1904 Fan Craze Set Predated Popular 1906 Issues

Posted on April 7, 2017 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	Fan Craze
Year	1904
Size	2 1/2″ x 3 1/2″
Images	Black and White
Type	Game Cards
Number in Set	59

1904 Fan Craze Set Overview

Many collectors are familiar with Fan Craze’s 1906 WG-2 and WG-3 gaming cards. Fan Craze was a gaming company based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The WG-2 and WG-3 issues were part of a card game and are popular because they feature actual players. The cards are significantly cheaper than other issues of those players from the same era. Additionally, because they were part of a game, they were sometimes barely used and, thus, often found in good condition.

But fewer collectors are familiar with the company’s earlier 1904 set. This set features cards with specific actions on them to allow for game play. Some of the cards do have pictures of a players on them (only a batter was used), but they are generic in nature. For this reason, the 1904 Fan Craze set isn’t as widely collected as the later issues. But that it was the company’s first baseball set and one of the earliest gaming issues makes it desirable.

The cards utilize only black ink for the words and designs on the side with the actions. The back of the card has the popular Fan Craze logo printed in a deep red color as shown. Full Fan Craze games are available from time to time. A complete game will include the following items:

(48) playing cards plus the additional non-playing cards (instructions, scoring, etc.)
An instructional booklet
Score cards (exact number that came with the game is unknown)
Miniature envelope with nails to be used on the playing board
Wooden playing board (replica of a baseball field) with Fan Craze logo
The original cardboard box that measures 4 3/4″ wide x 6 1/4″ tall

A game missing any of these pieces is not a complete one. The game originally sold for only fifty cents back in 1904 and the 1904 date is confirmed by the instructions booklet that states it was copyrighted in that year. The game’s registered trademark was No. 11358.

Honus Wagner — Sort Of

While the set does not feature the famous portraits and names of actual players as found in Fan Craze’s later set, at least two cards do feature Honus Wagner.

Wagner’s name appears on a card relating to batting percentages. The card explains how to calculate a batting average (dividing the number of hits by the number of at bats) and then proceeds to mention Wagner’s statistics, citing that the Hall of Famer hit .355 in 1903 with 182 base hits in 512 at bats.

A second card lists batting averages of several players, including Wagner.

While most collectors would not value these cards anywhere near a card truly dedicated to Wagner, they certainly should receive a premium over the other cards in the set.

Pictured here is one of the Wagner cards.