Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	Gallaher Island Celebrities
Year	1938
Size
Images	Black and White
Type	Tobacco
Number in Set	48

1938 Gallaher Island Celebrities Set Overview

This rare set was printed by Gallaher, Ltd. in London and Belfast for its tobacco products. It mostly featured little-known international athletes.

The set was a multi-sport issue covering numerous sports. Among them were baseball, boxing, golf, track and field, and soccer. Like some Canadian sets, many of these athletes featured actually participated in more than one sport.

Cards featured black and white images of athletes on the front along with their name at the bottom. Backs included a card number and a biography of the subject. The cards were different from most of Gallaher’s other issues, which were usually printed in color.

The set is quite rare and while cards pop up from time to time, they are not seen too often — especially when comparing them to other 1930s UK sets.

Baseball

Of interesting note here is that the recognized checklist includes a few athletes identified as baseball players. Collectors might be inclined to believe that the baseball mentioned was the old English sport of rounders, where baseball is said to have received its origins. But that is not the case as actual baseball was indeed played in the UK. The game has several differences from the American game but is still recognized as ‘baseball’ and not cricket or rounders.

In all, there are three baseball players in the set — F.E. Stroobant, Henry Mott, and M.C. Allen. As is the case with many of the other athletes, each of these players also played other sports.

1938 Gallaher Island Celebrities Set Checklist

Athletes in baseball, boxing, golf, and tennis are noted below.

1.  W.M.F. Hudson
2.  G. Le G. Peek
3.  H.F. Rich
4.  J.S. Heaume
5.  R.E. Le Lacheur
6.  H.V. Palmer
7.  Barney Luscombe (Boxing)
8.  O.J.N. Langlois
9.  H.M. DeLa Rue (Golf)
10.  William Huelin
11.  Harry St. Clair Dean
12.  Bert Brenton
13.  C.H. Cross
14.  T.S. Henry
15.  Ernest Stead
16.  H. Le Parmentier
17.  Paul LeMasurier
18.  W. Green
19.  Billy Lake (Boxing)
20.  J. Le Pavoux
21.  M.C. Allen (Baseball)
22.  B. Barnett
23.  Percy Bougourd
24.  F.E. Stroobant (Baseball)
25.  A. Ogier
26.  A.R. Cohen
27.  W.C. Freeman
28.  T.B. Jolly (Golf)
29.  F.N. Carey
30.  Doug Mechem
31.  G.S. Hughes
32.  R.T.A. Falla
33.  G.H. Pearson
34.  Captain. Bisset
35.  A.D. Alford
36.  Henry Mott (Baseball and Golf)
37.  Billy Bennett (Boxing)
38.  Albert Young
39.  John Martel
40.  G.L. Cohen
41.  F.W.W. Chandler (Tennis)
42.  George Herpe (Boxing)
43.  S.A. Noel (Golf)
44.  Harold Hughes (Boxing)
45.  C.F. Grieve (Golf)
46.  George Fisher
47.  F.J. Cope
48.  Danny Mauger

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