Card of the Day: Cap Anson 2004 Topps Tribute Cut Signature Edition – Signature Cuts

Ever See An Anson Cut?

Cap Anson is considered by many the best 19th century baseball player.  He was the first player to ever reach 3,000 career hits and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937.  Anson’s cards are by far some of the most valuable and sought after in the hobby.  From what I can find, he has only (6) cut signatures that could be pulled.  Its rare to find anything associated with his name.  Thats why I got a little excited when I saw a picture of the Anson cut signature pictured below.  It comes from 2004 Topps Tribute – Cut Signature Edition, and its the first time I’ve ever seen it.

A lot of people don’t like the design of these cards.  I on the other hand do.  People say there should be a picture of the ball player on the card.  I respectfully disagree, especially when it comes to this set.  These autographs are extremely unique, and I think all the focus should be on the signature.

I’d love to see a manufacturer get their hands on an Anson relic.  I wonder what an Anson bat card would sell for?

PHOTOS: The 2010 National Sports Collectors Convention

The National is by far the greatest show of the year.  I saw a lot of people, opened a ton of packs, and participated in many of the wrapper redemption programs provided by the manufacturers.  I even had time to watch the Orioles take on the White Sox Friday night.  The marketing was much better this year, not only for The National, but for other companies too.  There were T-shirts, cups, and all sorts of promos flying around the Baltimore Convention Center.  Check out some of my photos.

Panini

Press Pass

Sportkings

Upper Deck

TRISTAR

Topps

Brian Gray plans to bring the Leaf brand back starting with 2010 Leaf MMA in Sept.

D & A Card World

Blowout Cards

FreedomCardboard.com

This was one of the coolest artifacts on display at The National.  This is the bat Cap Anson used in 1897.  I had never seen anything of Anson’s before.

Former Baltimore Colts running back Lydell Mitchell

Member of the Miami Dolphins Perfect Season team, Earl Morrall

1983 Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier

Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Palmer

This has nothing to do with The National, but Pickles Pub was right next to the hotel I stayed at.  Every night the place was packed.

Card of the Day: Cap Anson 1888 Goodwin Champions #2

I’m still waiting for a relic card of Anson.  The few cut signatures he does have sell well into the thousands when they surface.

One Old Gimmick

Gimmick cards flood The Hobby today and for a few moments they get their time in the spotlight.  Here is a very early gimmick card made back in 1888 by the John A. Toleman Katosa Coffee Company.  It features a drawing of a baby with a caption that states: “Oh Mamma! Baby Anson”.  The card is poking fun at Hall of Famer Cap Anson after the way he acted when he lost the Championship game.  I think its funny that even before there was an industy for sports memorabilia gimmicks were being produced.  Even though this card is from the late 1800’s, it doesn’t sell for that much.  Just like a lot of gimmicks, it lost its popularity pretty fast plus it doesn’t feature a real image of Anson himself.

Classic Baseball Photography

Over the years baseball photography has changed quite a bit.  Take this image of Cap Anson for example:

When was the last time you saw a current baseball player have their picture taken like this?  Probably never.  This image in particular got my attention the other day when I was sorting through my top loaders as I was in the middle of a trade.  The above picture was used for a 2003 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts base card.  What stood out to me the most was the flowers off to the left.  I can’t tell you the last time I saw any sports card that featured an athlete with flowers.  In today’s hobby, athletes are pictured playing their sport.  The image of Anson looks like it was taken in a studio.  Back then getting photographs taken out on the field was probably a hard thing to do.  You also have to take into consideration the time period Anson played in (1871-1897).  Getting your picture taken back then was a big deal.  Nowadays with cameras around every corner, you don’t see pictures like this anymore.  When I first saw this picture, I thought it should be hanging in my grandma’s house just because the way it was taken.  In my opinion, I think it would interesting to see Topps come out with a set that featured players in classic poses like this.

Last, but certaintly not least.  I wonder what happened to the uniform and bat Anson is pictured with?  He is one of the hardest Hall of Famers to obtain memorabilia of.  It wouldn’t surprise me it it was all laying in an attic somewhere.

Card of the Day: Cap Anson 1895 N300 Mayo’s

Player Spotlight: Cap Anson

Do you know what July 18th is?  It is the 101st anniversary of the 3,000 hit club.  Back in 1897, Cap Anson became this first player in history to obtain over 3,000 hits. 

Cap Anson made his MLB debut on May 6, 1871 for the Rockford Forest Citys.  During his career he played for the Philadelphia Athletics and the Chicago White Stockings/Colts.  Anson racked up a career batting average of .333 with 3,418 hits and 2,076 RBI’s.  You could consider Anson as one of baseball’s first superstars.  To this day he still holds club records such as most career RBI’s, runs, hits, singles, and doubles.  Cap Anson, with the assistance of Richard Carey, Jr, wrote a book about his life titled “A Ball Player’s Career: Being the Personal Reminiscences of Adrian C. Anson.  This book is considered the first baseball autobiography.  In 1939 Anson was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. 

If you are looking to collect Cap Anson memorabilia, you might need some deep pockets.  Most of his original cards from the 19th and early 20th centuries sell in the high hundreds and into the many thousands depending on what you are looking to buy.  In today’s hobby, you can find base cards of Anson in such products as Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts which are only worth a couple of dollars.  There are no memorabilia cards that contain bat, pants, or jersey pieces.  Topps and Upper Deck have made a couple of cut signature cards.  In 2004 Topps made a product called Topps Tribute HOF Cut Signature Edition, where they inserted a cut signature card for every member of the Hall of Fame serial numbered 1/1.  Upper Deck has made the most Cap Anson cut signature cards.  The 2001 Legendary Cuts – Cut Signature is #’ed/2, 2003 Legendary Cuts #’ed/1, 2004 Legendary Cuts #’ed/1, and 2005 Legendary Cuts #’ed/1.  Whenever these cut signatures show up for sale, they usually sell well into the thousands.  Anson is one of the most collected 19th century players and its great that after all these years his cards are still in such high demand.