1909-11 / T206 White Border - FRANK "FLOSSIE" OBERLIN (Pitcher) - Minneapolis Millers / American Association (SGC Certified) (1910 / Piedmont 350 / 25 Back) Tobacco / Cigarette Baseball Card (#353)

Frank Rufus "Flossie" Oberlin (b. March 29, 1876 – d. January 6, 1952) was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Boston Americans and Washington Senators.

Oberlin was born on March 29, 1876, in Elsie, Michigan. Oberlin did not play professionally until age 26, when he joined the minor league Lansing Senators of the Michigan State League in 1902. In 1906, while playing for the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association, he was acquired by the Americans, and made his major league debut for them in September. Oberlin pitched four games for the Americans that year, going 1-3, striking out 13 batters and having an ERA of just 3.18. Oberlin pitched 12 games with the Americans the next year before his contract was sold to the Washington Senators in August. He pitched 11 more games with the Senators, finishing his 1907 season with a total record of 3-11.

Oberlin spent 1908 with the minor league Minneapolis Millers. He returned to the Senators for the 1909 and 1910 seasons. He was back in the minor leagues in 1911 with the Utica Utes of the New York State League, for whom he played until 1916. He finished the 1916 season with the NYSL's Scranton Miners before retiring at age 40. On January 6, 1952, Oberlin died at age 75 in Ashley, Indiana. He was buried in Hamilton, Indiana.

Oberlin was also an “expert in fancy needle work. At some point, in an unrelated development, he lost the index finger on his pitching hand; he “got in contact with a buzz saw and pitched better ball after it healed than before.” LINK to the complete SABR article - Frank Oberlin - written by Bill Nowlin - sabr.org/bioproj/person/frank-oberlin/

Some unfortunate baseball players had to live with women's names. Some of them include Bill (Little Eva) Lange, Frank (Flossie) Oberlin, Bill (Mary) Calhoun, and the worst had to be Charlie Pabor, who was known as "The Old Woman in the Red Cap."

Clipped from - Press and Sun-Bulletin newspaper - Binghamton, New York - 11 April 1984 - JACK Morris' no-hit route through the Comiskey Park minefields last Saturday drove me to the archives to renew acquaintances with the most near-perfect opening-day game in professional baseball history. It was played right here 70 years ago. The pitchers were Festus Higgins for the Binghamtons and Frank "Flossie" Oberlin for the Uticas. Both were previous major-league service stripes, but with more scars than epaulets. But on that 1914 day in what was then a one-year-old ball-yard north of the Johnson City railroad tracks, they put on such a duel that the two teams' combined base-runners didn't total as many as the current Tigers' Morris let aboard in his gem in Chicago. The admirable Higgins didn't allow a hit or a walk, the only blemish his own misplay of a first-inning grounder. Oberlin retired the first 22 in order, allowed only one hit, and lost the game in the bottom of the ninth when Bingo manager John C. Calhoun scored after Higgins' sacrifice bunt was thrown away.

A descendant of patriot Adam Oberlin’s brother, Jacob (b1747), Frank Rufus “Flossie” Oberlin was a Major League Baseball pitcher 1902-1916. Frank was born 29 March 1876, in Elsie, Michigan, the son of George and Harriet (Mountz) Oberlin. Frank did not play professionally until age 26, when he joined the minor league Lansing Senators of the Michigan State League in 1902. He played for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1906, before being acquired by the Boston Americans, where he made his major league debut in September. For a period of time during the 1920s, Frank managed a baseball team in Roswell, NM.

Upon retiring from baseball, Frank made a living as an electrician, truck driver and laborer in and around Steuben County, Indiana. He was nicknamed “Flossie” due to his appreciation for embroidery, and expertise in fancy needle work. Oberlin had been called “Flossie” in at least one newspaper clipping because he liked to stay in his hotel room and embroider. The Oberlins’ house always contained embroidered and crocheted articles made by him.

Frank’s mother’s family, Mountz, was prominent in the Butler, Indiana area. Harriet’s cousins Ettie and Socrates built two prominent houses on Main Street which were later owned and occupied by Glenn and Geneva Oberlin. Frank Oberlin died 6 January 1952 in Ashley, Indiana. He’s buried in Hamilton, Indiana. LINK to the complete article - Oberlin Family History - oberlins.com/notable/

MLB debut - September 20, 1906, for the Boston Americans
Last MLB appearance - June 28, 1910, for the Washington Senators

MLB statistics
Win–loss record - 5-24
Earned run average - 3.77
Strikeouts - 80

Teams:
Boston Americans (1906–1907)
Washington Senators (1907, 1909–1910)

LINK to his complete baseball stats - www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=oberli...
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The tobacco card set known as T206 was issued from 1909 to 1911 in cigarette and loose tobacco packs through 16 different brands owned by the American Tobacco Company. It is a landmark set in the history of baseball card collecting, due to its size, rarity, and the quality of its color lithographs. It is also known informally as the "White Border" set due to the distinctive white borders surrounding the lithographs on each card.

The T206 set consists of 524 cards. Over 100 of the cards picture minor league players. There are also multiple cards for the same player in different poses, different uniforms, or even with different teams after being traded (since the set was issued over a period of three years). The cards measure 1 7⁄16 by 2 5⁄8 inches (3.7 cm × 6.7 cm) which is considered by many collectors to be the standard tobacco card size.

The T206 Wagner is the most valuable baseball card in existence, and even damaged examples are valued at $100,000 or more. This is in part because of Wagner's place among baseball's immortals, as he was an original Hall of Fame inductee. More importantly, it is one of the scarcest cards from the most prominent of all vintage card sets.

Link to checklist - www.t206museum.com/page/ch_reglt.html

Link to - T206 checklist / Listing all the possible backs - www.t206museum.com/page/ch_scbklt.html

Link to - T206 Resource - t206resource.com/

Link to - Back Scarcity - www.t206museum.com/page/ch_scbklt.html

Taken on: January 2, 2022

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Sets appears in: • T206 White Border Tobacco / Cigarette Baseball Cards

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