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...]
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...]
1950 Drake’s TV Cards a Precursor to 1955 Bowman Issue
Whenever vintage collectors think of baseball cards and television, it's usually the 1955 Bowman set that comes to mind. That release would be Bowman's last one before being taken over by Topps. What some collectors don't know, however, is that the look was not an entirely new one. In 1950, Drake's offered a set of baseball cards with a similar design. 1950 Drake's TV … [Read more...]
1959-1961 Morrell Meats Dodgers Were Big League
Dodger fans who opened their morning newspaper in southern California on April 30, 1959 probably read about Johnny Podres of the Phillies beating his old team. The Dodgers were in the midst of a grueling 17-game early season road trip across the country as their second season in Los Angeles unfolded. In another part of the paper, fans learned of a new promotion that … [Read more...]
Hot Dog! Nice Find of Uncirculated 1954 Wilson Franks Cards
It’s one of the most popular regional sets ever issued, a challenging and somewhat quirky collection of 20 different subjects that were packaged with hot dogs in what some refer to as the ‘golden era’ of baseball cards. The 1954 Wilson Franks set had folks eating a lot of weiners, but not nearly enough to satisfy the demand of today’s experienced … [Read more...]
1928 George Ruth Cards Helped Market the Babe’s Candy Company
In 1928, a small set of baseball cards featuring New York Yankees legend Babe Ruth was printed. The release was distributed by his candy company, the George Ruth Candy Company, and remains extremely popular with pre-war collectors today. 1928 George Ruth Candy Cards Overview These uncataloged cards featured Hall of Famer Babe Ruth and were distributed with his candy products. … [Read more...]
Lifelong Mays Collector’s Amazing Journey Ends with Sale
On the baseball field, Willie Mays could do it all. In the baseball collectibles field, a California resident had them all. A collector in his late 60s just struck a deal to sell what is likely the ultimate collection of Willie Mays cards and memorabilia. This collector – a financial planner who prefers to be known only by the name, "Mac" – passionately and aggressively … [Read more...]
1916 Tango Eggs Mysteries Abound
More than 100 years later, 1916 Tango Eggs baseball cards remain among the hobby's rarest sets of the era. The set doesn't even have a fully confirmed checklist. It appears to be closely tied to the 1915 E106 American Caramel setbut there's still plenty we don't know. 1916 Tango Eggs Basics While collectors are aware of this issue today, it wasn't even widely … [Read more...]
Did You Know? 1975 Hostess Yaz Also Has Variation
It may be hard to believe that an error made in a popular food issue set has gone undiscovered for over 40 years, but collector Phil Garrou reports on a significant variation of the Carl Yastrzemski card in the 1975 Hostess set that collectors should know about. Most Price guides like the Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards list three errors/variations what was the debut set … [Read more...]