1895 Mayo Cut Plug

Wilbert Robinson

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Thanks to a lack of competition among cigarette companies, the 48-card Mayo Cut Plug set is the only major baseball card set of the 1890s. The formation of the American Tobacco Company essentially ended the practice of issuing baseball cards in cigarette packages by 1890, but P.H. Mayo of Richmond, Virginia was not yet a property of the ATC. Mayo included several sets with its product, including a set of Ivy League football players (listed as N302) very similar to this one and a set of die-cut baseball players that were designed to be used in a game. Mayo was absorbed into the ATC in 1898 and stopped placing cards in their packages.

Card fronts feature either a black and white or sepia photo of a player, with a thick black border. An ad for Mayo's Cut Plug and the words "For Chewing and Smoking" appear below the photo. There are 40 different players featured, but some are shown with two different teams. Two players have cards indicating that they had retired. A dozen players are shown in street clothes instead of their uniforms. Finally, Amos Rusie has two cards, because the first incorrectly spelled his last name. All cards feature solid black backs.

A larger than usual percentage of Hall of Famers can be found in the set, which makes it attractive to collectors. For specialized collectors and team collectors, eight of the players in this set never appeared on another baseball card; however, none of the eight had anything more than mediocre careers.

(1) Charlie Abbey
(2) Cap Anson
(3) Jimmy Bannon
(4a) Dan Brouthers (Baltimore on shirt)
(4b) Dan Brouthers (Louisville on shirt)
(5) Ed Cartwright
(6) John Clarkson
(7) Tommy Corcoran
(8) Lave Cross
(9) Bill Dahlen
(10) Tom Daly
(11) Ed Delehanty
(12) Hugh Duffy
(13a) Buck Ewing (Cleveland on shirt)
(13b) Buck Ewing (Cincinnati on shirt)
(14) Dave Foutz
(15) Charlie Ganzel
(16a) Jack Glasscock (Pittsburg on shirt)
(16b) Jack Glasscock (Louisville on shirt)
(17) Mike Griffin
(18a) George Haddock (No team on shirt)
(18b) George Haddock (Philadelphia on shirt)
(19) Bill Hallman
(20) Billy Hamilton
(21) Bill Joyce
(22) Brickyard Kennedy
(23a) Tom Kinslow (No team on shirt)
(23b) Tom Kinslow (Pittsburg on shirt)
(24) Arlie Latham
(25) Herman Long
(26) Tom Lovett
(27) Bobby Lowe
(28) Tommy McCarthy
(29) Yale Murphy
(30) Billy Nash
(31) Kid Nichols
(32a) Fred Pfeffer (2nd base)
(32b) Fred Pfeffer (Retired)
(33) Wilbert Robinson
(34a) Amos Russie (Incorrect spelling)
(34b) Amos Rusie (Correct spelling)
(35) Jimmy Ryan
(36) Bill Shindle
(37) Germany Smith
(38) Otis Stocksdale
(39) Tommy Tucker
(40a) Monte Ward (2nd base)
(40b) Monte Ward (Retired)