Graded: 1919-21 W514 #15 Joe Jackson Hand Cut VG-EX 4
Given the opportunity to go back in time, Marty McFly may want the fictitious Sports Almanac – Complete Sports Statistics 1950-2050, but sports card collectors would love to bring back the 120-card 1919 W514 set. The value, even if in poor condition, would be lifechanging for most. An ungraded W514 #15 Joe Jackson Hand Cut alone could bring anywhere from $1,500 to $6,600.
Some names in the set are lost to time but not to the Hall of Fame. The “Home Run King” Babe Ruth (#2), Bill Southworth (#16), Max Carey (#22), Eddie Collins (#25), Miller Huggins (#34), Clark Griffth (#41), Ty Cobb (#43), Rogers Hornsby (#56), Walter Johnson (#94), Tris Speaker (#102), and Casey Stengel (#113) are just a few found in the iconic release.
Because the cards are believed to have been released over the course of three years due to team name variations, the set can be recognized as 1919-21 W514.
Unlike modern versions, the W-sets were offered in strips with the cards being cut, or hand cut, from the strips into 1-7/16”x2-1/2” trading collectibles.
One of the significant cards in the collection is Joe Jackson’s. Earning the nickname “Shoeless” Joe Jackson after playing a game… shoeless… in South Carolina due to blisters from his cleats, Jackson became one of MLB’s greatest hitters. The lefty is fourth in league history producing a lifetime batting average of .3558 behind Rogers Hornsby (.3585), Oscar Charleston (.3648), and Ty Cobb (.3662).
Jackson began his MLB career with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1908 (-1909) with a six-year stop in Cleveland with the Naps/Indians (1910-15), and then with the Chicago White Sox (1915-20).
In 1911, Jackson’s rookie year, he set an MLB record batting .408, but still did not win the batting title that season thanks to Ty Cobb’s .419 average.
Beyond the nickname, Jackson is unfortunately best remembered not for his talent in the batter’s box or with a glove but for the Black Sox Scandal.
In 1919, the White Sox lost to the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series; eight Chicago players, including Jackson, were accused of taking money to throw the series. But Jackson was anything but a rollover hitting .375 with a Series record 12 hits that stood until 1964. Jackson received a lifetime ban from baseball for his part in the scandal despite a Chicago jury acquitting Jackson and his teammates in 1921.
During a Goldin Auctions in June of 2024, a graded 2 #15 Joe Jackson sold for $7,320. March of that year, a Near-Mint 8 sold for $21,000 at a Heritage Auction.
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