
Issued by the American Caramel Company of Philadelphia and packed one to a box of caramels, E90-1 is the best-known caramel set of the pre-war era. The backs promise "100 subjects," but collectors have since documented roughly 120 cards of 108 different players, printed across 1909–1911. Marketed to children rather than smokers, the cards took a beating, and PSA notes that only about 1% of graded examples top a 6. It holds the consensus rookie card of Joe Jackson alongside Cobb, Mathewson, Wagner, Young and Baker.
More on this issue →Christy Mathewson
"Big Six," the college-educated Giants ace who made pitching look respectable: 373 wins, the fadeaway, and three shutouts in the 1905 World Series. Connie Mack later called him the greatest pitcher who ever lived. His story brushes the Black Sox saga — by long-told accounts he and writer Hugh Fullerton marked suspicious plays on their scorecards during the 1919 Series. Weakened after a poison-gas accident in World War I training, he died in 1925 and entered the first Hall of Fame class in 1936.
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