T206 Claude Rossman -or- A New Back!

There's a yearly spring show in our area that I'm not a fan of.  The reason?  It's run by a local company that claims to be "the largest buyer of sports cards and sports memorabilia in the US."  However, they make no effort to connect with the local card community.  I still go to the show, despite the $5 admission, because there are sellers we don't see locally any other time.  

My opinion is that this show is getting worse by the year.  A couple of the sellers that I spent the most with at last year's show weren't there.  More disappointing yet is that the exhibitor I hoped to see wasn't there.  He double committed and instead of coming to the Dallas area, he went to a bigger show in Houston.  I don't blame him.  

A guy that works with him had a little bit of that seller's stuff there, but none of the real goodies.  At least he was there, as it was the only table I saw with any amount of pre-war.  The options were limited but I bought one card because it was a new advertising back to my growing collection. 

1909-11 The American Tobacco Company T206 White Border #NNO Claude Rossman 

Yeah, there's some paper loss.  Yeah, I'm pretty sure that it's been trimmed.  The price wasn't bad and it's the first Sovereign back for me.  

According to the book "THE T206 COLLECTION The Players & Their Stories," Claude Rossman was the original Chuck Knoblauch.  After heavily contributing to the Tigers' 1907 and 1908 teams, he was out of the majors in 1909.  Rossman would freeze when he needed to throw the ball, allowing runners to advance because he didn't want to risk throwing.  He was later able to put together five good seasons in the minors as an outfielder before retiring.  

Freezing in the field may have been foreshadowing.  Rossman's neurological and mental health declined and he died in a mental hospital at just 46.  

Per T206 Insider, Rossman's cards aren't all that scarce, at just 227th.  The back is more scarce.  Sovereign Apple Green backs are the 22nd most scarce of the 36 backs.  

My monster number now stands at 28 (of 524).  On T206Insider, my set is now at 12.1, good for 48th.  You can find a gallery of what I have on my Collector Focus page.

If you'd like to learn more about the T206 set, there are plenty of resources.  A very popular one is Scot Reader's "Inside T206."  Others I like are Net 54 and T206 Insider (links above to both), as well as the blog on That T206 Life.

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I've decided to try selling on Sports Card Direct again.  Hopefully you'll take a look at my page and see if there's anything you're interested in.  I can always sell off the site and ship in a PWE if you're only looking for a card or two and don't want to pay $3 shipping.

If you shop online and haven't signed up and used ebates yet, you're missing out.  I also use it on eBay to get money back from purchases there.  Between referrals and cash back, I've gotten over $150 in a year.  FREE CARDS!  I have another $40+ going into my Paypal account in the next couple weeks.

If you're on Twitter, please give me a follow.  You can also find me on Trading Card Database.  I love trading cards, when it makes sense.  Happy collecting!