So what has Rosy Ryan done? To date, he's the only reliever to go deep in a World Series game, taking fellow Senators pitcher Allen Russell out in 1924's game three on October 6 (box score). Many champions have come and gone, many relievers have swung the splinter, but only Rosy got to circle the bases at a leisurely pace.
Ryan earned this opportunity in part from his versatility. No fainting flower on the mound, Rosy also led the NL in ERA (1922) and games played (1923) as a key part of three straight Giants pennant winners, 1922-24 (career stats). He even pitched half of that "relief homer game," nearly five innings in all.
Why include the PSA tag? Because "Gaints." |
As for W503 itself, its 64 black-and-white photos are technically strip cards, as they were hand-cut from a multi-card sheet and perhaps distributed with food or candy. They prove so hard to come by that I assume both a small print run and some kind of trade-in promotion. To quote a 2015 Heritage Auctions listing, "Still unknown is exactly who produced and how this scarce set of 64-cards were circulated. The cards are hand-cut...and there is some speculation they may have been issued as a bonus with the purchase of candy or gum."
While finishing a set would be like catching ghosts, you can enjoy more 1922 W503 images for free at http://www.rustywilly.com/1922W503Singles.htm.
2023 update: This Ryan's more trimmed than folded, leaving a clearer image.
Value: Yet to find a W503 #5 to call my own and I assume it'll cost $100+ when I do.
Fakes / reprints: Haven't seen any in the marketplace, but the HOFers are certainly at risk for fakery. Any deal that seems too good to be true goes double for this kind of set.
2 comments:
I just looked these up. Wow. Super tough to find any cards.
Yeah, I'd barely seen any at all before finding that gallery! The guy who compiled has a certain number of them for sale, but no type for me. He might be only guy with a dozen or so at this point.
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