1911 T206 - Ed Konetchy

Ed had two different T206 cards (the other has him with his glove raised over his head). It was not unusual for players to have more than one card front, especially for the stars. Ed was never in the elite class, but he was a great first baseman, hit well, and was fast. His consistency of high quality play made for a border-line HOF career.

The T206 cards have their cigarette branding on their backs. There are many brands, and collectors have figured out the back scarcities and value the cards accordingly. This one had a Piedmont back, which is one of the easier backs (seen at the bottom of the page).

One of the most interesting stories about Ed Konetchy involved a train wreck in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1911. The Cardinals were traveling between games, and the manager had their pullman coach cards moved to the back of the train so that the players could sleep away from the noise of the engine. The had a terrible wreck in the early morning. The Cardinals coaches survived the wreck and the manager led the team in rescuing the passengers from the wreckage. Here is a link to a great write-up about it. I've also included a a postcard from one of the team members to his wife. I don't know exactly how it worked, but back in the day you could get a photo developed as a postcard, kind of like an old-school instagram. The team had their photo taken on top of their coach after the wreck, and at least two postcards were made for them to send (or keep). Ed Konetchy is circled.