Not something I would usually seek out, but I stumbled across one of these and somehow won with a $15 bid. From 1910 it's one year newer than the oldest card in my collection, but it is right up there with the oldest and coolest. It's not a tobacco card, it's a caramel card, 1910 Standard Caramel. Char'es "Deacon" Phillippe is a player I remembered reading about when I was a kid, though I had to look him up again to remember why. In 1903 he won the first World Series game, and he won 20 games in six different seasons. By 1910 the 38-year-old veteran was primarily a reliever, but went 14-2 with a 2.29 ERA, leading the NL in winning percentage.
The card is pretty thin, not paper thin but thinner than the typical baseball card. Even the back is cool with the checklist full of baseball demigods. "Base Ball" Stars! They even note that the drawings are "from original photographs". Modern technology! I also love the font at the bottom, which is very 19th century looking.
His last name is misspelled, making this an error card. What I did not know until looking him up just now is that he has a famous relative, a distant cousin who became an actor, named Ryan Phillippe. When Phillippe and actress Reese Witherspoon had a baby in 2003, they named him Deacon after Ryan's famous relative. Now Deacon Phillippe is an up-and-coming young musician and actor.
the younger Deacon has got some good genes.
ReplyDeleteVery nice! I've been in the market for a somewhat affordable 1910 American Caramel version of his card for awhile. The one where he has red sleeves. It's a fantastic card. Phillippe played in Fargo in 1897, which was his first year in pro ball. The papers took a few years to stop spelling his last name as Phillippi, but had figured it out by 1910. Though this card company apparently hadn't. If he hadn't gotten into baseball at such a late age, he might be a hall of famer.
ReplyDeleteNice find! I learned about Deacon Philippe (the pitcher) through All-Time Teams research, and he does not have many cards out there. I did not know the actor was a distant relative until reading this, that's wild!
ReplyDeletePretty cool piece of baseball/Hollywood trivia. I remember seeing Phillippe and Witherspoon in Cruel Intentions, but haven't heard much from them in recent years.
ReplyDelete