Sports Featured in 1935 Ogden Story of Sand Set

Posted on July 13, 2022 by Pre-War Cards

A trio of sports cards are buried in this mostly non-sports set

The 1935 Ogden Story of Sand set is one of the numerous 50-card cigarette card issues hailing from the UK. But even though it’s primarily a non-sports release, three sports cards found their way into the set.

The set is basically what you’d think it is given the title. It’s a series that reviews the many uses of sand in everyday life. It also highlights sand’s part in nature and landscapes (i.e. quicksand, etc.). It’s a fun little set but also one that’s a bit rarer than many of the other 1930s tobacco issues from across the pond. Because of that, the price is a little higher but still reasonable at around $25-$50.

Many of the cards in the set won’t have much appeal for collectors of sports cards. But there are three here that are worth your time if you’re not into non-sports. Interestingly, the three sports cards are the final ones in the set’s checklist.

Card No. 48 reviews sand on the golf course. By and large, this is the most popular card in the set.

This one pictures an unnamed golfer that has found himself in the sand trap with a playing partner looking on in the background. He’s dressed as a 1930s golfer, of course, with the focus of the card about playing on seaside golf courses with large sand hills.

A somewhat cool aspect is that the card mentions specific courses of that type, including St. Andrews and others scattered throughout Europe. In addition to the sand traps, the card also mentions that sand was still used by golfers to tee up the ball for a drive.

Card No. 49 takes us to track and field.

Here, we’ve got a long jumper with the focus being on sand being used as a shock absorber as they spring into the pit.

The card is titled, “Sand as a shock-absorber” with the description on the back starting with the act that children can play on a sandy beach without being hurt. As stated, “Any heavy object falling upon dry sand sinks into it until the ‘shock’ is absorbed and the fall arrested.” That takes us to the relevance of sand and its use in track and field.

Sand’s use is described for the pit area of a long jump, with a mention that the trench is filled with both sand and sawdust. While not quite as desirable as the golf card, as a sports card in the set, this one is still somewhat pursued.

The third and final sports-related card in the issue is one from the world of auto racing.

This card has a horizontal layout and features a race car along the shore on a sand track.

Titled, “Sand as a Speed-Track,” a blue car is shown racing here. And unlike the other cards, this one is actually linked to a specific athlete in famous auto racer Sir Malcolm Campbell.

The description on the back mentions that, ‘The famous hard sands of Daytona Beach, Florida, provide one of the most convenient racing courses for these high speeds, and have been the scene of the record-breaking runs of the late Sir Henry Segrave, and of Sir Malcolm Campbell, whose famous “Blue Bird” is illustrated.’ Campbell’s Blue Bird racing car was found in countless other British card sets.

The auto racing card is No. 50 — the final one in the set.

In terms of pricing, the golf card typically sells for around $10 with the other two starting around a few dollars each. It should be noted, however, that finding the cards in the U.S. is not always easy. In particular, the golf issue tends to get scooped up by collectors of cards from that sport.