Card Statistics
Ed Delahanty is presented in Helmar’s T3 series with the Philadelphia Nationals in a formal full-length batting portrait, standing upright with the bat held vertically before him. The pale Philadelphia uniform, bright red cap, stockings, belt, and large chest “P” create a particularly strong period color scheme. Unlike many of the open-field compositions in the series, Delahanty is placed directly in front of an elaborate ballpark structure with latticework, railings, and architectural detail, giving the card the appearance of an early twentieth-century sporting portrait made at the grounds.
The original artwork was painted by Natalia Valiukavich in watercolor. She models the white uniform with restrained cream, gray, and pale blue washes, reserving the strongest color for the repeated red accents of the cap, collar, belt, emblem, and stockings. The wooden bat provides a warm vertical element through the center of the composition. Particularly effective is the handling of the background: the geometric lattice and pale structural framework are carefully described without becoming so sharp that they compete with Delahanty’s figure.
Edward James “Big Ed” Delahanty was one of the greatest hitters of nineteenth-century baseball and the most celebrated member of a remarkable baseball family. He spent the great majority of his career with Philadelphia and finished with a .346 lifetime batting average and 2,596 hits. Delahanty batted over .400 three times, including .410 in 1899, and combined extraordinary hitting for average with considerable power for his era. In 1896 he became one of the earliest players in major-league history to hit four home runs in a single game. His brilliant career ended abruptly with his death in 1903 at age thirty-five. Delahanty was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945.
Numbered #81, the Delahanty card reaches farther back into Philadelphia baseball history than most of the Phillies subjects in the T3 checklist. Cards of Grover Cleveland Alexander, Gavvy Cravath, and Dave Bancroft represent the club’s twentieth-century generations; Delahanty brings the team grouping firmly into the nineteenth century. For Philadelphia collectors, that historical reach—and Delahanty’s standing among the greatest hitters of his era—makes this one of the foundational subjects in the team run.
Produced in Helmar’s distinctive handcrafted tradition, the card combines original watercolor artwork, one of nineteenth-century baseball’s greatest hitters, and an unusually detailed ballpark setting that gives the image a character distinctly different from the surrounding T3 cards.
Original watercolor artwork by Natalia Valiukavich.
- Description: Bat on shoulder, red bill
- Team: Philadelphia Phillies
- Population (# Sold): 18
- First Date Sold: 2021-01-26
- Latest Date Sold: 2026-06-02
- Card Status: Active
- # Sold in past year: 3
- Highest Auction: $ 88.00
- Average Auction Result: $ 27.91
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Visit these teammates on the Philadelphia Phillies 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
