Card Statistics
Rob Nelson adds some background to this card: "This was Smitty's famed pre-at-bat ritual, not his actual batting stance. The fans loved it. It was derived from an ancient samurai ritual that he picked up while touring in the off season."
Helmar’s T3 series continues with Jack Smith, shown with the St. Louis Nationals watching the flight of a ball just after making contact. Smith remains balanced at the plate with the bat held high in front of him, his body turned toward the field as he follows the play. The light uniform and vivid red stockings and cap trim stand against a deep grandstand filled with spectators, while the broad green field gives the figure room to dominate the composition. The combination of an active batting pose and a large, carefully staged setting makes the image especially effective in the oversized T3 format.
The original artwork was painted by Natalia Valiukavich in watercolor. Her transparent washes give Smith’s pale uniform a convincing sense of weight and movement without losing the luminosity of the paper beneath. Warm browns shape the bat and shadows, while the red stockings and cap trim provide the strongest accents in the composition. Behind the player, the crowd is suggested through hundreds of small, subdued touches of color rather than individually described faces, allowing the grandstand to read convincingly at a distance without competing with the batter.
Jack Smith was a speedy, left-handed outfielder who spent the greater part of his fifteen-year major-league career with St. Louis. Joining the Cardinals in 1915, the same season in which Rogers Hornsby debuted, Smith developed into a valuable outfielder and baserunner. He produced six .300 seasons, including four consecutively from 1920 through 1923, and finished his career with a .287 batting average, 1,301 hits, and 228 stolen bases. After more than a decade with St. Louis, he completed his major-league career with the Boston Braves. (Baseball Reference)
Numbered #12, the Jack Smith card introduces St. Louis into the early T3 checklist and illustrates another strength of the series: its willingness to include accomplished everyday players alongside the game’s most famous stars. Smith gives Cardinals collectors an early building block for a team run that can eventually extend through several generations of St. Louis baseball, making the card increasingly interesting as the larger checklist develops. (Helmar Brewing Co.)
Produced in Helmar’s distinctive handcrafted tradition, the card combines original watercolor artwork, a longtime St. Louis player, and a deliberately vintage presentation inspired by the grand-format baseball cards of the tobacco era.
Original watercolor artwork by Natalia Valiukavich.
- Description: Watching batted ball, bat
- Team: St. Louis Cardinals
- Population (# Sold): 11
- First Date Sold: 2020-03-25
- Latest Date Sold: 2026-08-18
- Card Status: Retired
- # Sold in past year: 1
- Highest Auction: $ 35.99
- Average Auction Result: $ 16.15
Popularity Rankings
Visit these teammates on the St. Louis Cardinals in the T3-Helmar series
Click the Card # link to go to Card Info, Click the Player Name link to go the the Player Biography
- # 69, Jim BOTTOMLEY (HOF)
- # 118, Rogers HORNSBY (HOF)
- # 170, Johnny MIZE
- # 174, Mort Cooper
- # 175, Walker Cooper
- # 188, Billy SOUTHWORTH (HOF)
- # 201, Jesse "POP" HAINES (HOF)
- # 202, Chick HAFEY (HOF)
- # 204, Frank FRISCH (HOF)
- # 206, Joe MEDWICK (HOF)
- # 209, Dizzy DEAN
- # 211, Leo DUROCHER
- # 224, Stan MUSIAL (HOF)
