Japanese baseball cards are often avoided by American collectors. They generally aren't printed in English, don't feature American players, and resources to learn more about them are often quite limited. That leads to decreased interest among those in the U.S. Still, Japanese cards do have quite a following of collectors in the states. And among the more interesting cards for … [Read more...]
1940s Babe Ruth Editorial Bruguera Cards Remain Elusive
Due to his immense popularity, Babe Ruth wound up on all sorts of baseball cards. His presence not only was felt in the U.S. but also abroad as he was known as one of the most famous athletes in the world, appearing on all sorts of international cards. While Ruth eventually was left out of sets in the years following his retirement, he was still a popular figure. As a … [Read more...]
5 Bargains Found in the Massive 1947-66 Exhibit Set
The 1947-66 Exhibit cards have long been known for providing bargains to collectors. The set includes more than 300 cards with some of baseball's biggest stars and picked up where the 1939-46 Salutation Exhibits left off. Like those cards, many of the 1947-66 Exhibits are priced modestly and that includes those of the top players. Here are some of the bargains to be found in … [Read more...]
Babe Ruth (and his cards) at the Movies
Babe Ruth is mostly known for his ability to hit baseballs a really long distance. But his popularity as one of the top athletes of all time led to all kinds of marketing opportunities during his playing days and after them. Among them, appearances in a variety of films during his career. Those films, by the way, weren't always the greatest. Sometimes Ruth was the star while … [Read more...]
1948 Swell “Babe Ruth Story” Card Set Promoted New Movie
By 1948, Babe Ruth had long since retired from the sport of baseball. At that point he was at the end of his life, hospitalized with cancer. But he enjoyed a few final highlights in his life before he passed away later that year and one was the making of The Babe Ruth Story, a movie about his life. Ruth attended the premiere of the movie at New York's Astor Theater on … [Read more...]
A Young Jackie Robinson Appears on Two 1940s Cigarette Cards
In the pre-war era, cigarette cards were all the rage. They not only featured baseball players but plenty of other subjects as well. These cards were highly collected around the world and were mostly included inside packages of cigarettes. Cigarette cards continued to be produced at high levels in Europe and around the world well into the 1930s. However, American baseball … [Read more...]
Topps’ Baseball Card Run Began with 1948 Topps Magic Photos Set
When thinking about the history of baseball cards in the post-war era, Topps is the name that will most often come to mind. The company has issued baseball cards for decades and while other companies have joined in, Topps has been the longest-running producer of baseball cards. While the company's 1952 Topps set with the iconic Mickey Mantle card is often heralded as its … [Read more...]
1948 Blue Tints Set Full of Confusion
After World War II ended, the 'drought' on baseball card sets was soon over. An oddball set of sorts was distributed in 1948 that provided a small measure of competition for companies like Bowman, which also began printing baseball cards that year -- the 1948 Blue Tints set. Here's a closer look at this vintage set with plenty of confusion surrounding it. 1948 Blue Tints … [Read more...]
A Look at the Evolution of Early Bowman Baseball Cards
After World War II, the Bowman Gum Company quickly became a viable competitor to Topps. Both companies produced sets early in the postwar era but Bowman would eventually get swallowed up by its rival. Topps, of course, ceased printing cards under the Bowman label after 1955 until reviving the brand back in 1989. But while Bowman's first run lasted only from 1948 through … [Read more...]
Early and Mid 1940s Saw Few Baseball Card Sets
Baseball cards first made their mark in the late 1800s and early 1900s, primarily as tobacco card inserts. After a brief respite of sorts during World War I, the 1920s and 1930s saw the creation of even more sets. But by the 1940s, the collecting world was again on a bit of a hiatus. The 1930s brought about the gum card boom and, by that time, cards had really shifted from … [Read more...]