T206 Orioles Commons

As the magical 2012 Orioles prep for tonites playoff series opener against the Yankees I figured it would be a good time to  look at a few more of the Oriole cards that are included in the T206 set of 1909-11. There are nine Baltimore players in total in the set. I have seven of those including the Jack Dunn which was featured in a post in late September.

The Orioles club of that era was a member of the Eastern League. They played in that circuit from 1903 through 1911. The Eastern League, the history of which is intertwined with the International League, was surprisingly stable for most of that time frame.

Here are four of my common cards of Oriole players from the set.

Phillip Poland was a journeyman minor leaguer of which little is known outside the numerous clubs he played for over a ten season career. He was an outfielder with 8 homers listed among the sketchy stats of the time. 

Firstbaseman/infielder Pete Cassidy was already a 36 year old veteran of the big leagues when this card was issued. He played two seasons in the majors just prior to the turn of the century and fifteen years in the minors. He was an Oriole at the end of his career in 1908-09.

Jim Jackson debuted in 1901 as an outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles when the were an American League franchise. He also played for the Giants and Cleveland Naps in the first half of that decade before he began a steady career in the minors that lasted through 1916 including player/manager stints in the later half of the decade. This card was issued during his return to Baltimore as a member of the 1909 Eastern League Orioles. 

It's interesting to see the font  used for the team name on Jackson's jersey is different from the very plain 'Baltimore'  that was used in the rest of the portraits. I'm guessing that a picture from his time with the 'big league' Orioles was the basis for his portrait and the artist copied that fancier font.. 

And finally we see Bob Hall who played for the Orioles from 1906 through 1910 as an infielder. He was a Baltimore native who had played a couple of seasons in the National League as an infielder and outfielder just prior to his Oriole stint. 

The previously referenced Jack Dunn card is the most costly of the Baltimore T206 cards but it can be fould reasonably if you have some patience. I have some lowball offers and bids in on the remaining two Orioles I need to complete the team set. If you have any interest at all in the wonderful T206 set you need to have the T206.org site bookmarked. It holds a wealth of info and is a great place to kill a few hours in front of a computer.