Most baseball card collectors break into the hobby by collecting issues of current players and teams. That’s only natural. I started collecting cards back in 1986 and my focus quickly shifted to cards of New York Mets players as that was my favorite childhood team. My path to pre-war cards, if you’re interested, has been documented here. But as many
A while back, I wrote about the 1936 Goudey set, which is one of the easiest ways to break into pre-war cards if you’re a set collector. If you’re new to pre-war baseball cards and looking to break in without needing thousands of dollars to get started, here are some of the easier sets. 1936 Goudey The 1936 Goudey set
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In 1913, the Tom Barker Game was released. This game included a deck of cards that were used to simulate real baseball. The cards were popular because, unlike some other sets, they featured pictures of actual players on them, in addition to printed actions in the border areas to dictate the game play. Many collectors flock to these cards, which
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A while back, I wrote about some of the more inexpensive cards from Babe Ruth’s playing days. Ty Cobb is another common player I’m often asked about. If you’ve just started collecting Cobb in recent years, you’ve missed out a little. His cards have continued to increase in value and even some of his more common cards, such as his
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As I wrote recently, the 1936 Goudey set is the perfect set introduction for new pre-war collectors. It’s short, affordable, and doesn’t have any expensive cards if you can handle low-grade. But what about for those that don’t collect sets? Well, I recently wrote an article for Sports Collectors Daily, highlighting some cards featuring pre-war Hall of Famers that you
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Here’s a look at game cards from the pre-war era Whenever I get asked about affordable pre-war cards, I have a few standard ‘go to’ answers. I’ll be highlighting those in a series of articles over the next few weeks called, “Breaking into Pre-War Collecting.” The first type of cards? Game cards. I gave away a few of these this
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1938 Whitman Big League Baseball Game Background In 1938, the Whitman Card Game was produced by the Whitman Publishing Company. The game was the creation of two gentlemen, Ralph Williams and Frank Effinger from Racine, Wisconsin-based Whitman Publishing. The game was like many others of the time period. Players used cards to compete in a simulated baseball game. The cards
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In the pre-war era, baseball playing card games were all the rage. There are several of them dating back to the late 1800s and they featured a simulated style of play. In 1922, the Olsen Games Company was one of those created a baseball card game. Background on the 1922 Olsen’s Baseball Game The 1922 Olsen’s Baseball Game is rare
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‘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
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Ya-Lo Corporation/Game Background In 1925, the Ya-Lo Corporation developed a unique football board/card game. The game, as advertised, featured thousands of different play combinations. Its big selling point was that consumers could play it over and over with limitless outcomes, just like a real football game. The first Ya-Lo game was produced in 1925 – Grange’s rookie year in the
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‘It’s In The Details’ Title Psychic Baseball Game Cards Year 1926-35 Size 2 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ Images Color Type Game Cards Number in Set 27 1926-35 Psychic Baseball Game Overview The Psychic Baseball Game was a game using playing cards. The cards depict various baseball images of runners trying to reach base – some successfully and others unsuccessfully. A
Read more‘It’s In The Details’ Title Spanish Boxing Playing Cards Year 1928 Size Varies Images Color Type Game Cards Number in Set 48 1928 Spanish Boxing Playing Cards Set Overview Little is currently known about this unique set, which includes 48 cards. Even here, a proper title has not been yet identified as the manufacturer or distributor is presently unknown. From
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