Five Best T201 Mecca Double Folder Pairings

Posted on June 25, 2018 by Pre-War Cards

The 1911 T201 Mecca Double Folder set was one of the more unique card sets in the pre-war era. The most interesting thing about it was the folding design to feature two players on one card. While that became more common later, at the time, it wasn’t something you saw very much.

The cards feature two players and, as you’d expect, some pairings were better than others. Here are the top five pairings from the set as I see them. An honorable mention goes to the card of Miller Huggins and Roger Bresnahan — it’s one of only four that features both players in the Hall of Fame.

That said, here are my top five pairings from the set.

5. Frank Chance / Johnny Evers

Just missing the cut was a card featuring Hall of Famers Miller Huggins and Roger Bresnahan. They were beaten out by a pair of Cubs’ Hall of Fame infielders.

The missing player from this card, of course, is Joe Tinker, who teamed with the pair for a famous double play combination. Tinker, too, was a Hall of Famer. But with only room for two players, it wasn’t possible to feature the entire trio.

Despite the fact that Tinker is missing, the card is one of the better ones featuring two Hall of Famers and is a popular one for Cubs collectors.

4. (tie) Al Bridwell / Christy Mathewson

This card features Mathewson, the Hall of Fame pitcher. He’s paired with Al Bridwell, a serviceable defensive shortstop but Matty’s the real prize here.

Unfortunately, as it was on several other cards, Mathewson’s name is misspelled with two ‘T’s. But this is still one of the better cards in the set.

That Bridwell was included on the card was interesting. It also means this set was clearly produced earlier in the year as opposed to later.

He is featured as a New York Giants teammate of Mathewson but, while he started the season there, he was traded in July to the Boston Rustlers. Pictured with the Giants, that would mean the cards were almost certainly printed before then.

4. (tie) Walter Johnson / Gabby Street

Here we’ve got another Hall of Fame pitcher with battery mate, catcher Gabby Street. This is a similar card to the Mathewson/Bridwell in that it features a major Hall of Famer in Walter Johnson and a pretty modest player.

Just too difficult to really separate this one from the Mathewson card so I’m calling a tie here. Both cards are similar in that they include one of the greatest pitchers of all time and the price point is roughly the same.

2. Home Run Baker / Eddie Collins

This card is really impressive with two Hall of Fame players. Home Run Baker was one of the early great power hitters before Babe Ruth came onto the scene and Collins won a Most Valuable Player award while finishing in the top three a total of five times.

Neither player has the star power of Johnson or Mathewson and, conversely, the card does not sell for as much as either of theirs. That might lead some to think I’ve overrated it a bit on my list. But both are quality Hall of Famers and Collins, in particular, is one of the more underappreciated players of his generation.

In terms of star power, this card has it.

1. Ty Cobb / Sam Crawford

Even if Cobb wasn’t featured with Hall of Fame teammate Sam Crawford here, it’d be tough for anyone to knock his card from the No. 1 spot. His cards are simply that popular. But given that Crawford is on the card, it makes this a slam dunk for the top pick.

Cobb is one of the greatest players of all time and adding the Hall of Fame Crawford to this card obviously means it’s the key one in the set.

The one disadvantage to the Cobb card is that it’s essentially on the back. Sure, Crawford on the front isn’t a bad option at all. But most collectors would much rather have Cobb on the other side so that his legs were displayed.

Predictably, the card is also the most valuable one in the set. It generally starts around $200 in low-grade condition and that makes it one of Cobb’s more affordable tobacco cards.