starting from january 1909, the atc sought authorization from baseball players for inclusion in the t206 series, which featured 524 major league players, 76 of whom were later inducted into the baseball hall of fame. wagner had been at the top of his game throughout the decade, and was even considered the game's greatest player at the time. he had appeared on advertisements for a number of other products such as chewing gum, gunpowder and soft drinks. unsurprisingly, the atc asked for wagner's permission to have his picture on a baseball card. according to an october 12, 1912 issue of "the sporting news", wagner did not give his consent to appear on the baseball card. in response to the authorization request letter sent by john gruber, a pittsburgh sportswriter hired by the atc to seek wagner's permission, wagner wrote that he "did not care to have his picture in a package of cigarettes." he threatened to seek legal action against atc if they went ahead and created his baseball card.