QUARANTINE BLOG # 507

August 19, 2021

Attention baseball card collectors.  The T206 Honus Wagner card, was just sold for $6.6 million (which includes a 20% buyer’s premium).  That’s for a thin piece of cardboard that measures 1 and 7∕16 inches by 2 and 5∕8 inches.  

T206 is a landmark set in the history of baseball card collecting, due to its size and rarity, and the quality of its color lithographs.  The T206 set consists of 524 cards.  

It is estimated that fewer than 200 Wagner cards were ever distributed to the public.  Several theories exist as to why the card is so rare. One theory is that the printing plate used to create Wagner’s card broke early on in the production process. Another theory is that there was a copyright dispute between the American Tobacco Company and the artist who created the Wagner lithograph.  The most commonly accepted theory is that the card was pulled from production because Wagner himself objected to the production of the card.

You may be interested in a near-complete set (no Wagner) of the T206 cards being offered on eBay.  The Buy It Now price is $267,320.00, and includes free shipping.

👉  Johannes Peter “Honus” Wagner, born just outside of Pittsburgh, is considered the greatest shortstop to ever play the game and one of the best all-around players in the history of the National League.  

Wagner played 18 of his 21 major league seasons with the Pirates.  During his time with the club, he won eight National League batting titles and powered the Pirates to three consecutive National League pennants in 1901, 1902, and 1903, and a World Series title in 1909.  He retired after the 1917 season, finishing with a career batting average of .328.  In 1936, he was part of the first class elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Pittsburgh Professional Baseball Association commissioned a statue of him.  The bronze sculpture depicts the Pirate great as he follows through on his swing, watching the flight of the ball he just hit.  It originally stood in Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park, beyond Forbes Field’s left field fence. 

Following the demolition of the Forbes Field and the Pirates move to the North Shore, the statue was moved to Three River Stadium, where it stood outside Gate C.  Today, the sculpture stands outside of PNC Park’s home plate entrance.

👉  Our next memorial to George Washington is Washington Terrace, a residential private place in St. Louis, Missouri, laid out in 1892.  A private place is a self-governing enclave whose common areas like streets and common gardens are owned by the residents, with services provided by the private sector, an experiment that foreshadowed the gated community in the U.S. by 100 years.  Washington Terrace was laid out with 50 lots and an imposing entry gate, a “French Norman Clock Tower.”

Washington Terrace, is well-preserved and still gated, patrolled, and still functioning as a  private enclave.  If you are interested, 8 Washington Terrace is for sale.  The asking price for the 7 bedroom, 7 bath, 8,532 square foot home is $1,400,000.  

Take a look at this video to see what your investment will get you.  The house really is fantastic.

Next up is the George Washington Bridge, a double-decked suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River.  The bridge is the world’s busiest motor vehicle bridge, carrying over 100 million vehicles a year.  It has an upper level that carries four lanes in each direction and a lower level with three lanes in each direction, for a total of 14 lanes of travel.  

And finally for today, “George Washington,” a life-size marble statue of George Washington, done in the style of a Roman general.  Commissioned by the State of North Carolina in 1815, it was completed in 1820 and installed in the rotunda of the North Carolina State House on December 24, 1821.  The building and the statue were destroyed by fire on June 21, 1831.  

This plaster replica is on display at the North Carolina Museum of History, and a second copy is located at the North Carolina State Capitol.

George Washington tributes conclude tomorrow.

👉  For your amusement, some “Black Outs”:

👉  And some more thoughts on aging and other stuff:

• Retirement to do list:  Wake up.  Nailed it!

• Went to an antique show and people were bidding on me.

• I won’t say I’m worn out, but I don’t get near the curb on trash day.

• Retired:  under new management.  See spouse for details.

• I don’t have grey hair.  I have wisdom highlights.

👉  Today’s close “The Cure for Disappointment,” is by Max Lucado.

When God doesn’t do what we want, it’s not easy.  Never has been.  Never will be.  But faith is the conviction that God knows more than we do about this life and he will get us through it.

Remember, disappointment is cured by revamped expectations.

I like the story about the fellow who went to the pet store in search of a singing parakeet. Seems he was a bachelor and his house was too quiet. The store owner had just the bird for him, so the man bought it.

The next day the bachelor came home from work to a house full of music. He went to the cage to feed the bird and noticed for the first time that the parakeet had only one leg.

He felt cheated that he’d been sold a one-legged bird, so he called and complained.

“What do you want,” the store owner responded, “a bird who can sing or a bird who can dance?”

Good question for times of disappointment.

-30-