Rare 1906 Chicago White Sox (vs. Chicago Cubs) World Series Program

Sold For:

$12,000

Year:

1906

Auction:

2018 Fall

Lot #:

2084

Category:

Post-1900 Baseball Memorabilia

Exceedingly rare Chicago White Sox program issued for the 1906 World Series against the Chicago Cubs. Issued for the first intercity World Series of the modern era, this particular program is far rarer than its Chicago Cubs counterpart. The most likely reason is that White Sox owner Charles Comiskey, instead of having a special program published for the Series, simply used a regular-season program with a World Series scorecard section added in the center. As a result, the program was probably overlooked by collectors in the preceding decades and simply discarded. This is the first example of this particular program we have ever offered and we cannot recall having seen more than three or four others at auction in the past 20 years. The cover features a portrait of White Sox catcher Billy Sullivan. The preprinted lineups include Tinker, Evers, Chance, Schulte, and Kling for the Cubs, and Jones, Isbell, Davis, and Donohue for the White Sox. Neatly scored in pencil to record the Cubs' 7-1 win in Game 2, with Ed Reulbach limiting the White Sox to one hit. The 1906 White Sox were known as the "hitless wonders" for their lack of offense. Despite their extremely limited success at the plate, the White Sox shocked the baseball world in the World Series by defeating the powerful Chicago Cubs, winners of a then-record 116 games, in six games. The program (6 x 9.25 inches) displays light handling wear and it appears that the interior scorecard pages were at one time reattached to the spine. In Very Good to Excellent condition overall. Reserve $2,500. Estimate (open).