Synopses & Reviews
Only a few dozen T206 Wagners are known to still exist, having been released in limited numbers just after the turn of the twentieth century. Most, with their creases and stains, look like they've been around for nearly one hundred years. But one—The Card—appears to have defied the travails of time. Its sharp corners and still-crisp portrait make it the single-most famous—and most desired—baseball card on the planet, valued today at more than two million dollars. It has transformed a simple hobby into a billion-dollar industry that is at times as lawless as the Wild West. Everything about The Card, which has made men wealthy as well as poisoned lifelong relationships, is fraught with controversy—from its uncertain origins to the nagging possibility that it might not be exactly as it seems.
In this intriguing, eye-opening, and groundbreaking look at a uniquely American obsession, award-winning investigative reporters Michael O'Keeffe and Teri Thompson follow The Card's trail from a Florida flea market to the hands of the world's most prominent collectors. The Card sheds a fascinating new light on a world of counterfeiters, con men, and the people who profit from what used to be a pastime for kids.
Review
“Lively and well-researched.” Sports Illustrated.com
Synopsis
Two award-winning sports journalists tell the astonishing story of one of the country's most prized icons--the legendary Honus Wagner baseball card--and bring to light the myths, lore, rumors, and facts that have shaped this card's legend.
About the Author
Michael O'Keeffe is an award-winning journalist who is a member of the New York
Daily News sports investigation team. He has been a reporter and editor for more than twenty years. A graduate of the University of Colorado, he lives in Brooklyn with his wife and son.
Teri Thompson is the editor of the Daily News sports investigative team and Sunday sports section, both of which have won numerous awards under her direction. One of the first women sportswriters in the country, she spent twelve years as an award-winning sportswriter and columnist for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver and worked for ESPN as a coordinating producer for SportsCenter. She is the recipient of the New York Times Fellowship for Journalists at the Columbia Law School and is a member of the Connecticut bar. She and her husband split their time between Connecticut and New York.