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Tom Connolly
(b. December 31, 1870 - d. April 28, 1961)
Although born in England, Tom Connolly fell in love with baseball as a teenager and became an NL umpire in 1898. Frustrated with the circuit by 1900, he signed on to the AL in 1901. Thirty years later he was named chief of AL umpires, his position for another 23 years. Connolly and Bill Klem became the first umpires named to the Hall of Fame, in 1953. Connolly umpired in eight World Series, including the first in 1903.
 
Inducted in 1953
 
 
1950 Callahan Tom Connolly PSA 9 MINT
     
Click Image to Zoom
Click Image to Zoom
 

Comments: In October, 2003 I purchased a PSA 6 Callahan (w/ PSA 7 Klem, PSA 6 Landis, and PSA 7 Ban Johnson) off the PSA Message boards from a hobby friend, Brian Dwyer. In December, 2004 I purchased a raw example (w/ Harry Wright and Bill Klem) off the McAvoy Sportscards website for $11.50. The card was submitted to PSA and came back graded NM-MT in March, 2005. I've been looking to upgrade this to a PSA 9 but have not had the right opportunity present itself just yet.

UPDATE: I followed a nice PSA 9 on eBay for several months. Every few weeks the Buy It Now price would be dropped just slightly. In July, 2016 I decided to pully the trigger by going directly to the vendors website. There, I got another 12% off and purchased my upgrade.

   
Card Details Below:  
Year(s): 1950
ACC Set Designation:
Set Name: Callahan
Country: United States
Description: These cards which feature artist Mario DeMarco's drawings of Hall of Famers, were produced from 1950 through 1956 and sold by the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and at major league ballparks. The cards measure 1-3/4" X 2-1/2" and include a detailed player biography on the back. When introduced in 1950 the set included all members of the Hall of Fame up to that time, and then new cards were added each year as more players were elected. Therefore, cards of players appearing in all previous editions are more common than those players who appeared in just one or two years. When the set was discontinued in 1956 it consisted of 82 cards, which is now a complete set. B.E. Callahan of Chicago, the publisher of "Who's Who in Baseball," produced the card set.
 
Example 1950 Callahan Box
Example 1950 Callahan Box