1933-34 V288 Hamilton Gum Hockey Set and Checklist

‘It’s In The Details’

Title V288 Hamilton Gum
Year 1933-34
Size 2 3/8″ x 2 3/4″
Images Black and White
Type Candy
Number in Set
21

1933-34 V288 Hamilton Gum Hockey Overview

The V288 Hamilton Gum hockey card set was produced in the early 1930s and featured several key hockey players of the era.

Fronts of the cards included a black and white/color tinted player image and a colored background. Cards also had a white border around the edges and the player’s name was included at the bottom.

Backs included the player’s name and card number at the top then presented a biography of the player in both English and French since this was a Canadian issue. The manufacturer, Hamilton Chewing Gum, LTD, and location (Hamilton, Ontario) were added to the bottom.

One of the interesting facets of this key set is that cards were skip-numbered. That is, cards with certain numbers do not appear to have been printed or distributed.

The exact reason for this isn’t known but a few popular theories exist. First, there could have been more cards that were planned to be included but never produced for contract issues with the players, etc. Another reason is that the skip numbering could have been intentional in the hopes of selling more gum to children looking to complete the set.

Whatever the reason, nefarious or not, the set certainly contains skip-numbered cards with gaps in between. While the highest card number is No. 49 (leading collectors to believe there are at least 49 cards), only 21 are believed to have been printed.

Despite having only 21 different players, however, there are more than 21 actual cards. That is because each player is available with four different color-tinted backgrounds (beige, blue, green, or orange).

1933-34 V288 Hamilton Gum Hockey Checklist

  1. Nick Wasnie
  2. Joe Primeau
  3. Marty Burke
  4. Not issued
  5. Not issued
  6. Not issued
  7. Bill Thoms
  8. Howie Morenz
  9. Andy Blair
  10. Not issued
  11. Ace Bailey
  12. Not issued
  13. Not issued
  14. Wildor Larochelle
  15. Not issued
  16. Not issued
  17. King Clancy
  18. S. Mantha
  19. Not issued
  20. Not issued
  21. Red Horner
  22. Not issued
  23. Pit Lepine
  24. Not issued
  25. Not issued
  26. Not issued
  27. Aurel Joliat
  28. Not issued
  29. Busher Jackson
  30. Lorne Chabot
  31. Not issued
  32. Not issued
  33. Happy Day
  34. Not issued
  35. Not issued
  36. Alex Levinsky
  37. Not issued
  38. Not issued
  39. Hal Cotton
  40. Not issued
  41. Not issued
  42. Ebbie Goodfellow
  43. Not issued
  44. Larry Aurie
  45. Not issued
  46. Not issued
  47. Not issued
  48. Not issued
  49. Charlie Conacher

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