1931 W754 St. Louis Cardinals / Metropolitan Studios Set and Checklist

‘It’s In The Details’

Title W754 St. Louis Cardinals / Metropolitan Studios
Year 1931
Size 6 1/4″ x 9 1/2″
Images Black and White
Type Miscellaneous
Number in Set
30

1931 W754 St. Louis Cardinals / Metropolitan Studios Overview

W754 Cardinals Metropolitan Studios.jpegThe American Card Catalog classified numerous St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns sets as W754 issues. Only one, however, fits into the pre-war era – a set from 1931 featuring the Cardinals.

If you look for a W754 1931 issue as was mentioned in the American Card Catalog and you’re out of luck. And unfortunately, the book doesn’t offer any specific details other than to say it was a 1931 release. Today, most collectors omit the W754 when discussing this set.

Pictures of the players in the 1931 Cardinals set include a variety of poses. Some are full length shots, others are about 3/4 length, and some are close up portraits. One interesting one is the photo of James Lindsey. His looks different from the others in that it is a picture of a picture and has his last name printed in white in a large black box at the bottom.

The 1931 pictures all generally look the same but are credited differently. Some have no credit printed on them at all. Others have the Metropolitan Studios name and location (St. Louis) on them. Others have that information but with a copyright symbol. More still have the name of a Sid Whiting located in St. Louis. The placement of the credits is at the bottom most (if not all) of the time but they range from being in the center to either of the corners.

Sid Whiting was a professional photographer of some consequence and his studio was located in St. Louis at the corner of Washington and Grand streets. Whiting took pictures of all sorts of subjects and his work can still be found today. Many of his items include his famous signature.

One set that might fit the bill is the 1931 Metropolitan Studios Cardinals set of photos. That set, of course, is known by collectors but usually isn’t credited as the W754 1931 set. The Metropolitan Studios set includes 30 black and white photos of Cardinals players.

Other W754 issues include the following:

  • W754 1931 set
  • W754 1941 set (Browns)
  • W754 1957-59 5″ x 7″ photos
  • W754 1951, 1953-1959 postcards
  • W754 1948-1954 team sets
  • W754 1959 5″ x 7″ All-Stars set (team photos of all clubs)

1931 W754 St. Louis Cardinals / Metropolitan Studios Checklist

  1. Sparky Adams
  2. Ray Blades
  3. Jim Bottomley
  4. Sam Breadon
  5. Rip Collins
  6. Dizzy Dean
  7. Paul Derringer
  8. Jake Flowers
  9. Frankie Frisch
  10. Charles Gelbert
  11. Miguel Gonzalez
  12. Burleigh Grimes
  13. Chick Hafey
  14. Jesse Haines
  15. Bill Hallahan
  16. Andy High
  17. Syl Johnson
  18. Tony Kaufmann
  19. Jim Lindsey
  20. Gus Mancuso
  21. Pepper Martin
  22. Ernie Orsatti
  23. Flint Rhem
  24. Branch Rickey
  25. Walt Roettger
  26. Allyn Stout
  27. Gabby Street
  28. Clyde Wares
  29. George Watkins
  30. James Wilson

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