Roger Thorpe Peckinpaugh (February 5, 1891 – November 17, 1977) was an American professional baseball player shortstop and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1910 through 1927, during which he played for the Cleveland Naps, New York Yankees, Washington Senators and Chicago White Sox.

Nap Lajoie discovered Peckinpaugh as a high school student, and signed him to his first professional contract. Peckinpaugh debuted with the Naps, who traded him to the Yankees in 1913. He managed the Yankees for 20 games in 1914 and was the team captain for the remainder of his time with the club. The Senators acquired Peckinpaugh, where he continued to play until his final season, spent with the White Sox. After his playing career, Peckinpaugh managed the Indians from 1928 through 1933 and in 1941. He was also a minor league baseball manager, and served in the front office of the Indians and Buffalo Bisons from 1942 through 1947.

Peckinpaugh was considered an excellent defensive shortstop and strong leader. When he managed the Yankees, he became the youngest manager in MLB history. He was named American League Most Valuable Player in 1925. He played in the World Series three times: winning the 1924 World Series with the Senators, losing the 1921 World Series with the Yankees, and losing the 1925 World Series with the Senators.

The B18 Blankets were one of the more unique collectibles to come out of the tobacco card era. Instead of cards, Egyptienne Cigarettes inserted these miniature cloths into packages of its product.

Each ‘blanket’ measures 5 1/4″ on all four sides and includes a picture of a player. They were folded in order to fit into the packages and even today, you can still find them with the original fold marks.

In all, a total of 90 players were featured in the set that was issued in 1914. The pictures of the players featured color imagery of them in a variety of batting and fielding poses. The odd square shape was meant to replicate a baseball diamond. That is evident from the background behind the player, which featured basepaths and bases with small pictures of equipment. Additionally on the fronts are names of the players as well as pennants identifying their team and league.

During the first quarter of the 20th century, these were often sewn together to create pillowcases or throws.  

The set features plenty of lower-level guys since only a limited number of teams was included. However, there are plenty of stars here, too. Without a doubt, the issue is anchored by Joe Jackson and Ty Cobb. Behind them is a quality lineup of other Hall of Famers, including Walter Johnson, Zack Wheat, Casey Stengel, Bobby Wallace, Rabbit Maranville, Max Carey, Frank Chance, and Miller Huggins. The lineup isn’t staggering, which is helpful when trying to assemble a set. The set is lacking a couple of giants, too. It was issued shortly before Babe Ruth items hit the market and a few years after Cy Young had retired. Also missing in action was Christy Mathewson, whose career was still going strong – he won 24 games in 1914.

The real thrill to the set, however, are the variations. While 90 different players are featured, most have more than one variation. Those variations are the various colors of the basepaths, infields, or pennants that were printed on the blankets. Various colors for those items were used and make completing a master set extremely difficult. By most accounts, the rarest variations are the ones with a red infield. Those are incredibly difficult to find and typically fetch big prices.

Counting all of the variations, the complete master set consists of approximately 200 items. 

Checklist: https://www.tcdb.com/Checklist.cfm/sid/72960/1914-B18-Blankets?PageIndex=1