This article, written by Joe Michalowicz, originally appeared in the Trader Speaks, a noted hobby publication that ran from the late 1960s to early 1980s.
In 1913 Fatima Turkish Blend cigarettes, a division of the Liggett & Meyers Tobacco Company, issued two sets of cards, listed as T200 and T222 in the American Card Catalog. The T200 set consists of team pictures of each of the 16 baseball clubs in the major leagues at that time, while the T222’s portray individual baseball players, athletes and photoplay stars (actors and actresses). The T200’s measure 2-3/4″ by 4-3/4″ and the T222’s about 1/4″ smaller in both dimensions; both are on thin stiff paper which develops cracks and creases rather easily, much like old photo stock. The team or individual pictures on the front are glossy sepia photos, credited to Pictorial News Co. at the bottom of the card, while the backs give information on the set and advertises the cigarettes.
T200
The pictures in the T200 set present handsomely posed group pictures of each of the 16 major league teams. Five of the teams are more difficult to find: Detroit, New York A.L. St. Louis A.L., Boston N.L., and St. Louis N.L. Perhaps this is due to the fact that these teams were hardly powerhouses in 1913, with Detroit (even with Ty Cobb hitting .390), New York and St. Louis the last three teams in the American League and Boston and St. Louis the fifth and eighth place teams respectively in the National League. (However, remember that Boston was destined to become the Miracle Braves in 1914).
The reverse of the T200 card promises an enlarged 13″ by 21″ picture of any team requested in exchange for 40 Fatima cigarette coupons. This should certainly have been a highly desired premium but very few of these still exist today. The pictures are the same as the T200’s except that the Fatima advertising is omitted. Close observation of the large pictures reveals that players absent when the photo was taken were apparently added to the picture later. A number of interesting players appear in the T200 photos: a smiling Honus Wagner makes his only “other” appearance on a tobacco card, and Jim Thorpe shows up in the New York Giants photo.
T222
The reverse of the T222 card advertises a collection of 100 photographs of famous Baseball players, American Athletic Champions and Photoplay stars, although the most up-to-date T222 checklist (given below) includes 52 baseball players, 4 athletes, and 4 photoplay stars, for a total of only 60 subjects.
Baseball Players
Alexander, Phila NL
Archer, chicago NL
Austin, St. Louis, AL
Barry, Phila AL
Baumgardner, St. Louis AL
Benton, Cincinnati NL
Bresnahan, Chicago NL
Brown, Phila AL
Burns, New York NL
Bush, Phila AL
Chalmers, Phila NL
Chance, New York AL
Demaree, New York NL
Fletcher, New York NL
Hamilton, St. Louis AL
Henry, Washington AL
Houck, Phila AL
Huggins, St. Louis NL
Jennings, Detroit AL
Johnson, Washington AL
Keating, New York AL
Lapp, Phila AL
Leach, Chicago NL
Leibold, Cleveland AL
Lelivelt, Cleveland AL
Lobert, Phila NL
McBride, Washington AL
McInnis, Phila AL
McLean, New York NL
Magee (Lee), St. Louis NL
Magee (Sherry), Phila NL
Maisel, New York AL
Marquard, New York NL
Morgan, Washington AL
E. Murphy, Phila AL
Murray, New York NL
Oldring, Phila AL
Orr, Phila AL
Perdue, Boston NL
Phelan, Chicago NL
Reulbach, Brooklyn NL
Saier, Chicago NL
Sallee, St. Louis NL
Schang, Phila AL
Schulte, Chicago NL
Smith, J.C., Brooklyn NL
Strunk, Phila AL
Sweeney, chicago NL
Tyler, Boston NL
Vitt, Detroit AL
Wingo, St. Louis NL
Zimmerman, Chicago NL
Athletes
Baker (sprinter)
McGrath (shotput)
Meyer (sprinter)
Muller (discus)
Photoplay Stars
Della Connor
Paul Panzer
Pearl Sindelar
Crane Wilbur
Having a nostalgic affection for the long-lost Washington Senators, I remember doing mental hand-springs when I obtained the card of the great Walter Johnson. The list of players included is interesting both for whom it includes – players such as George Baumgardner, Sadie Houck, and John Lelivelt – as well as for whom it is missing – Cobb, Mathewson, et al. Not only is Sherry Magee, famous for winning the N.L. batting championship in 1910 as well as being misspelled on a T206 card, included but also the much lesser known Lee Magee.
Fatima Tobacco cards are not easy to find but you can usually locate a decent selection online. Click here to see them on eBay.
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