Eddie Cicotte Pickup: 1921 W516-2-2 Strip Card, Slabbed an SGC Authentic

Earlier this year I finally added my first card of one of the Black Sox banned for life for throwing the 1919 World Series: Eddie Cicotte. The card is a gloriously miscut 1921 W516-2-2 strip card with two names and a gigantic top border. It's been slabbed as Authentic by SGC and makes for a fun addition to my Vintage PC.

Cicotte, one of the first true knuckleballers, eventually grew into one of the better hurlers of his time but felt underpaid like many of his teammates. He eventually agreed to participate -- allegedly -- in the throwing of the 1919 World Series when he realized there was no way he would get a previously-promised bonus.

Cicotte was a boxmaker before becoming a ballplayer; brawled with Ty Cobb when the two were teammates in the minors; threw a no-hitter; helped the Sox win the 1917 World Series; and worked as a game warden, strawberry farmer, and for Ford after his baseball career ended with him touring the country with outlaw teams.