The “King of the Commons” is considered one of the most coveted and rare sets of baseball cards in the industry. Cards from the 1886-1887 N172 Old Judge tobacco cigarette brand are especially legendary for their age, scarcity, and importance in the early evolution of sports cards.
The evolution of baseball cards in America began in the late 19th century as companies sought innovative ways to advertise and promote their tobacco products. In 1868, the first cigarette cards surfaced from the Allen & Ginter tobacco company of Richmond, Virginia featuring non-sports topics to entice new customers. These early cards helped plant the seeds of what would become a multi-billion dollar sports memorabilia industry.
In 1886, the manufacturers at Goodwin & Co. in New York realized the untapped potential of baseball as the new national pastime and decided to feature leading big league players of the day on a new series of cigarette cards inserted in packs of their Old Judge brand. This made the Old Judge set the first dedicated sports card series in the collectible card world. The cards were quite narrow in size at 1 1/4 inches by 2 1/4 inches in a vertical rectangle shape.
Quality reproductions were still quite limited in the 1880s photography era, so the Front of the cards featured small mugshot-style black and white portraits while the Back of each card contained a whimsical rhyme about the player alongside brief stats and accomplishments. Some notable HOF players included in the landmark 1886 Old Judge set were Mike “King” Kelly, Tim Keefe, Jim O’Rourke, John Clarkson, and Pete Browning.
For over 100+ years, the nickname “King of the Commons” has been bestowed upon the scarcest and most iconic card from the seminal 1886-1887 N172 Old Judge set – the card famous Chicago White Stockings (Cubs) outfielder Mike “King” Kelly. At only an estimated 10-12 surviving copies in existence today, the Kelly card is the prize possession for any serious baseball card collector or investor.
Outside of a SGC-graded PSA 1 copy that sold for $200,000 in 2016, no other Kelly card has been professionally authenticated and graded by the major third-party authenticators. Given the card’s extreme age and condition challenges, ungraded examples rarely trade hands either. As a result, the true statistical rarity of the fabled “King of the Commons” remains mostly a mystery to all but the handful who can definitively claim ownership of college.
Some key facts that help explain the Mike “King” Kelly card’s extreme scarcity and legendary status over 135+ years:
As one of the set’s most popular players of the 1880s, his card was pulled and kept at a much higher rate compared to lesser stars which increases survival odds. Yet only a tiny fraction remain.
Cigarette cards were meant to be smoked, traded, played with as a child, or simply discarded over time which has destroyed the vast majority of the original print run.
The fragile paper stock and small size of these early cards also made longevity much more challenging before the advent of protective sleeves and holders.
Natural disasters, fires, flood and other environmental factors over a century eliminate cards not already lost to other means.
As the first sports star cards, collectors of the time did not grasp the importance of preserving mint condition which has made top-grades impossible to attain.
Intense interest in the cards from the earliest collectors onward has likely led to further loss from multiple re-mounts/removals over the decades in attempts to showcase.
For such a legendary figure in baseball’s early growth, one would expect more of his iconic rookie card to have survived by sheer dint of his popularity alone.
The unbelievably low survivor rate of the Mike Kelly “King of the Commons” card has led most experts to estimate the true original print run was probably just a few hundred copies at most. While heapshot photos could not properly capture the larger-than-life “King” Kelly’s incredible talent and charisma, his pioneering cardboard has become one of the most valuable in the world due to its tremendous historical importance and statistical rarity. After 135+ years, the dazzling King still reigns supreme as the undisputed ruler of a collectible kingdom unto himself.
