The Post War Cards Newsletter #28
The Post War Cards Newsletter #28
👋 Welcome to the latest issue of The Post War Cards Newsletter, the newsletter that celebrates #TheHobby.
🗓️ Every week, I share unique content about vintage sports cards, hobby & sports history, and industry activity with collectors.
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🏀 An Update: The First Logoman Cards
A couple of weeks ago, in February, I wrote an article about the 1990 SkyBox Salutes The NBA card and called it The First Logoman Card. Well, it turns out I was off by almost twenty years. A collector reminded me that the first Logoman card was probably the 1971-72 Topps Trios NBA Logo Card. He also shared that Fleer printed a Logoman patch and sticker for their 1974 release. Here’s a quick breakdown of those collectibles.
The 1971-72 Topps Trios, sometimes called the Insert Sticker Panels, or just Topps Stickers, are a 26-card set of mostly standard-sized cards of three-player panels. But the set also had a few logo sticker panels, including one for the NBA Teams. And you can see, clear as day, the NBA Logoman in the upper-left corner.
Despite the 1971 Topps Stickers #46 NBA Team Logo "card" being quadruple printed and PSA encasing 318 examples, only three are Gem Mint 10s (Heritage Auctions sold one of those 10s for $528 in May 2017).
The following two Logoman items are part of the 1974 Fleer Team Patches/Stickers set. That year, Fleer released a set of 38 "cards." They produced a cloth patch and sticker for each of the 18 NBA teams, along with an NBA Logo patch and sticker.
I've read that some packs had one patch, one sticker, one "The Shots" card, and a stick of gum, while other packs had two patches instead of a sticker. I guess that's why the stickers remain a little more valuable today, or maybe it's just because kids peeled all of them.
After some quick research, I also found that the 1976-77 Fleer NBA Team Stickers featured the Logoman, too, so I'm sure there are still others released before the Skybox card.
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🕴️ 1952 Topps Salesman Samples
As the name implies, salesman-sample sports card panels were used by salesmen as samples to vendors (e.g. grocers and candy-store owners) to illustrate an upcoming release of cards to promote sales. These panels were produced in limited numbers, making surviving samples quite rare.
The front of the panels looked like regular-issue cards, while the back had a small advertising pitch for the new product. In some years, the backs also had redemption information or a sample card back. The key is that salesman samples include ad copy. Topps issued them between 1952 and 1967, Bowman gave them out in 1954 and 1955, Fleer had one for Ted Williams’ set in 1959, and you could say Playball had a sample in 1939 as well.
I've been researching these panels for a short book, so I keep an eye out for them on the market. Last month, a 1952 Topps Salesman Sample was listed for sale on eBay.
The 1952 samples are super rare, so I expected some high bids. This particular panel featured Monty Basgall (#12), Johnny Wyrostek (#13), and Bob Elliott (#14) and is about 7-7/8 by 3-11/16 inches. The back has an ad for the "Giant Size Topps Baseball Picture Cards" with "Full-Color Action Shots - Plus Bubble Gum" and "Big Cards! Big Series! Big Sales!". It sold for $3,838.87 on February 25th, 2023.
A few weeks later, another 1952 Topps Salesman Sample was listed on eBay. This one was also authenticated by SGC and featured Fred Marsh (#8), Bobby Hogue (#9), and Al Rosen (#10). It sold for $2331 on March 24th, 2023.
Both panels were sold by the Chasing Cardboard guys and came from a deceased collector's family. You can check out the story of this incredible collection in Episode 13 of Chasing Cardboard.
A third panel from this collection was posted for sale on eBay on March 25th, and it’ll end on April 4th. It features Lou Kretlow (#42), Ray Scarborough (#43), and Con Dempsey (#44); you’ll notice that all nine cards on these three panels are part of the 1952 set’s 1st Series and have the same advertising on their backs.
Well, in their 2012 Spring Catalog, Robert Edward Auctions sold ($2133) an uncut advertising panel featuring card numbers 141, 142, and 143 with a special mailing sticker advertising the “New Series!” glued to the back, a new way to introduce the next series of cards to retailers. And in September 2017, Mile High Card Co sold ($660) a sample with remnants of a mailing label on the back of what appeared to be three regular uncut cards, too (numbers 176, 177, and 178).
The Chasing Cardboard guys showed five 1952 Topps Baseball Salesman Samples towards the end of the video, so we might see two more. Happy Collecting!
⌨️ On The PostWarCards Blog
March 20th, 2023: Ten Awesome Oddball Chicago Bulls Team Sets
March 21st, 2023: Trading Labels for Legends: How the 1954 Red Heart Baseball Set Was Advertised and Distributed
March 27th, 2023: Topps File Sets Part 1: The 1989 Guernsey’s Topps Auction
March 28th, 2023: 1976 Topps Baseball Rack Packs: The Story Behind the Gray and White-Backed Headers