09/03/2026
⚾️ 106 Years Ago, Connie Mack Put Pen to Paper
Every once in a while, a piece of baseball memorabilia comes along that feels like a direct connection to another era. Chalk it up as another reason why baseball is the best.
This letter was written January 6, 1920, by legendary Philadelphia Athletics manager and owner Connie Mack to Evansville Courier cartoonist Karl Kae Knecht. That makes this letter more than a century old, and the original signature of one of the greatest figures in baseball history is still right there at the bottom.
Connie Mack was already a baseball institution when he wrote this. His professional baseball career had begun all the way back in the 1880s, first as a catcher and later as a manager. In 1901, he became the manager of the newly formed Philadelphia Athletics, a position he would hold for an incredible 50 seasons.
Mack wasn’t simply a manager. He was the architect, owner, treasurer and public face of the Athletics. Known as “The Tall Tactician” and later “The Grand Old Man of Baseball,” he built two separate dynasties in Philadelphia, winning nine American League pennants and five World Series championships.
And this letter comes from right in the middle of his first great dynasty.
The 1910s Athletics featured legends such as Eddie Collins, Home Run Baker, Chief Bender and Eddie Plank, and Mack’s clubs captured championships in 1910, 1911 and 1913. Just a few years later, he would dismantle that team and eventually build another championship powerhouse in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
The recipient, Karl Kae Knecht, was an accomplished figure in his own right. Knecht served as the editorial cartoonist for the Evansville Courier from 1906 through 1960, producing more than 18,000 cartoons during his 54-year career. His work covered politics, current events, entertainment and, naturally, sports.
106 years later, the ink remains. ⚾️
