Eddie Plank was a Hall of Fame left-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1901 to 1917, almost exclusively for the Philadelphia Athletics. As one of the sport’s earliest pitching greats, Plank achieved widespread acclaim and numerous accolades over his lengthy career. Consequently, he has been featured prominently on baseball cards since the early decades of the 20th century.
Plank made his big league debut in 1901 at age 21 after spending three years in the minor leagues developing his skills. That same season, the American Tobacco Company issued the first modern baseball cards as promotional inserts in packs of cigarettes and chewing tobacco. While Plank likely did not appear in that inaugural series due to his rookie status, his popularity grew quickly as his successful major league tenure took off. By the mid-1900s, card manufacturers began regularly including active players like Plank each year.
One of the earliest identifiable Eddie Plank baseball cards comes from the 1909-11 series issued by the American Card Company. This postcard-sized card proudly displays an action image of Plank in an Athletics uniform with his name and stats printed below. As one of the game’s top hurlers of that era, his inclusion in early 20th century sets was quite common. Card buffs and collectors consider examples from brands like T206 (1909-11), M101-8 (1910), and other prominent issues of that period to be among the most desired Plank cards.
Plank’s legendary career achievements, including remarkable durability and excellence on the mound, made him enormously popular with fans. This translated directly to strong baseball card sales and higher values for issues sporting his photo or illustration. For example, sporting spectacular won-loss records and stellar ERAs year after year, the hard-throwing lefty captured pitching’s Triple Crown in 1909 by winning 31 games and leading the AL in wins, ERA, and strikeouts. Such statistical dominance increased collectors’ demand for cards of him from that particular season.
Into the teens, as the baseball card consumer market continued to blossom, Plank was a sure-fire inclusion. After helping lead the A’s to three consecutive World Series titles between 1910-1913, the ace hurler reached new levels of fame. As a result, his appearance in well-known vintage sets like Hassan Triple Fold (1915), M101-14 Miller’s Genuine (1915), and Sporting News (1915) are highly sought. Of note, the Sporting News card showcased a rare frontal portrait of Plank not seen on his earlier issue cards.
Plank played his final season in 1917 at age 37, retiring with a career win-loss record of 326-194 and a superb 2.35 ERA. Incredibly, over his 17 year tenure, he started a mind-blowing 640 games and completed 373 — a staggering workload by today’s standards. After being inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946, Plank sadly passed away later that year in Kentucky. His legend and accomplishments continued to stimulate interest in collectors obtaining examples of his early 20th century baseball cards for decades after his playing days.
A 1916 issue Eddie Plank card produced by the Candy Buff baseball card series stands out both for its rarity and imagery. Only fifty of these scarce treats were distributed by a confectioner in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The incredibly low print run makes any surviving copy exceptionally valuable today. Depicting a close-up headshot of Plank in A’s clothing, it exemplifies his enduring popularity even after his retirement from the mound. Issues from the 1916 and 1917 Cracker Jack sets also have attained great worth considering Plank’s popularity at the time and the short window he remained an active participant.
In the post-war years as baseball memorabilia collecting continued evolving, prominent sets like 1939 Play Ball, 1951 Bowman, and 1952 Topps featured Plank amongst the all-time greats already enshrined in Cooperstown. As one of the pioneering superstars who helped grow the national pastime in the early 1900s, his later inclusion ensured younger generations were exposed to his legend. Examples from 1950s issues in high grade can value anywhere from $100-$300 given their scarcity and condition sensitivity.
Throughout the modern era, prominent vintage reprint producers like TCMA, Pacific, and Impel have helped ensure Eddie Plank has proper representation amongst collectors. By faithfully recreating his coveted pre-1920 holographic stock images from a historical lens, reprints somewhat fill the gap until originals can be attained. Also, in 2019, Topps released a special Allen & Ginter “Legends” card saluting Plank’s Hall of Fame status and contributions as a keystone of early MLB history. As one of pitching’s earliest icons, Plank’s pioneering baseball career and popularity have stood the test of time as evidenced by the numerous vintage and reprint cards that memorialize his legend for collectors.
