In 1984, The Sporting News and Marketcom, Incorporated, issued this card to commemorate the exhibition "BASEBALL IMMORTALS" featuring the photography of Charles Martin Conlon 1905-1935 at the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.

Measuring a large 4-1/2" by 6-1/8" it contains all the elements of a great baseball card: format, size, excellent player biography and superior picture quality. Marketcom started well with a Charles Martin Conlon image created from a large glass negative. They added a Baseball Immortals Smithsonian Institution logo and attractive layout for the remainder of the front. On the back, The Sporting News supplied its own historian and archivist, Paul MacFarlane, whose obvious love for the game and knowledge of its leading participants shines through his word-pictures.

For the baseball hobbyist who is not locked into standard size and plain vanilla baseball cards, this effort is a refreshing, enlightening change of pace - and a must-have card. A great addition to any Type card collection or collection of team favorites.

In our experience of acquiring, collecting and selling Conlon baseball cards (representing more than 40 years and including some original Conlon photos), cards from this 1984 Conlon set are among the most difficult to find.

This large card fits best in standard 2-pocket collector sheets designed for cards and photos up to 5" by 7" in size, allowing for full card coverage. (See the third scan which compares this 4-1/2" X 6-1/8" card with a standard 2-1/2" X 3-1/2" card. The card offered for sale in this listing is shown in the first scan.

Conlon Collection baseball cards rank among the finest ever produced. Not only is the photography outstanding but the word picture provided by Paul Mac Farlane is supreme. You'll learn something you never knew about baseball history from nearly every card.

Condition: Crisp Excellent-Plus/Near-Mint or better - taken from sealed sets (as shown in the second scan).

To recap, the scans: (Scans #1 and #2) the card offered for sale (front and back), (Scan #3) photos front and back of the sealed sets from which this card was taken, and (Scan #4) Size comparison of this GIANTsize (4-1/2" X 6-1/8") card with a regular size Conlon card (2-1/2" X 3-1/2") which has been the industry standard since 1957.

Periodically we experience problems with our scanner. Today is one of those days. Depending upon which view you choose, the first scan will show horizontal lines, wavy and/or cross hatching marks. Rest assured, these are not on the card itself. 

THE LAST SCAN: Our last scan is a picture of all-time baseball great Ted Williams with The Baseball Hobbyist's Steve Mitchell at a 1983 Connecticut sports collectors gathering - Ted's very first-ever collector event. On the second day of the show "The Splendid Splinter" visited with collectors and dealers and graciously posed for this photo. (Photo courtesy of fellow collector-dealer Bob Thing, longtime Maine hobbyist).