Charles Albert “Chief” Bender was a star pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics baseball team in the early 20th century. As one of the best pitchers of his era, Bender achieved many accomplishments over his 16-year career that spanned from 1903 to 1918. His playing success led to his likeness appearing on numerous baseball cards over the years. Bender’s cards remain some of the most sought after by collectors today due to his prominence and the scarcity of surviving examples from the early 1900s.
Bender was born in San Pablo, California in 1884 to parents of Miwok Native American descent. He grew up playing baseball in his youth and earned his nickname “Chief” due to his heritage. Bender made his professional debut in 1903 with the Philadelphia Athletics. He immediately found success, winning 20 games in his rookie season and establishing himself as the ace of the A’s pitching staff. Bender’s early career coincided with the rise of baseball cards as a popular collectible during the early 20th century.
Some of the earliest known baseball cards to feature Bender’s image were issued in the 1909-1911 series produced by the American Tobacco Company under their Fatima brand of cigarettes. These cards depicted individual players from both the National and American Leagues. The cards measured about 2.5 inches by 3 inches and featured artwork renderings of each player. Bender’s card from this set showed him in an underhand pitching motion wearing an Athletics uniform. Only about 50 of Bender’s cards from the 1909-1911 Fatima series are believed to still exist today in collectible condition, making them highly valuable to vintage baseball card enthusiasts.
In the 1911-12 series produced by the same company under their Sweet Caporal brand, a color tinted photo postcard style card of Bender was issued. This style of card depicted the player in a smaller headshot photo on the front with a message space and stamp box on the reverse. Even fewer numbers of the Sweet Caporal Bender card have survived to modern times, with experts estimating less than 10 high grade specimens known to collectors. Both of these early Tobacco card issues featuring Bender are considered among the most significant and valuable baseball cards in the hobby due to his stature as a star player and the extreme scarcity of high quality surviving examples.
Bender’s career continued its excellence over the next several seasons. He led the American League in wins with 28 victories in 1910 and helped the A’s capture three consecutive World Series championships from 1910 to 1913. As a result of his sustained success on the field, Bender’s popularity led to his continued inclusion in several new baseball card series released in the mid-1910s. In 1914, the American Caramel Company distributed individual player cards as inserts with caramel products. Their Bender card depicted a clean-shaven photo of the pitcher in an A’s uniform.
Several other companies also issued sets including Bender in 1914 and 1915, such as Karmell Korn and Vanity Fair cigarettes. Production numbers of cards from these early 20th century issues were quite low and many were never saved or have not survived in collectible condition nearly 110 years later. As a result, high quality specimens of Bender’s 1914-1915 cards remain quite scarce to find on the hobby market today. Perhaps the most widely distributed and best-known Bender card from this period was issued in the 1915 Cracker Jack set. Over 100 million Cracker Jack boxes were sold that year and the Bender card distributed within is the most frequently encountered example from his playing days. Still, high grade specimens with strong eye appeal fetch premium prices when they surface at auction.
Bender continued pitching through the 1918 season before retiring at the age of 34. In his 16-year career spent entirely with the Philadelphia A’s, he compiled a record of 239 wins against only 141 losses and had a career ERA of 2.46. Bender’s accomplishments included four seasons leading the American League in wins, three World Series championships, and an induction to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953. After his playing days, Bender remained involved in baseball and served as an executive and coach for various teams. He passed away in 1954 at the age of 70.
As one of the early superstars of the game in the Deadball Era, Bender’s popularity and success led to his frequent inclusion on many of the pioneering baseball cards of the 1910s. While extremely low production numbers and over a century of wear and tear have made high grade specimens quite rare, Bender’s cards remain among the most iconic and desirable for collectors today seeking pieces of baseball history. Examples that have survived the decades in excellent preserved condition consistently achieve top prices at public auction. Chief Bender’s playing career achievements and the scarcity of his surviving vintage cards have cemented his legacy as one of the most significant figures to ever be featured on early 20th century baseball cards.