1921 W-UNC Self-Developing Strip Card Set and Checklist

Posted on October 3, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	W-UNC Self-Developing Strip Cards
Year	1921
Size	1 1/8″ x 1 7/8″
Images	Black and White
Type	Strip
Number in Set	21

1921 W-UNC Self-Developing Strip Card Overview

1921 W-UNC Self-Develop Strip.jpg The 1921 W-UNC Self-Developing strip card set is an unclassified issue. Little is currently known about this set.

The cards are black and white with blank backs. Fronts include real photographs of major league baseball players with the name and team. Some teams have the formal name (i.e. Cubs or White Sox) while others merely have a city and league designation (i.e. Chi. National).

The set has been reported as a self-developing set (one where the consumer takes a negative and uses it on a piece of blank photo paper to produce his own photograph). However, that appears to not yet be confirmed. The cards, when seen, often have very clear images while many self-developing cards have been known to produce images that are fuzzy or blurry.

One notable thing is that, despite its small size, the set includes several errors. Christy Mathewson’s card is misspelled as Christe Matthewson. Walter Johnson’s last name is misspelled as Johnston. Additionally, Doc Johnson’s card states he plays for the White Sox but he is pictured with Cleveland. Johnston never played for the White Sox.

The cards are rare and a fully confirmed checklist has not yet been discovered with new cards being found in recent years.

1921 Date Issues

The 1921 date seems to be best speculated due to the cards of players as members of their then current teams. Bill Killifer, for example, played with the Chicago Cubs from 1918 through 1921, and he is pictured with that team. Wally Schang, a member of the Yankees on his card, was with that club from 1921 through 1925. 1921 is the only year that matches both of those players with those teams.

However, there are two potential discrepancies with that year. One is a card of Christy Mathewson, pictured with the New York Giants when Mathewson had retired several years before then. A second bigger problem is a card of Bobby Roth, who is pictured with Cleveland. Roth played with the Indians from 1915 through 1918, however.

While 1921 is still the assumed date of this set, that has never been truly confirmed.

New Discoveries

Six new cards were added to the checklist in the summer of 2021 — coincidentally, the 100th anniversary of the assumed production of the set.

A collector uncovered a total of 19 cards hidden away in the house of a relative. Six of those cards, Zack Wheat, Rabbit Maranville, George Sisler, George Kelly, Bobby Roth, and Duster Mails, were completely new checklist additions.

Shortly after that find, a seventh new card was discovered in August — one for Heinie Groh.