Vintage Card Of The Month: 1920 W516-1-2 Larry Doyle Strip Card

 

I came across the most interesting card for this month’s VCoM edition. I believe the card comes from a 1920 W516-1-2 strip cards sheet. This specific set includes 30 cards and these cards are the reverse negative image of the 1920 W516-1 strip cards.

 

Larry Doyle spent most of his 13-year career with the New York Giants, with a two-year stint with the Cubs in-between. He went to three straight World Series (losing all three) in 1911, 1912 and 1913 but he did win the 1912 NL MVP and he was the 1915 NL Batting Champ. He ended up retiring the year before the Giants went on to win two straight World Series titles but those are the breaks.

 

Back to the card. It is a mystery of sorts but it cost about $5 shipped and I am willing to take a chance on it. It appears to be a 1920 W516-1-2 because it is a reverse image and is missing the additional information of the 1920 W516-1 cards. The card is the proper size, roughly the size of a tobacco era card and thickness. Because the cards were sold in strips at candy stores they are usually trimmed but this one was not only trimmed but somebody removed the background and 3 borders leaving just Larry Doyle’s smiling face. To add to the excessive trimming, the card has been altered too. The lips were colored in red with crayon, at least I think it is crayon, and the hat was marked with vertical strips of the Giants home uniform.