1981–94 Klector's Cab Cards Joe Jackson (1910 New Orleans)
Klector's Cab Cards — a 24-card multi-sport oddball created by New York City cab driver Bernard Kleckner (c. 1981–94). Kleckner hand-colorized old black-and-white photos with chalk, typed the backs on a typewriter, and had them printed on glossy stock at Solomon Printing in short runs long reported as about 400 of each subject. He handed cards to fares to encourage repeat business — hence "cab cards." Examples from his driving years (1981–91) carry his NYC taxi medallion number 2M25 on the reverse; this Jackson does (B. KLECKNER / NYC #2M25). The checklist subject is 1910 Shoeless Joe Jackson with the New Orleans Pelicans: a colorized portrait in a navy coat with an "N-O" sleeve patch, dated 1910 on the face, with a typewritten back about his .400 half-season in New Orleans and Cleveland holding his contract. Smaller than a standard baseball card; PSA and SGC grade the issue. A handmade, locally distributed piece, never a licensed mainstream set.
- Issue
- Modern Joe Jackson Issues
- Year
- 1981-94
- Subject
- "Shoeless" Joe Jackson
- Grade
- SGC 7
- Cert #
- 3695854
- Population
- 1 at this grade (per Card Ladder)
Modern Joe Jackson Issues
More than a century after his last game, card makers keep returning to Jackson in insert, parallel and retro sets. These modern pieces sit beside the vintage because his story still pulls people in.
More on this issue →"Shoeless" Joe Jackson
A South Carolina mill-town hitter with almost no schooling, Jackson became one of the purest hitters the game has ever seen: a .408 average in his first full season with Cleveland in 1911 and a .356 career mark, among the highest ever. Babe Ruth later said he had copied Jackson's style because he thought Jackson the greatest natural hitter he had ever seen — a widely repeated attribution, even as historians still argue how literally Ruth meant it. Jackson hit .375 and played errorless ball in the 1919 World Series, yet admitted to a grand jury in 1920 that he had taken gamblers' money. Acquitted by a Chicago jury in 1921, he was banned for life by Commissioner Landis anyway. The unresolved question of how guilty he really was is the reason this collection exists.
More on "Shoeless" Joe Jackson →