The 1939 Detroit Tigers were a mostly forgettable team. After winning the 1935 World Series and recording back-to-back second place American League finishes, the Tigers quickly began to slip into mediocrity. The 1938 team stumbled to a fourth-place finish, replacing Hall of Famer Mickey Cochrane, who was the team's manager. In 1939, things were even worse. Even though the team … [Read more...]
Diving into the 1948 Bowman Gum Sets
In 1948, Bowman threw its hat in the gum card business. The company was quite ambitious, not only producing its first baseball cards, but also complete sets for two emerging sports, football, and basketball. That had to raise some eyebrows as few football and basketball issues were produced to that time. But the sports were certainly growing and Bowman no doubt wanted to … [Read more...]
The Large 1949 Eureka Sportstamps Set is Full of Bargains
In 1949, few companies were issuing actual baseball cards as the country was still recovering from the effects of World War II. But one of the more intriguing issues for collectors from that period is actually a large set of stamps that featured major league players - the 1949 Eureka Sportstamps set. About the 1949 Eureka Sportstamps Set As indicated in the name, these … [Read more...]
1947 Joe DiMaggio Sport Premiums Are Affordable…When You Can Find One
Collectors looking for Joe DiMaggio cards often have a tough time finding 1940s issues at an affordable price. For one thing, World War II helped to halt baseball card production in that decade. That means the number of DiMaggio cards (and cards of other players, for that matter) are just pretty scarce. And for another, the Hall of Famer continues to be a wildly popular target … [Read more...]
1940s Cracker Jack Set Detailed the History of Sports
To many, Cracker Jack is known for its prizes that were packed inside of their famous peanut and popcorn combination snack boxes. But to sports card collectors, they are famous for their 1914 and 1915 baseball card sets. While those are undoubtedly the most important issues created by the company, Cracker Jack also produced a unique set of cards in the 1940s. Let's take a … [Read more...]
Ted Williams Finds His Way into Rare Vintage JCM 44 Japanese Card Set
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...]