J. Tinker Hand-Knee

Joseph Bert "Joe" Tinker (1880–1948) is captured here in the T206 White Border tobacco set's "Hands on Knees" pose — one of the most recognizable action stances of the entire issue, depicting the Chicago Cubs shortstop crouched in fielding position, palms set on the kneecaps. The right-handed Tinker was the front man of the legendary Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance double-play combination, a fact that has overshadowed his individual standing as one of the National League's most reliable shortstops of the deadball era. By the 1909 issue cycle, the Cubs had just come off back-to-back World Series titles in 1907 and 1908, and Tinker's defensive work — particularly his ability to handle Christy Mathewson, against whom he hit better than almost any contemporary — had become a trade-press staple. T206 produced multiple Tinker variations, and the "Hands on Knees" pose is among the most distinctive because it isolates him in a stance no other player in the set holds. Tinker and Evers famously did not speak to each other off the field for years following a personal feud, yet executed their double plays with the wordless precision that made the trio's reputation. He died July 27, 1948 in Orlando, Florida. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946 by the Old Timers Committee, enshrined the same year as his double-play partners Evers and Chance.