1945 Leister Autographs Game Set and Checklist

‘It’s In The Details’

Title 1945 Leister Autographs Game Set
Year 1945
Size2  ″2 1/2 x 3 1/2″
Images Black and White
Type Game Cards
Number in Set
52

1945 Leister Autographs Game Set Overview

Knute Rockne 1945 Leister Autographs1945 Leister Autographs Game Babe RuthThis unique set appeared in 1945 as a card game. A total of 52 cards were in the set, just like a standard playing card deck.  It was created by the Leister Game Company, based in Toledo, Ohio.

Each card featured a subject as well as his or her autograph. A brief biography of the subject was given (in red ink) and the bottom included a clue and cartoon image of another subject in the set (in black ink). The set included mostly non-sports subjects but several athletes were included from baseball, golf, boxing, and tennis.

Of most note to sports fans are the cards of baseball players. Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio. Boxing subjects Joe Louis and Jack Dempsey were also included, as were football cards of Red Grange, Knute Rockne, Bernie Bierman, and Tom Harmon. Golfers included Walter Hagen and Byron Nelson while tennis figures included Don Budge and Bill Tilden.

The game was distributed inside of a red and black box with the title simply known as ‘Autographs.’ The box included the replica signatures of several subjects with Babe Ruth’s one of the few that was featured. A brief description on the box noted this was ‘a card game of famous people’ and that it was for two to ten players to enjoy.

Don’t sleep on the non-sports subjects, though. Plenty of big name celebrities are found in the set and, in particular, the set contains what is sometimes referred to as the ‘rookie card’ of Frank Sinatra. That card in decent raw condition can sell for $50-$100 alone.

1945 Leister Autographs Game Set Checklist

There are a total of 52 cards in the set with four cards sharing the same number. Cards are checklisted below by the number they bear.

Note that some cards will only have a number and others have a number followed by the letter ‘A’.

1 Cards

  • H.V. Kaltenborn
  • Grace Moore
  • Lily Pons
  • Lowell Thomas

2 Cards

  • Jack Dempsey (Boxing)
  • Joe Louis (Boxing)
  • Lauritz Melchoir
  • John Thomas

3 Cards

  • Gary Cooper
  • Clark Gable
  • Kate Smith
  • Dinah Shore

4 Cards

  • Jack Benny
  • Bing Crosby
  • Bob Hope
  • Frank Sinatra

5 Cards

  • Irving Berlin
  • Claudette Colbert
  • Jerome Kern
  • Dorothy Lamour

6 Cards

  • Walter Damrosch
  • Kay Kyser
  • Arturo Toscanini
  • Paul Whiteman

7 Cards

  • Bernie Bierman (Football)
  • Walter Hagen (Golf)
  • Byron Nelson (Golf)
  • Knute Rockne (Football)

8 Cards

  • Bob Benchley
  • Irvin Cobb
  • Thomas Dewey
  • Franklin Roosevelt

9 Cards

  • Dwight Eisenhower
  • Douglas MacArthur
  • Joe DiMaggio (Baseball)
  • Babe Ruth (Baseball)

10 Cards

  • Don Budge (Tennis)
  • Red Grange (Football)
  • Tom Harmon (Football)
  • Bill Tilden (Tennis)

11 Cards

  • Fanny Brice
  • Katherine Cornell
  • Joan Davis
  • Helen Hayes

12 Cards

  • William Green
  • Westbrook Pegler
  • Ernie Pyle
  • John Lewis

13 Cards

  • Gene Autry
  • Ted Husing
  • Roy Rogers
  • Bill Stern

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