1917 T. Norpoth Baseball Playing Cards Set

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	T. Norpoth Baseball Playing Cards
Year	1917
Size	2 1/2″ x 3 1/2″
Images	Black and White
Type	Game Cards
Number in Set	51

1917 T. Norpoth Baseball Playing Cards Overview

This set of cards was a baseball playing card issue. The cards do not feature specific players and includes only generic images of players and equipment.

The black and white pictures on the cards depict players making a variety of baseball motions, such as hitting and fielding. Some cards do not have pictures of players, but have baseballs instead. Specific teams are also not included, per se. However, the names of cities are used to indicate the teams. Those cities include:

Boston
Chicago
New York
St. Louis

Backs of the cards had a playing card design printed in blue ink. The picture shows a pair of crossed bats, a pair of baseballs, a catcher mask, and a glove. Like other baseball playing card games, the cards feature a variety of actions to dictate game play.

The box for the cards touted the sport of baseball as well as the card game. On the back, it read:

“The Greatest Game in the World – A game of baseball in your home. This game should be in every American home. A noble pastime strictly an American game brought forth by the spirit of American democracy. No kings, no queens, no jacks, only baseball. Be an American and play the national game.”

It is the box that also dates the set. The box has a June 19, 1917 patent date on it and, even if the cards were not necessarily distributed that year, 1917 is the year credited to this set because of it. In addition to the actual game cards, a rules card and sample scorecard were also included.

Here’s more on the original patent for the game.