Card Statistics
Ray Collins is shown with the Boston Americans in the follow-through of his pitching motion, his body turned across the mound as his throwing arm drops toward the ground. The pale uniform and red-banded stockings are set against a green field and an unusually vivid yellow, orange, and rose-colored sky. The warm background gives the card considerable atmosphere, while Collins’s long, balanced figure provides the quiet sense of control that characterized his pitching.
The original artwork was painted by Natalia Valiukavich in watercolor. She models Collins’s uniform with pale cream, gray, and cool blue washes, allowing the folds of the clothing to remain soft and luminous. The glove is built from deeper brown tones, while the red accents in the stockings provide a strong counterpoint to the surrounding greens. Most distinctive is the sky, where layered yellow, orange, and rose washes create a glowing sunset effect that gives the card a markedly different character from the more conventional ballpark backgrounds elsewhere in the series.
Ray Collins was one of the American League’s finest left-handed pitchers during a brief but impressive major-league career spent entirely with Boston. A University of Vermont graduate, Collins reached the majors in 1909 and became a regular member of the Red Sox rotation the following season. He helped Boston win the 1912 American League pennant and produced his best seasons in 1913 and 1914, winning a combined 39 games. Known especially for excellent control, Collins finished his seven-year career with an 84–62 record and a 2.51 earned-run average before unexpectedly retiring at only twenty-nine years old. (Society for American Baseball Research)
Numbered #55, the Collins card adds an accomplished but comparatively underrepresented pitcher to the Boston portion of the T3 checklist. Following Red Ruffing at #54, it gives Boston collectors another pitcher whose career story is quite different from the more familiar Hall of Fame names in the series. Collins’s connection to the 1912 championship club and the brevity of his career make him a particularly interesting team-set subject. Helmar’s checklist identifies Ray Collins as T3 card #55. (Helmar Brewing Co.)
Produced in Helmar’s distinctive handcrafted tradition, the card combines original watercolor artwork, an important pitcher from Boston’s early championship period, and a vintage presentation inspired by the grand-format baseball cards of the tobacco era.
Original watercolor artwork by Natalia Valiukavich.
- Description: Throwing follow through
- Team: Boston Red Sox
- Population (# Sold): 18
- First Date Sold: 2020-09-08
- Latest Date Sold: 2026-01-12
- Card Status: Retired
- # Sold in past year: 2
- Highest Auction: $ 48.00
- Average Auction Result: $ 18.34
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Visit these teammates on the Boston Red Sox 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
