1939 Play Ball Set

Posted on October 7, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	Play Ball
Year	1939
Size	2 1/2″ x 3 1/8″
Images	Black and White
Type	Candy/Gum
Number in Set	161

1939 Play Ball Overview

The 1939 Play Ball (R334) set includes black and white cards in one of the final pre-war issues.

The design of the cards sort of play into the time period. World War II had just begun and these somewhat dull cards are a stark contrast to the mostly colorful sets of the 1930s.

Fronts included only a simplistic player image with no name or identifying marks. The lack of a name on the front is both unique and frustrating since it makes identifying some of the more obscure players more difficult. The back included a biography of the player as well as a card number and a mention of it being one of a series of 250 players. More cards were apparently to come, but never made it since the set is complete with Card No. 162.

The key cards in the set are easily those of Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio. Of note is that there is no No. 126 in the set. The Williams card, in particular, is important as it is his rookie issue.

Also key to the set are the shortprinted high number cards. The high number cards are No. 116-162 and sell for a bit of a premium. While low-grade commons among the low number cards can be found starting in the $5-$10 range, low-grade high number commons are about double or triple that.

Variations are found here, too, making a master set challenging. Many of the low number cards have player names printed both in all capital letters or a mix of capital and lower case letters. With the exception of possibly a few cases where one type may be extremely rare, there do not seem to be large differences in price.

The set is increasingly popular with newer vintage collectors wanting a pre-1950 set to collect. Cards aren’t too expensive and at 161 cards, assembling a complete set isn’t too unrealistic. The cards look a bit like the popular 1948 Bowman cards, which came a decade later. It is also iconic because it marked the 100th anniversary of the sport of baseball.

The 1939 Play Ball cards aren’t hard to find and many exist. PSA has graded more than 20,000 of them.

Play Ball produced a total of three sets – 1939, 1940, and 1941. Here was my list of the top ten cards across all three sets.

Ted Williams Rookie Card

With all due respect to the Joe DiMaggio card in the set, there’s no doubt that the Ted Williams rookie card is the key one in the release.

The Williams card is not one of the most expensive pre-war cards that you’ll find. But starting around $1,200-$1,500 in low-grade condition, it doesn’t come cheap. It is also one of the more iconic pre-war cards — particularly of those in the 1930s. The Williams rookie is one of those that has been sought after by collectors for a very long time.

Williams’ card here shows him wielding a bat as a young player for the Red Sox. The back calls Williams ‘one of the youngest players in baseball’ before saying he ‘has a great future according to experts.’ Numbered at 92 in the set, it is the foundation of this popular issue.

Sample Cards

One unique aspect of the set is that it included what are some of the first marked promo cards of all time. The 1939 Play Ball ‘Sample’ cards are the same as the regular cards, but have a red overprinted stamp on the back that states the following:

“FREE Sample Card – Get your pictures of leading baseball players. Three picture cards packed in each package of ‘Play Ball America’ Bubble Gum at your candy store.”

The price of the gum, one cent, was printed at the end of the brief advertisement.

The Sample cards were printed in much smaller quantities and are believed to have been packaged with parent company, Gum, Inc. products. Sample cards also do not exist for the entire set – they were only made for cards up to No. 115.

Despite the uniqueness of the sample cards, they do not sell for outrageous amounts. Common sample cards generally start around $15-$20.

Here’s a closer look at the sample cards.

Al Schacht Card

One of the more interesting cards is one for a former player turned comedian called Al Schacht.

Schacht is seen on his card around a base while wearing a suit. By the time this set rolled around, he had retired as a player and was doing baseball comedy routines around the league. When in that context, it is easier to understand why the card was created.

Here’s more on the interesting Schacht card.