Vintage baseball cards

001_4._Burdick_315,_E145.104_Joe_Jackson.jpg — The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Home runs were a rarity during baseball's "dead ball" era. A combination of spongy baseballs, huge ball fields and rules that favored the pitcher meant that players had to rely much more on strategy to win the game.

A new show at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York celebrates this period in American sports history. "Legends of the Dead Ball Era (1900 - 1919)" showcases hundreds of vintage baseball trading cards from the museum's historical collection.

Read on to see highlights, like this Joe Jackson card from the Ball Players series for Cracker Jack, ca.1914. The card was from Jackson's time with the Cleveland Naps (which later became the Indians), though "Shoeless Joe" is better known from his days with the Chicago White Sox and the 1919 Black Sox scandal.

The full exhibition will be on view in New York until Dec. 1, 2013.

"Hartsel Strikes Out," with Robert Groom and Dolly Grey, from the series Hassan Triple Folders, 1912.

Krause, Philadelphia, American League, from the Brown Background series for the American Tobacco Company, 1912.

003_1._Burdick_246,_T206.378_Honus_Wagner.jpg — The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Honus Wagner, Pittsburgh, National League, from the White Border series for the American Tobacco Company, 1909

Jennings, Detroit, American League, from the White Border series for the American Tobacco Company, 1909

"Jim Delahanty at Bat," Joseph Delahanty and David Jones, from the series Hassan Triple Folders, 1912.

007_2._Burdick_315,_E136.101_Patterson,_Pacific_Coast.jpg — The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Patterson, Oakland, Pacific Coast League, from the Zeenut series for the Collins-McCarthy Candy Company, 1911.

Peckinpaugh, Portland, Pacific Coast League, from the Zeenut series for the Collins-McCarthy Candy Company, 1911.

Stanage, Detroit, American League, from the Brown Background series for the American Tobacco Company, 1912.

Vaughn, New York, American League, from the Brown Background series for the American Tobacco Company, 1912.

009_3._Burdick_246,_T202(a-1)_Cobb_and_OLeary.jpg — The Metropolitan Museum of Art

"Fast Work at Third" with Ty Cobb and Charles O'Leary, from the series Hassan Triple Folders, 1912.

"A Desperate Slide for Third" with Ty Cobb and Charles O'Leary, from the series Hassan Triple Folders, 1912.

M. Brown, Chicago, National League, from the White Border series for the American Tobacco Company, 1909

012_5._Burdick_246,_T200.10_Brooklyn.jpg — The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Brooklyn Dodgers, National League, from the "Baseball Team" series, issued by Liggett and Myers Tobacco Company to promote Fatima Turkish Blend Cigarettes, 1913.

Cobb, Detroit, American League, from the White Border series for the American Tobacco Company, 1909

"Harry Lord at Third," with Edgar Lennox and Joseph B. Tinker, from the series Hassan Triple Folders, 1912.

015_6._Burdick_246,_T200.13_New_York.jpg — The Metropolitan Museum of Art

New York Giants, National League, from the "Baseball Team" series (T200), issued by Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company to promote Fatima Turkish Blend Cigarettes, 1913