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T3-Helmar, #5
Fred Merkle

Picture, Helmar Brewing, T3-Helmar Card # 5, Fred Merkle, Throwing Ball, New York GiantsPicture, Helmar Brewing, T3-Helmar Card # 5, Fred Merkle, Throwing Ball, New York Giants
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Customer Submitted Images


Picture, Helmar Brewing, T3-Helmar Card # 5, Fred Merkle, Throwing Ball, New York Giants

Treasure box of T-3!
T. Hallman

Picture, Helmar Brewing, T3-Helmar Card # 5, Fred Merkle, Throwing Ball, New York Giants

Collected one-by-one
Gary Stone

Picture, Helmar Brewing, T3-Helmar Card # 5, Fred Merkle, Throwing Ball, New York Giants

Getting close to the full set
Gary Stone

Card Statistics

Helmar’s T3 series continues with Fred Merkle, shown in the uniform of the New York Nationals in a lively full-figure fielding pose. Merkle is caught in motion, body turning sharply with glove held low and his throwing arm extended behind him, giving the composition considerably more movement than the formal standing portraits common to many early tobacco issues. His light uniform and blue stockings stand crisply against the vivid green field and broad blue-and-white sky, producing a bright, open composition that still retains the large-format dignity associated with the T3 series.

The original artwork was created by Charles Mandel in oil pastels. Mandel uses layered grays and off-whites to give volume to Merkle’s uniform while preserving the broken, tactile surface of the pastel medium. Darker accents along the folds, belt, shoes, and glove provide structure, while the face and hands are handled with warmer tones. The simplified field and sky allow the figure to dominate the card, and the broad treatment of the background contrasts effectively with the more carefully modeled player.

Fred Merkle enjoyed a sixteen-year major-league career and was a regular first baseman for the New York Giants during one of the club’s strongest periods. He played on three consecutive National League pennant winners from 1911 through 1913 and later appeared with Brooklyn and Chicago. Merkle is remembered most famously for the controversial base-running play of September 23, 1908, later known as “Merkle’s Boner,” but that single episode tends to obscure a long and productive career. He collected more than 1,500 major-league hits and was an important contributor to several championship-caliber clubs.

Numbered #5, the Fred Merkle card adds an especially recognizable New York subject to the early T3 checklist. For collectors building a New York Giants team group, Merkle offers both a strong period player and one of the most familiar stories of the Deadball Era, giving the card an appeal that extends beyond statistics alone.

Produced in Helmar’s distinctive handcrafted tradition, the card combines original artwork, a historically memorable player, and a deliberately vintage presentation inspired by the grand-format baseball cards of the tobacco era.

Original oil pastel artwork by Charles Mandel.

 

  • Description: Throwing Ball
  • Team: New York Giants
  • Population (# Sold): 20
  • First Date Sold: 2012-10-23
  • Latest Date Sold: 2025-02-26
  • Card Status: Retired
  • # Sold in past year: N/A
  • Highest Auction: $ 57.00
  • Average Auction Result: $ 24.30

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Visit these teammates on the New York Giants in the T3-Helmar series

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