Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	R322 Goudey
Year	1936
Size	2 3/8″ x 2 7/8″
Images	Black and White
Type	Candy/Gum
Number in Set	25

1936 Goudey (R322) Overview

After producing three years of sets with colored artwork, Goudey switched to real black and white images for its 1936 set. The cards also included a replica signature on the fronts with the backs including a short biography.

Also for the first time, Goudey’s sets were not numbered on the backs.

The set was sort of a makeshift one in that it included features from other 1936 Goudey sets. The pictures were the same ones used in the company’s 1936 R314 Goudey Wide Pen premium photos. The only difference is that these cards used a cropped version of those photos. The backs also served as game pieces with action words printed on them. The words were used to allow collectors to simulate a baseball game and some, if not all, of the same actions were used in the 1937 R325 Knot Hole League set also produced by Goudey.

The checklist does include several Hall of Famers but is also missing some big names such as Joe DiMaggio, who made his debut in the league that year with the New York Yankees. Also not in the set were several other big names such as teammate Lou Gehrig, Dizzy Dean, Lefty Grove, Jimmie Foxx, and Mel Ott – all of whom were All-Stars that season and Hall of Famers.

With such a short checklist, it would have been difficult to squeeze everyone in. But several nominal players could have been removed in place for some bigger names. Still, the short checklist makes it a great target for collectors just starting out with pre-war cards.

1936 Goudey (R322) Master Set

It is important to note that many different backs are found with the different players. In all, there are 25 different back combinations. So while 25 player cards make up the set many more would comprise a theoretical master set.

If all 25 players had all 25 back combinations, that would give us a total of 625 cards in a master set. However, nowhere near that amount for each player has been discovered. To date, most players have seven known backs and a total of 176 have been found in the master set, per this survey.

The 25 back combinations are listed below the checklist of players, courtesy of Matthew Glidden of the Number 5 Type Collection blog.

R322 1936 Goudey Checklist

1. Wally Berger
2. Zeke Bonura
3. Frenchy Bordagaray
4. Bill Brubaker
5. Dolph Camilli
6. Clyde Castleman
7. Mickey Cochrane
8. Joe Coscarart
9. Frank Crosetti
10. Kiki Cuyler
11. Paul Derringer
12. Jimmy Dykes
13. Rick Ferrell
14. Lefty Gomez
15. Hank Greenberg
16. Bucky Harris
17. Rollie Hemsley
18. Pinky Higgins
19. Oral Hildebrand
20. Chuck Klein
21. Pepper Martin
22. Bobo Newsom
23. Joe Vosmik
24. Paul Waner
25. Bill Werber

Back Combinations of Game Actions

1. Double (to left center) / Foul
2. Steals Home!! / Strike
3. Ball (Too low) / Out (1st baseman spears)
4. Strike (A fast in-shoot) / Ball (Too low)
5. Strike / Wild Pitch
6. Ball (Right over) / Out (A long high fly)
7. Bunt – Scratch Hit!! / Stolen Base!
8. Hit by Pitched Ball / Out
9. Foul (Over the press boxes) / Ball (Too high and wide)0
10. Foul / Double!
11. Out (A short fly) / Ball (Almost a wild pitch)
12. Foul / Force out
13. Out / Single
14. Strike (Right over) / Ball (High – inside)
15. Foul Tip / Strike!
16. Three Bagger / Out
17. Ball (Too close) / out (A pop fly)
18. Out!! / Error!!!
19. Strike (Caught napping) / Foul (High up)
20. Out / Double Play
21. !! Home Run !! / Ball
22. Out (A long fly) / Strike (A slow ball)
23. Ball (An out-drop) / Out (A sharp grounder)
24. Strike (A wide out-curve) / Ball (Outside – too low)
25. Foul (Liner into home) / Ball (Batter fell down)

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