1911 T3 Turkey Red Chicago Cubs

The cards in this 126-card set measure approximately 5 ¾ x 8" in size compared to the tiny 1 7/16 x 2 5/8" that were made to fit the small cigarette packs of the era. The 1911 Turkey Red set of color cabinet style cards, designated T3 in the American Card Catalog, is named after the brand of cigarettes with which it was offered as a premium. Cards 1-50 and 77-126 depict baseball players while the middle series (51-76) portrays boxers. The cards themselves are not numbered but were assigned numbers for ordering purposes by the manufacturer. This attractive set has been reprinted in 2 1/2" by 3 1/2" form.

There are five different card backs in this terrific issue, a Turkey Red advertisement back showing a pack of cigarettes and four different checklist backs. Three of the four checklist backs are very similar; the numerical sequence is the only real difference. One has 1-75 depicted, another has 1-76, and the third has 51-126. All three state, at the top, that you should "Order by number only" and that you can exchange 10 Turkey Red coupon vouchers (that were inserted into cigarette packs), or 25 Fed or Old Mill coupons for a player/boxer of your choice. The address to ship the coupons to was listed as "Drawer S, Jersey City, NJ". The offer expired on June 30, 1911. The 4th checklist back has no ordering instructions or address and is considered the scarcest of the five backs.

Thirty seven of the baseball subjects share the same image seen in the T206 set. Four of the baseball players have 2 versions, #28 Harry McIntyre is listed with Brooklyn and also as Brooklyn/Chicago. Card #90 (Mickey Doolin) has another version with his corrected name Mickey Doolan. In addition, card #112 (Dode Paskert) is listed with Cincinnati as well as Cincinnati/Philadelphia, and finally card #144 (Fred Tenney) is listed with NY as well as NY/Boston.

1911 Turkey Red Chicago Cubs Checklist

1 -Mordecai Brown
16 -Johnny Evers
32 -Orval Overall
33 -Jack Pfeister
35 -Joe Tinker
47-Frank Chance
98 -Doc Hofman
102 -Johnny Kling
109 -Pat Moran
117 -Frank Schulte