1912 BF-UNC Baseball Felts Set and Checklist

Posted on March 6, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	BF-UNC Baseball Felts
Year	1912
Size	Various
Images	White Ink
Type	Blanket/Felt
Number in Set	15 (?)

1912 BF-UNC Baseball Felts Set Overview

This unique set of felts is not listed in the American Card Catalog. But the uncatalogued set is certainly known to some pre-war enthusiasts.

These issues feature white ink images of baseball players along with their last name against colored felts with blank backgrounds. The felts typically measure as a narrow strip, similar to a small bookmark, and are roughly 4″ tall. However, the exact sizes vary with different cuts making some thinner/wider or shorter/taller than others.

Also of note is that the felts use the same images across different players. The poses do feature some minor differences, however, including team logos. Those players, too, are featured on different colored felts making a master checklist much larger than merely the players listed. The colors include red, purple, green, turquoise, pink, and blue with others possible.

One of the more notable players in the set is, presumably, George McBride. His first name is omitted but George was the only McBride in the majors around the time this set was issued. He is shown as a catcher despite playing his entire career at first base, second base, shortstop, and third base.

Finally, mode of distribution of these felts is not unknown. It is unclear if they were distributed with candy, tobacco, some other product, or possibly were even a standalone issue.

While known today, the felts are quite rare. Commons typically fetch between $100-$200 each with stars and Hall of Famers drawing more.

1912 BF-UNC Baseball Felts Set Checklist

While this link suggests a total of 29 felts in the set, I have not verified a checklist to date. Below are the felts that I have confirmed to exist.

Of note is that, some of these have been seen with slight variations to the nameplate. It is unknown if those are intended to be part of this set or part of another set entirely. For the sake of clarity, however, I have denoted those with an asterisk below.