Cy Williams is a forgotten slugger from the early part of the 20th-century. He led the NL in homers four times and finished in the top three in the league 11 times. The sweet-swinging lefty was the first National Leaguer to hit 200 home runs.

On August 23, 1923 he tied Roger Connor as the NL’s career leader in homers. He held the record until June 29, 1929 when Rogers Hornsby passed him.

Williams led the NL in homers both in the Deaball Era and afterward. It took him only 12 homers to lead the Senior Circuit in 1916. Seven years later he hit 41 to pace the league.

An excellent defensive player, Williams also hit .300 or better in six seasons.

Many believe he has a case for Cooperstown.

The letter in the above image shows the date of August 7, 1930. Written and signed by Cy Williams, it is rare piece signed during his playing career.

That 1930 campaign was Williams’ final big league season. He played only six more games before calling it quits. Notice the date of August 6th in the top right corner. Williams and the Phillies lost to the Boston Braves that day as Bill Sherdel tossed the 150th complete game of his career to earn the victory.

A quick look at Cy Williams’ home/road splits reveals how much the Baker Bowl helped his career. Just 86 of his 251 career homers were hit on the road.

His batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage slash line is equally as stark. At home Williams slashed .316/.396/538. On the road the numbers were .268/.333/.402.

Shown here is a 3×5 autographed by Williams who was the National League’s career home run leader from 1923-1929. He led the league in homers four times, 1916, 1920, 1923, and 1927.

Here Williams has signed in the style familiar to collectors, including his first name and nickname. Notice at the bottom right of the card, Williams has written “over”. On the reverse Williams has written his what he calls his greatest thrill.

On the reverse of the 3×5 card autographed signed by Cy Williams. The first NL player to hit 200 homers, he recounts his greatest thrill.

“My greatest thrill in baseball was in a Philly-Pirate game in Phila. We were one run behind in 9th – man on 2nd one out. Kremer had me 3 balls – 2 strikes. Next pitch – I hit ball over fence – 20′ fair – it blew foul. I went back to plate and on his pitch – hit ball again fair over fence but it went foul. So I returned to plate and on his pitch – hit ball over fence for third time – it stayed fair and we won the game.”

Research reveals the game Cy writes about came on May 7, 1927. The afternoon contest was played at the Baker Bowl with 18,000 in attendance.

Williams’ memory was on the mark. The record shows that his walk-off homer came against Ray Kremer. The tough-luck loser of the game, Kremer allowed just two earned runs over 8 2/3 innings before Williams ended the contest.

Cy Williams was the Phillies greatest home run hitter for the first half-century of their existence. He retired as the team’s single-season and career home run record-holder.

Both marks were previous held by teammate Gavy Cravath. In 1915 Cravath hit 24 home runs. That bested the club’s single-season mark of 20 set by Hall of Fame right fielder Sam Thompson in 1889.

Cravath held the top spot for 7 seasons. Then in 1922 Williams slugged 41 to overtake him.

Cravath also hit a Phillies record 117 home runs. In 1924 Williams took that record too.

Shown here is a letter from Cravath’s final big league season in his role as player/manager of the Phillies. Dated August 9, 1920 it is written to career minor league pitcher Howard “Ty” Crandall.

A career National Leaguer, Cy Williams slugged led the Senior Circuit in homers four times and retired with the league’s career record. His 251 dingers was the standard until Rogers Hornsby surpassed the mark.

Hornsby hit #252 on June 29, 1929 against the Cardinals at Sportsman’s Park. Facing Cardinals great Wee Willie Sherdel in the top of the first with two out and nobody on, Hornsby hit an opposite-field blast that left the yard.

The hit was the start of a rough day for Sherdel. The Cardinals franchise’s winningest lefty, Sherdel gave up 10 earned runs in 3 2/3 innings to take the loss.

Shown here is a print of the Rajah. The signature of the owner of MLB’s highest batting average by a right-hander is seen along the top right.

Both Cy Williams’ single-season and career Phillies home runs records were broken by Hall of Fame rightfielder Chuck Klein.

Williams hit 41 home runs in 1923 to break Gavy Cravath’s mark of 24. Cy kept it for six seasons until teammate Klein hit 43 in 1929.

Williams retired with 217 career home runs as a Phillie. Klein broke that record too.

Klein’s record-breaking clout came in the Phillies contest against the Reds on July 24, 1937. The 8th-inning leadoff home run extended Philadelphia’s lead to 11-7 in their eventual 13-10 victory.

The 1932 MVP and 1933 Triple Crown Winner extended his Phillies mark to 243 before retiring in 1944.

In the collection is an original vintage photo signed by Klein in green ink.

Cy Williams is one of the greatest players in the history of the Philadelphia Phillies. Despite debuting with the team more than a century ago, he still ranks in the top-10 in franchise history in hits, home runs, and total bases.

The Phillies recognized his contributions by making him eighth player inducted into the Phillies team Hall of Fame. Only Robin Roberts, Richie Ashburn, Chuck Klein, Grover Alexander, Del Ennis, Jim Bunning, and Ed Delehanty came off the Philadelphia shelf before Williams in 1986.

Shown here is a personal check signed by Williams in 1972.

Home run totals tell two stories. They celebrate individual greatness while revealing how dramatically baseball evolves across generations. Few players illustrate that changing landscape better than Cy Williams and Robin Yount.

When Williams hit the 251st and final home run of his career on September 1, 1929, only Babe Ruth and Rogers Hornsby had hit more. He retired after the following season as baseball embraced the live-ball era and placed greater emphasis on power.

Over the next quarter-century, 14 more sluggers passed Williams on the all-time list. His ranking continued to fall with each generation of power hitters. By the time Yount reached the majors in 1974, Williams ranked 55th in career home runs.

Yount eventually retired with 251 home runs, matching Williams’ career total. In the six decades between their careers, baseball’s power landscape had transformed dramatically. That once-elite mark ranked only 102nd on the all-time list, showing how the long ball reshaped baseball history.

The lineup card shown here captures a milestone from the career of the man who would share Williams’ home run total. On September 6, 1989, Yount drew even with a fellow Hall of Famer. Facing the Angels in Anaheim, he crushed his 205th career homer to match 1937 Triple Crown winner Joe Medwick. Yount signed the lineup card afterward, preserving the achievement on the very document that recorded it.