This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/20/2015
Graded EX/NM 80 (6) by SGC. The prized card is the highest graded copy on either the PSA or SGC census reports. One of the greatest right-handed sluggers of all time, Ed Delahanty dominated the 1890s like no other hitter, batting better than .400 three times, leading the league in slugging percentage four times, and capturing three RBI crowns on his way to a lifetime batting average of .346, the fifth best mark in baseball history. Known as "Big Ed," and the "King of Swat," the muscular Delahanty was more than a one-dimensional slugger; he was also a fleet-footed, rifle-armed left fielder who was good enough to play center, and an excellent base runner who once led the league in stolen bases. "Delahanty is an awfully even, well balanced player all around," Sporting Life once observed. "You look at his batting and say well, that chap is valuable if he couldn't catch the measles, and then you look at his fielding and conclude that it wouldn't pay to let him go if he couldn't hit a bat bag." Despite such versatility, the temperamental star was destined to make more headlines off the field than on it, and his death, less than two years into his tenure with the Washington Senators, remains one of the most fascinating mysteries in the annals of the sport. At age 35, Delahanty’s life came to a tragic end when he exited a train and fell off the International Railway Bridge that crossed over Niagara Falls. Years after his death the Sporting News wrote of Delahanty “he was among the greatest batters the game ever produced. Great batters, like poets, are born, not made." The card is a stunning visual rendition that offers a well centered image of the tragic hero outlined by the exceptionally fragile black borders of this elusive issue. A slight bit of chipping of the black is found on three of the corners that each still fall well within the EX/MT assessment. The surface of the card is smooth and problem free with nary a pitfall in sight, as well the reverse offers the most pleasing appearance of any Mayo Cut Plug card we have ever encountered. An amazing pasteboard that comes with our utmost of approval.