BIDDEFORD — A rare 1888 Boston Beaneaters baseball card found in Kennebunk will be auctioned tonight.

The card, featuring King Kelly in street clothes, is one of four known to exist. It is among seven Old Judge Cigarette cabinet cards found in a trunk of old papers in Kennebunk.

Saco River Auction in Biddeford will auction the cards beginning at 5 p.m. The auction is expected to attract collectors from across the country who will place bids in person, over the phone and via the Internet.

A card of Kelly in the same pose sold for $72,000 in a private sale five years ago.

Old Judge Cigarette cabinet cards were issued from 1886 to 1890. The cards – larger and thicker than modern baseball cards – featured baseball players, boxers and people from outside sports. In order to get the cabinet cards, people had to collect 35 proofs of purchase from cigarette packs and mail them to the company. Most of the cards didn’t survive because they were played with and, over the years, yellowed and deteriorated, said auctioneer Troy Tibodeau.

King Kelly, considered the first celebrity professional athlete of his day, was the first catcher to wear a glove and chest protector. He was also known to run directly from first to third base without touching second.

Kelly was known as the “$10,000 Man” because that’s the price Boston paid to get him from the Chicago White Stockings in 1886. He was later a vaudeville performer known for occasionally butchering the poem, “Casey at the Bat.” He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945.

Floyd Hartford, an owner and auctioneer at Saco River Auction, said the card is especially attractive to collectors who want to complete their collection.

“This is one of the biggest finds in Maine this year in antiques,” Hartford said. “To find something like this is everyone’s dream.”

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