1909 T206 Chief Bender (no trees)

Here's another one of those old tobacco cards I got when I was just a kid. It's in pretty bad shape.

Bender was enshrined into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953 after a pretty good career in which he went 212-127 with a 2.46 ERA. He is also won six World Series games, pitching three shutouts in the 1911 series alone.

Bender was a member of the Ojibwa tribe and surely faced racism during his playing days. Born Charles Albert Bender, he would be known as "Chief" because of his American Indian heritage.

These old cards are a great tool for today's kids to learn about the game's early stars.