The Post War Cards Newsletter #8
Ham Porter: THE GREAT BAMBINO!
Scotty Smalls: OH, MY GOD! You mean that's the same guy?
⚾️ 1961 Fleer Babe Ruth Advertising Store Display
I kicked off the first Post War Cards Newsletter on September 26, 2024, with a piece about the 1954 Topps Advertising Sign featuring Ted Williams. Well, I ran across another similar super rare item the other day while flipping through The Official 14th Annual National Sports Collectors Convention Auction Catalog (July 1993): a 1961 Fleer Baseball Babe Ruth 16 x 24 Advertising Store Display Piece!
Luckily, REA re-sold the exact same piece 15 years later (Spring 2008), so we have color scans of both sides. It sold for $822.
They pointed out that while the design of the Ruth side of the display was identical to the company's card issue that year, the image of Ruth was different than the one featured on his card. They mentioned never having seen another copy.
But alas, when you focus on something, you see it everywhere. I found another example in Ron Oser Enterprises (a division of Robert Edward Auctions at the time) Telephone Auction from March 1998.
✍️ Great Hobby Writing
SABR's Baseball Cards Research Committee: Stamping Out an Old Set & My Personal Collection So Far
Sports Collectors Daily: 1974 WHA Canada-Soviet Summit Series Celebrates 50th Anniversary
Topps Ripped: 1977 Topps Mexican Football A White Whale for Collectors
cllct: The No PSA 10 Club: These Cards Have Never Been Graded as a Gem
Nine Pockets: Completed Set: 1982 Topps Football
Japanese Baseball Cards: RIP Marty Kuehnert
Collectibles on SI: Ted Williams Stars in Near Perfect Baseball Card Set
⚾️ While We're On The Subject Of Great Hobby Writing...
Baseball Cards Magazine set the standard—here’s its 1981-1986 run.
📦 Unopened Item Of The Week - A 1962 Topps Baseball Box
Greg Morris Graded sold the following 1962 Topps Baseball Empty Display Box (BBCE Wrapped) for $148.49 on October 18, 2024. I think it's the best-looking post-war baseball wax box (with 1957 Topps and 1970 Topps a close 2nd/3rd), though this example doesn't have the sharpest colors.
I like it so much because it advertises a hobby library item on the side, a 'Baseball Stamp Album and Record Book!'
Let me know what your favorite box is. And by the way, there is another 1962 Topps baseball 5-cent wax box variation.
📝 On The Blog
November 7, 2024: Ranking the Top 5 Topps Baseball Card Set Designs of All Time
November 8. 2024: Top 75 All-Time Classic Baseball and Football Cards
November 8, 2024: 1954 Topps Hockey Cards Have the Best Backs in the Hobby
November 9, 2024: 1935 R89 And R90 Gum Inc. Mickey Mouse Uncut Sheets
November 10, 2024: Pacific Takes on the Goliaths
November 11, 2024: 1955 Topps Doubleheaders Uncut Panel
November 11, 2024: A Fascinating Letter from Sy Berger to Fred Corcoran Extending Ted Williams' Contract with Topps
November 12, 2024: Dick Perez's Original Artwork for the 1984 Donruss Mike Schmidt Diamond Kings Card
November 13, 2024: The 1980-81 Argus Publishing Reggie Jackson Cards
🗺️ Card Show History - The Lower Fairfield County Sports Collectors Show
Today's Card Show History takes us to the East Coast in the late 1980s. Old Greenwich Ct., to be exact. This show featured "New York's Centerfielders Past and Present" Lee Mazzilli and Mickey Mantle.
I don't need to tell anyone who Mantle was, but I'll bet many of you don't remember or recognize Lee Mazzilli. He grew up in Brooklyn and then played his first six seasons with the Mets; this collectors show was held during that stint, the fall after the year that he made his only All-Star Game (1979).
📘 In The Hobby Library - Mark Murphy's 1996 Unopened Guide
Mark Murphy, The Baseball Card Kid, was a big-time unopened dealer in the mid-'90s, and you could find his advertisements across a lot of the day's magazines. He kicked off his 3-page spread in the July 1996 issue of Sports Cards Magazine with an ad for his Unopened Pack, Wrapper & Display Box Guide!
Despite the outdated prices, this guide and its 2nd Edition, which came out in 2002, are must-haves for any unopened collector.
Here are a few of my favorite photos from it.
There's an opportunity for someone to make a new one with some corrections, a list of known products, a celebration of new finds, and some education about spotting fakes and pack collation. The unopened niche may seem small, but the leading Facebook group for unopened has almost 19k members, and they're super passionate.
Happy collecting!