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Willie
Keeler
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(b. March 3, 1872 - d. January 1, 1923)
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| Utilizing his good speed and batting skills, Keeler
developed the "Baltimore chop" to bounce the ball
over and between infielders. From 1894 to 1901, he
collected 200 hits each season. He had 2,947 career
hits, 1,719 runs, and a .341 batting average. In 1897,
he hit in 44 consecutive games. That same year he
notched a personal best .432 batting average, leading
the league with 243 hits in only 128 games.Immortal
Cooperstown inductee Wee Willie Keeler was one of
the best line drive hitters in baseball history. His
statistics are synonymous with his famous "hit 'em
where they ain't" and "keep your eye on the ball"
quotes. |
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Inducted in 1939
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1909 T206 El
Principe de Gales Willie Keeler Portrait PSA 5 EX
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Click Image to Zoom
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Click Image to Zoom
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Comments: Keeler is one of the few
great ballplayers that enjoyed Cooperstown worthy statistics in
both the 19th and 20th centuries and his cardboard artifacts are
highly sought after by advanced collectors. Currently, no type
card issue is hotter than assembling rare T206 advertisement backs.
But, I didn't always have a neat back for Keeler, having first
bought a PSA 4 Piedmont card in February, 2003. But, it always
has been T206 for this guy. In October, 2005 I swapped the Piedmont
reverse for a SGC 30 El Principe de Gales back. In November, 2006
I "upgraded" to a PSA 4. The corners were nicer as was the centering
but the focus was horrible - I hated it, Willie looked cross-eyed.
Luckily, in September of 2011 this PSA 5 showed up on eBay and
I snapped it up. One of the tougher T206 cigarette ad backs to
obtain, "El Principe De Gales" tobacco cards of common players
are highly desirable, let alone ones carrying the image of one
of baseball's immortal Hall of Famers. Substantiating its scarcity
are the combined SGC and PSA census reports which list only 6
other Keeler "Portrait" examples carrying the renowned "El Principe
De Gales" red advertisement. Only a handful could be more coveted
than this obscure T206 keepsake that presents a bright Carl Horner
portrait pose of the legendary Keeler. The critical reverse side
"El Principe De Gales" Cigarette ad still exhibits its original
vivid bold a super clean olive green background, only red typography
and both surfaces are free of any obtrusive flaws. Overall, this
is a super aesthetically pleasing card.
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| Card Details Below: |
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| Year(s): |
1909 |
| ACC Set Designation: |
T206 |
| Set Name: |
El Principe De Gales |
| Country: |
United States |
| Description: |
The nearly 525 cards which make up the T206 set are
the most popular of the early tobacco issues. Players are depicted
in color lithographs surrounded by a white border. The player's
last name on the -7/16" X 2-5/8" cards appears at the bottom with
the city and league, when a city had more than one team. Backs contain
an ad for one of 16 brands of cigarettes. There are 389 major leaguer
cards and 134 minor leaguer cards in the set, but with front/back
varieties the number of potentially different cards runs into the
thousands. The set features many expensive cards including a number
of pose and/or team variations. |
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Example El Principe de Gales Cigarettes Box
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Example EPDG Advertisement
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Example EPDG Advertisement
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