Description
PLAYER: Joe Lake
VARIATION: St. Louis – no ball in hand
TEAM: St. Louis Browns
LEAGUE: American
BACK: Brown Lenox (3/39)
GRADE: PSA 4
SOLD
THE CARD
An exquisite and highly exotic example of St. Louis Brown pitcher Joe Lake featuring one of the most elusive of all T206 advertising reverses, the Brown Lenox (ranked 3/39 in terms of scarcity according to T206 Resource).
While black inked Lenox backs are considered great rarities within the T206 issue, a true brown ink Lenox is amongst the most rarely seen of all T206 advertising reverses, with even fewer confirmed to have survived than the famous Honus Wagner card. This particular example presents extremely well, with a very rich and very distinctive brown inked back.
JOSEPH HENRY LAKE
Born: January 6, 1881 – Brooklyn, NY
Died: June 30, 1950 – Brooklyn, NY
Batted: RH
Threw: RH
Position: P
MLB Pitching Record: 62–90
ERA: 2.85
Teams:
New York Highlanders AL (1908–1909)
St. Louis Browns AL (1910–1912)
Detroit Tigers AL (1912–1913)
Joe Lake came up to the Highlanders after going 25–14 for the Jersey City Skeeters of the Eastern League in 1907. He was a journeyman pitcher who had a relatively ineffective MLB career. He led the league with 22 losses in his rookie year, and did not fare much better than that later on. Lake did manage to go 14–11 in 1909, but then lost 17 games in 1910 and 15 games in 1911. He had a pretty good career 2.85 ERA, but never got a lot of support. Lake finished the 1913 season with the Minneapolis Millers in the American Association with a 5–3 record, and went 16–13 for them in 1914 before retiring from the game when he was 33 years old.
An excerpt from the hit book “The T206 Collection – The Players & Their Stories” by Tom & Ellen Zappala. Click HERE to order the SECOND EDITION