The Card: Collectors, Con Men, and the True Story of History's Most Desired Baseball Card

Investigative reporters Michael O'Keeffe and Teri Thompson trace a single T206 Honus Wagner baseball card from a Florida flea market to the collections of the hobby's most prominent buyers. They examine the provenance of the best-preserved example and the questions about its origins and condition that followed each sale. The American Tobacco Company halted production shortly after the card's release, leaving only a small number in circulation.

The account places Wagner's career as a Pittsburgh shortstop alongside the trade built around his likeness. Profiles of collectors, dealers, counterfeiters, and grading services document how sports memorabilia became a high-stakes market, where a card's condition and chain of ownership can determine its value.