Post War Cards – Vintage Sports Cards – Baseball – Basketball – Football

The Finer Points of Baseball For Everyone Instructional Booklets

January 23, 2025 by John

Between 1957 and 1966, a series of 12 instructional booklets titled The Finer Points of Baseball For Everyone offered baseball insights and hints for little, junior, midget, and Babe Ruth players. The booklets, which had copyrights attributed to Vital Publications, Inc. and later WM. C. Popper & Co., were promotional products that provided advertising on the back for their clients.

My Introduction to The Finer Points of Baseball For Everyone

I discovered these baseball instructional booklets from my hunt for their basketball-related cousins. However, I can’t remember if it was this Mile High Card Co. auction from 2017 of an opened 1968 Topps Test Pack with a How to Play Better Basketball booklet or this auction from REA for a 1963 Hood Dairy Bob Cousy How to Play Better Basketball Booklet Collection that prompted my jump into this hobby niche. I’ll write more about the 1963 How to Play Better Basketball booklets soon; for now, if you’re interested in them, check out VintageBasketball.com.

To this day, I’ve been unable to secure a single basketball booklet, but in looking for them on eBay, I noticed the baseball ones and picked up a trio with a 1965 Copyright and Hood Ice Cream advertising on the back in May 2023. I hadn’t given them much more thought until the 2023 National in Chicago; when closing a deal on some pre-war strip cards, I noticed the dealer had a complete set of 12 from 1958 with Fleet Wing Gasoline advertising on the backs, so I included them in the deal. The set was priced at $150, but I believe I got them for $100. Here are the covers and backs to all 12. I’ve also included scans of every page of the How to Play First Base booklet at the end of the article.

1958 Finer Points of Baseball for Everyone – Fleet Wing Gasoline Set – Fronts

1958 Finer Points of Baseball for Everyone – Fleet Wing Gasoline Set – Backs

After that pickup, I had to learn more!

The Finer Points of Baseball For Everyone Overview

There’s not much out there about these advertising booklets; save for this page from KeyMan Collectibles and a few notes from MyComicShop. But between those references and some eBay/Auction sales, we can piece a lot of the details together.

First, the 12 booklets are ~ 3 3/8″ x 4 5/8″ in size. Each has 16 pages if you include the front and back covers. Ten are positional, or action “How-to” guides, another has rules for umpires, and one has finer points for everyone. Each has a cartoon drawing on the cover and the words “Hints for Little, Junior, Midget, Babe Ruth Players.”

Here’s the checklist:

Baseball Finer Points for Everyone
How to Catch
How to Pitch
How to Bat
How to Run Bases
How to Play First Base
How to Play Second Base
How to Play Shortstop
How to Play Third Base
How to Play The Outfield
How to Use Baseball Signals
Rules for Umpires

They’re full-color printings in a newspaper-like material saddle-stitched like a magazine.

The differentiation comes from the copyright on the inside front cover and the advertising on the back. I’ve noticed that the early years show a copyright attributed to Vital Publications, Inc., while the later years show WM. C. Popper & Co. Unfortunately, I haven’t found any details about these companies or if it was the result of an acquisition, but they’re both referenced to New York.

As I wrote in the intro, the booklets were used as promotional products. KeyMan wrote that “for the most part early books were used as a premium for meat companies like White Seal Franks, Neuhoff’s Franfurters, Essem Hotdogs, and Hydride’s Wieners. Other ads that show up are Kids Does, Reed Candy Company, Fleet Wing Gasoline, and Stop & Shop Supermarkets.”

I’ll have to take his word for it, and he shared quite a few advertisements, but I didn’t find a lot of meat company examples in my research for the early copyright years.

White Seal Franks/Bacon Ad with Booklets

He continued writing that “By the 1960s, an array of advertisers began using the baseball books, including; local banks, and car dealerships, Mr. Softee, Baseball on NBC TV/DX Oil, Sealtest Foods, All Star Dairies, International Harvester, Weaver Potato Chip Co., Country Kitchen Restaurants, Hood Ice Cream, Horn & Hardart Automats, Holland Popsicle, and Manny’s Baseball Land, located across from Yankee Stadium.”

Finer Points of Baseball for Everyone Yearly Breakdowns

Utilizing KeyMan Collective’s, MyComicShop, and eBay/Auction listings, I’ve managed to categorize a lot of the advertisers by years; there are likely many others. I’ve sometimes taken a listing’s title as truth, but I’ll note that below when a scan of the copyright page wasn’t included.

1957

First, booklets exist without any advertising; perhaps they were used by the publishers as samples through the years, like this 1957 example set.

Reed Candy Company

Stop & Shop Super Markets (no copyright scan)

1958

Blank Backed

Fleet Wing Gasoline – See the photos I shared above.

1959

Garden Gate Margarine

1959 – Golden Gate Margarine – Copyright

1959 – Golden Gate Margarine – Back Cover

1960

MyComicShop wrote that International Harvester Company had a 1960 release, and Heritage Auctions sold a lot of them attributed to 1960 (plus a handful from a few other years that sold for $264 in June 2018), but I don’t have any copyright page scans.

