Bond Bread issued three baseball card sets in the 1940s and 1950s. Over a three-part series, we've taken a look at each one. Part I reviewed the company's 48-card D305 set that was issued in 1947. The second part covered the company's 1947 set of Jackie Robinson cards, which featured only the Dodgers' star rookie. Part III will review the least of the three known Bond … [Read more...]
Hot Dog Heaven: 1953 Glendale Tigers a Tough Regional
As families pulled the baseball cards from the packages of hot dogs in the southeast Michigan summer of 1953, they had to be hoping that maybe it was the start of some telepathic connection that would turn the team's fortunes around. It wasn't exactly turning into a banner year. The Tigers never did right the ship, finishing in sixth place, a whopping … [Read more...]
Stapled, Stamped and Punched: 1960 Lake to Lake Braves Were Designed to be Traded
As a new decade approached, a popular Wisconsin dairy company nestled near the shore of Lake Michigan was looking for a marketing edge. A partnership with the popular home state big league baseball team brought the 1960 Lake to Lake Milwaukee Braves baseball cards to life: two lives actually. These were meant to be traded back to the company for something … [Read more...]
New Find of 1921 Tip Top Orioles Includes Grove, 3 Previously Unknown Cards
The population of one of the hobby’s rarest and pre-War minor league sets has grown by one—but the set itself is bigger than previously thought after the additional discovery of three previously unknown players. The fresh find of 1921 White’s Bakery Tip-Top Baltimore Orioles cards is among the highlights in Memory Lane’s newly-launched catalog. The set, collected by … [Read more...]
Called for Clipping: 1956 Shredded Wheat Football Set Offered Prizes for a Slice of the Card
When American youngsters were spotting Topps NFL football bubble gum cards for the first time, kids in Canada were seeing them in their cereal boxes...assuming of course, they didn't mind eating a non-sugary cereal for breakfast. The 1956 Shredded Wheat set offered a single card of a Canadian Football League player per box. Today, the cards are among the rarest … [Read more...]
1978 Holsum-Gardner Football Set a Regional Rarity
If you lived in Minnesota or Wisconsin in the late 1970s and early 1980s and collected sports cards, you probably ingested a lot of carbohydrates. It's where Holsum and Gardner's brand breads kept collectors full by offering a few different sets as promotions aimed at youngsters. They cranked out three different football issues during the time period including … [Read more...]
1952 Wheaties Tray Set is Actually a 1950 Issue
Sports fans have always been a target market for Wheaties. The "Breakfast of Champions" has often given sleepy-eyed fans something to read with their morning bowl of cereal. Sometimes the players were found on the back and sometimes they were featured on the front but there's a dating error when it comes to one of their most unusual and scarce collectibles. In the … [Read more...]
Rare 1961 Phillies Cigar Premium is an Affordable Mickey Mantle Issue
More than 50 years after his baseball playing career ended, Yankees Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle remains a beloved figure. Even beyond baseball fans, collectors not only pursue his cards and collectibles, but his items are among the most popular in the entire hobby. Most Mantle items have risen steadily in value over the years and are getting more expensive to the everyday … [Read more...]
1949-1951 Hage’s Dairy Pacific Coast League Cards Included Familiar Names
It was the west coast's "big league." A starting point for future major league legends, the Pacific Coast League spawned several baseball card sets during its long heyday in the first half of the 20th century. Among them are three early post-war vintage issues from Hage's Dairy. Operated in San Diego by Willard Hage Jr., whose father founded the company, Hage's was a … [Read more...]
Vintage Baseball Pictures Key 1934 Butterfinger Set
The Butterfinger candy bar was invented in 1923 by the Curtiss Candy Company of Chicago. Eleven years later, buying one for a nickel got you a nifty 7 3/4" x 9 1/2" photo of a baseball star as part of a point of sale promotion. The 1934 Butterfinger baseball card set doesn't get the same respect as its more popular cousins in the realm of pre-War baseball issues, but it's also … [Read more...]