Categories: EvergreenHistory

The 4 most valuable Philadelphia baseball cards ever

Ed Delahanty (middle row, second to left) is picture on one of the most valuable baseball cards of all time. (The A.G. Spalding Baseball Collection/Wikimedia Commons)

While the famed Honus Wagner T206 is the most recognizable and expensive baseball card in history, it’s not the only card in that set to hold value.

In fact, two of the most valuable baseball cards depicting Philadelphia players come from the same collection released by the American Tobacco Company in the early 20th century.

All in all, a total of four Philadelphia Phillies or Philadelphia Athletics cards are within the 100 most valuable baseball cards of all-time. Here’s a look at the priciest Philadelphia cards ever made, according to Old Sports Cards:

1. 1909-1911 T206 Eddie Plank, estimated $850,000

Eddie Plank American Tobacco Company T206

This card depicting Philadelphia A’s pitcher Eddie Plank is considered so valuable due to its rarity, like the aforementioned Wagner card.

The Gettysburg native was a three-time World Series champion with the A’s and was posthumously inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946. He is a member of both the Athletics Hall of Fame and the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame, located at Citizens Bank Park.

2. 1909-1911 T206 Sherry Magee error card, estimated $660,000

Sherry Magee American Tobacco Company T206

Another card from the same set, the Sherry Magee error card is so rare due to a misspelling of the former Phillies outfielder’s last name as “Magie,” which was corrected in later printings.

Magee won the 1910 batting title with the Phillies and led the National League in RBIs four times. He is also a member of the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame.

3. 1909 American Caramel E90-1 Joe Jackson, estimated $600,000

Joe Jackson American Caramel E90-1

The 1901 American Camel E90-1 serves as a rookie card for Joe Jackson. Before any of the glory in Cleveland and Chicago or subsequent shame at the end of his career, “Shoeless Joe” made his debut for the Philadelphia A’s.

Jackson played only 10 games in two seasons for the Athletics. After moving on to stardom, he was permanently banned from Major League Baseball for his involvement in the “Black Sox” scandal, where White Sox players threw the 1919 World Series.

4. 1895 Mayo’s Cut Plug Ed Delahanty, estimated $70,000

Ed Delahanty 1895 Mayo’s Cut Plug

Another tobacco card, this 19th-century collectable depicts former Phillies outfielder Ed Delehanty, who was an early star for the franchise

Delehanty led the NL in home runs twice, RBIs three times and stolen bases and batting average once apiece. He was also the second player in major-league history to hit four home runs in a game — a single-game record that hasn’t been broken — in 1896. Delehanty is a Phillies Wall of Famer and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945.