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...]
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Goudey Had Plenty of Competition in the Pre-War Era
Plain and simple, Goudey ruled the pre-war gum card era when it came to baseball cards. Issuing numerous sets beginning in 1933, the company dominated the time period. Goudey began with an extremely popular, 240-card set in 1933 and continued producing other baseball cards through 1941. They weren't the producers of the first of the gum cards but they quickly became the most … [Read more...]
1941 Goudey Set Marked End of an Era
Goudey Gum Company sailed across the pre-World War II landscape with a busy run that included standard issue baseball cards, premiums and some non-sport sets. The 1941 Goudey Baseball set would mark the end of a relatively brief but impactful run. The Boston-based firm got off to a huge start with its ultra-popular 1933 set that featured four Babe Ruth cards. The ’34 … [Read more...]
Whoops: 1936 Goudey Bill Brubaker Pictures a Pirate from Another Season
Baseball cards are still giving up their secrets. There is what seems to be a newly-discovered error to report in the 1936 Goudey and Goudey Wide Pen sets. The player identified as Bill Brubaker of the Pirates in both sets is actually Dave Barbee, who hadn't been an active player since 1932. Tom Shieber, senior curator at the Baseball Hall of Fame … [Read more...]
1930s Gum/Candy Cards Came in All Shapes and Sizes
For the most part, the 1930s gum cards are known for their virtually square shape and thicker cardboard. That was a drastic change from the early candy/caramel cards which were often smaller and/or printed on thinner stock. But the 1930s included all sorts of different designs and here's a look at some of the more unique issues. 1934 Al Demaree Die Cuts (R304) These die-cuts … [Read more...]
Understanding the Differences Between Goudey and World Wide Gum Cards
Owned by U.S. company Goudey in the 1930s, the Canadian-based World Wide Gum Company issued baseball card sets that often had the same look as the cards produced by their American counterpart. The cards are so similar, in fact, they often confuse collectors. But while the cards are alike, there are several differences over the years between the two types of cards. 1933 … [Read more...]
1937 Goudey Wide Pen Premiums Featured Both Major, Minor Leaguers
In 1936 and 1937, Goudey produced its famous 'wide pen' premiums. The two sets are dubbed the wide pen releases because of the replica autographs on them where a thicker type of pen was used. These were distributed as in-store premiums to promote Goudey's gum products. Here's a closer look at the 1937 set, which featured both major league and minor league players. 1937 … [Read more...]
Notes: 1933 Goudey Other Cards Soar at Auction
A quartet of 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth cards sold late last week for over $500,000. They were part of the fifth best set on PSA’s Set Registry, which was broken up and offered card-by-card at auction. In all, the cards in the set netted over $1.17 million. Goudey's 240-card set featured four different Ruth cards and the collection sold by Heritage Auctions included all four … [Read more...]
Hottest Babe Ruth Cards for Sale on eBay
Babe Ruth's big league debut on July 11, 1914 came just after what is now the rarest, perhaps most sought after baseball card ever made: the 1914 Baltimore News Ruth promo card, which pictures him in the final days of his minor league career. You won't find it among the hottest Babe Ruth cards for sale on eBay. Most of the time, on the rare occasions … [Read more...]
5 Underrated Baseball Rookie Cards of the 1930s
After the tobacco card boom of the 1910s, baseball card collectors ran into some lean times during the 1920s, as most years during that Roaring decade featured very few major issues. Starting in 1933, though, Goudey came to the rescue of Depression-era kids with several colorful sets that featured some of the most iconic first-year cards the hobby has ever seen. Of course, … [Read more...]
