Helmar T206 Series – Hal Chase (New York Americans)
                                               Card No. 518

Helmar’s T206 interpretation of Hal Chase presents the famously gifted yet controversial first
baseman in calm repose, bathed in the golden light of a late-afternoon diamond. Sanjay
Verma’s gouache work renders Chase’s confident stance and faint half-smile with remarkable
subtlety, his crisp white uniform and deep-blue “NY” emblem standing in luminous contrast
against a soft, pastel sky.

Often called one of the slickest fielders of the Deadball Era, Chase’s natural grace at first
base was unmatched—he could scoop, stretch, and pivot with balletic ease. His talent,
however, was shadowed by scandal: persistent accusations of gambling and game-fixing
followed him throughout his career. This portrait, poised between light and shadow, captures
both the magnetism and moral ambiguity that made Chase one of baseball’s most fascinating
early figures.

Original gouache painting by Sanjay Verma.