1939 African Tobacco World of Sport Set

Posted on September 7, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	African Tobacco World of Sport
Year	1939
Size	1 3/4″ x 2 1/2″ (Small) and 2 1/4″ x 3 1/8″ (Large)
Images	Black and White
Type	Tobacco
Number in Set	100

1939 African Tobacco World of Sport Overview

The 1939 African Tobacco World of Sport set consists of 100 different cards featuring various sports and athletes from around the world.

While the set doesn’t contain much in the way of the four major American sports, one baseball card of Yankees great Babe Ruth is included. That card, as you might imagine, is easily the headliner of the set. The card is one of Ruth’s earliest post-career cards and, even though it was printed after his playing days, it still can command well over $1,000, even in low-grade condition.

The cards were issued by African Tobacco Manufacturers out of Cape Town in South Africa. They were not printed on a regular card stock. Rather, they were printed on a thin stock with a smooth, semi-gloss finish. A collectable album for the set was also printed.

One unique aspect is that the cards were printed in both large and smaller versions. Larger cards measure about 2 1/4″ x 3 1/8″ while the other ones are noticeably smaller at approximately 1 3/4″ x 2 1/2″. The backs of the cards were printed in both English and Afrikaans languages. They included a short biography of the player as well as a card number. The cards have a basic look with a simple white border and black and white images. Names are not even presented on the fronts.

In addition to baseball, other sports featured in the set are golf, boxing, tennis, and track and field, among others.

Besides Ruth, other notable figures in the set are boxer Joe Louis and track and field star Jesse Owens. Tennis players include Hall of Famers Fred Perry, Bill Tilden, Suzanne Lenglen, and others. Those cards, while not as desirable as the Ruth card, still draw heavy interest, sometimes selling for hundreds of dollars in high-grade condition.

The cards are somewhat scarce – particularly inside of the United States since this was a South African issue. PSA has not even graded 1,000 of them in all. However, with the invention of the Internet, the Ruth card especially is seen a good bit.