Sunday, December 2, 2018

Another American Caramel Down

I don't have any autographed cards queued up for a Signature Sundays post today, so instead how about a nearly 100-year-old Red Sox card?

Yes, it's another 1922 E120 American Caramel!  This time it's Joe Harris, who played a combination of first base and outfield over the course of his ten MLB seasons.

Like so many players of his era - at least it seems so to me - Joe was a fascinating individual.  Drafted into the army towards the end of WWI, he was in an accident that resulted in two broken legs and a skull fracture.  The skull fracture actually created a visible lump under his eye that he'd deal with for the rest of his life, and even undergo surgery to help correct.

Harris was also at one point added to baseball's ineligible list for violating the precious "reserve clause", but was reinstated in 1922 by Kenesaw Mountain Landis, and joined the Red sox for a handful of very successful campaigns.  In fact, in 1923 he led the team with a .335 batting average and had the 5th highest slugging percentage in the entire American League.

I really treasure these E120 American Caramels.  While no card that's this old is going to be found cheaply, they're not really cost-prohibitive either like some of the rarer cards from this era.  When you can find them, that is.  Makes for a fun team set to chase.  Speaking of which, Joe Harris is my 7th Red Sox card from the set, out of 15 available.  Perched on the edge of halfway complete now!

Well, that's all for today.  Enjoy your Sunday and thanks for popping in!

7 comments:

Fuji said...

Almost halfway there! Hadn't heard of Harris before today... but that's what I love about card blogs. If I don't learn about a new card or set, I'm usually learning about a new player.

Chris said...

Fantastic card! I'm always impressed with your vintage finds (and your research.) I think this team set is definitely doable since you're more than halfway there and I don't see any big names on the checklist.

Chris said...

(oops, not quite halfway there. my bad!)

Greg Zakwin said...

sweet score!

Kin said...

I don't recall seeing these before (though I probably have). They remind me of a stamp, and I like it!

-kin
beansballcardblog.com

Hackenbush said...

Awesome! So many great stories from the early days. Congrats on adding that one to your collection.

Nick said...

Very cool! I have a few T206s and a handful of Goudeys, but not a single card from the couple decades in between like this.

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