CSG Grades Rare 1910 Fred Tenney Baseball Card

The experts at Certified Sports Guaranty® (CSG®) recently had the honor of grading a 1910 E104-3 Nadja Caramel Fred Tenney baseball card, awarding it a grade of CSG 2.5. The 1910 E104-3 Nadja Caramel set is rare and popular with collectors. It features player portraits on a color background.

This rare card is being offered through Elite Collectibles in a Christmas Eve Auction on December 24, 2022. More than a week before the auction, bidding for the card had exceeded $600 after 68 bids, which is already a record for any CSG-certified card sold through Elite Collectibles.

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“Fewer than 40 cards are cataloged in the third series of the E104 set. The Fred Tenney card was unknown until 2018,” said CSG Vice President Andy Broome. “What we have here is not only the third example to surface, but it’s also the highest graded of the three known. The other two are graded a 1.”

Fred Tenney made his National League debut in 1894 but didn’t become a regular until 1897 when he was switched to first base. That year he also started what may have been the first-ever 3-6-3 double play.

According to the Society for American Baseball Research:

His performance in an exhibition game at Portsmouth, Ohio, provides a glimpse of his offensive strategy. Tenney’s first time up, the Portsmouth shortstop was crowding second base. “You’re too far over; I’ll hit the ball through the hole,” Fred said. The shortstop just laughed so Tenney singled through the hole. His next time up, the shortstop was playing in the hole. “Now you’re too far the other way,” said Fred. He promptly singled over second base. “We’d be willing to lose every day,” wrote a Portsmouth reporter, “if Tenney would only come back and hit some more balls through the infield.”

Tenney led the league in putouts in 1905 and 1907-08 and assists each year from 1901 to 1907, setting a major-league record with 152 in 1905 that lasted until 1949. He was also a masterful bunter and exceptional place hitter who batted over .300 seven times in his 17-year career, retiring in 1911 with a .294 lifetime average.

Related Link:

CSG Population Report: Baseball Cards of the 1910s