1960 – International Harvester – Back Covers (& Others)

1961

MyComicShop wrote that Sealtest Foods had a 1961 release, but I haven’t found any scans that include a 1961 copyright. But this is as good a time as any to share another advertisement KeyMan shared for Holland Popsicles that included a book in each 12-pack.

1962

Black Backed

DX Dealer

Sealtest Foods and Carstens Hygrade (No Copyright Images)

1963

I haven’t found any examples referenced to 1963.

1964

MyComicShop wrote that Twin City Federal Savings & Loan sponsored a set, but I don’t have any examples of that one.

Country Kitchen

1965

Hood Ice Cream

1966

National Bank and Trust Company

1966 – National Bank and Trust Company – Back Cover

Mister Softee

Undated Examples

I found a few other examples that I don’t have dates for.

Kahn’s Wieners

Friendly Chevrolet

Weaver Potato Chip Co.

Finer Points of Baseball for Everyone How to Play First Base Scans

An Eye-Catching 1959 Topps Baseball Uncut Sheet

January 22, 2025 by John

Here’s a really cool item that I ran across in Mastro’s March 2000 catalog: a 66-card uncut sheet of 1959 Topps Baseball cards, including Hank Aaron, Orlando Cepeda, Frank and Brooks Robinson, White Ford, and Don Drysdale!

Here’s the complete auction description:

An uncut sheet of 66 cards including Hank Aaron, Orlando Cepeda, Frank and Brooks Robinson, Whitey Ford, Don Drysdale and three multiple player cards. Of course, uncut sheets of early Topps cards are rarely seen, and are highly valued in conditions amenable to framing. The bright colors on this sheet here make it particularly eye-catching and tend to make the moderate stains inconspicuous that affect the top row of cards (including Aaron). As one might expect, the sheet has several creases, most visble across cards of Orlando Cepeda and Clem Labine, and across Moe Drabowski and Bill Mazeroski. The four corners have creases and wear, and a tear cuts into the Smoky Burgess card. Overall, the sharp photography and spyglass design serve to make this Very Good condition uncut sheet a very attractive candidate for framing and proud display
Minimum Bid $400

I don’t think any of the following is the exact same 66-card partial sheet that Mastro sold, but Huggins and Scott sold one with the same format in May 2017 for $450 and another in November 2017 for $750.

And REA sold this one in the Spring of 2021 for $630.

REA also sold this 5th Series 1959 Topps production sheet in the Spring of 2014 for $10,073. Notice the 66-card series was repeated twice; it’s believed the other half of a full 264-card sheet would be identical to this 1st slit.

For more, there’s a great thread on the Net54 Forums on 1959 Topps Uncut Sheets. And don’t forget to check out The Uncut Sheet Archive, too!

Happy collecting!

Unearthed History – The Exhibit Supply Co.’s Original Football Photo Archive

January 21, 2025 by John

In August 2003, Mastro sold a treasure trove from the Exhibit Supply Co. archives: 60 mostly 8″ x 10″ photos used to produce the iconic football Exhibits. Featuring legends like Otto Graham, Marion Motley, and Y.A. Tittle, plus production notes and proof sheets, it’s a remarkable piece of football and hobby history.

Here’s the lots complete description:

A box from the archives of the Exhibit Supply Co. containing 60 photographs that were the original “art” for the production of football Exhibits in the 1950’s. Most measure 8″ x 10″ and average EX in condition with the usual editorial enhancement and tissue overlay. Leading players include Sammy Baugh, Charley Conerly, George Connor, Tom Fears, Otto Graham, Elroy Hirsch, Bobby Layne, Sid Luckman, Johnny Lujack, Ollie Matson, Marion Motley, Y. A. Tittle, Charlie Trippi, Emlin Tunnell, Bulldog Turner, Bob Waterfield and Tank Younger. Also included are production notes and a folded proof sheet for some of the cards.

I wish Mastro had included a photo of that folded proof sheet! Also, I believe the Exhibit football cards (W468) are dated between 1948 and 1952, but those details aside, I think the set features some of the most incredible photography of any set ever made, so owning the originals would be really cool!

Here are a couple of examples of the final production cards pictured above.

By the way, Mastro sold 342 original baseball photos from the Exhibit Supply Co.’s photo archive a few months earlier.

Happy collecting!

A Tasty Collectible: The 1963 Milwaukee Sausage Co. Seattle Rainiers Set

January 20, 2025 by John

The 1963 Milwaukee Sausage Co. Seattle Rainiers set includes 11 unnumbered, 4 1/4” square cards cut from retail packaging. Blue tinted with a bit of red and yellow, the set features players like Billy Macleod and several future MLB players. Most cards show stains, evidence of their original purpose.

I actually first learned about this set after running across that Billy Macleod example while flipping through Mastro’s December 2005 catalog. While it shows some mild creases and the back was described as having some creases, it was “responsibly” cut from its retail packaging, so it’s one of the nicer examples of any cards you can find from this set.

For example, REA sold these Pete Jernigan and Bill Macleod cards for $180 in September 2023, clearly in poor condition at best.

You can read a bit more about the set on SABR’s blog, but the additional info is that:

The set’s player photos are the same as that year’s popcorn cards.
The team was affiliated with the Red Sox, and a few players saw time on the team, the most famous being Mel Parnell and Pete Smith.

Both of whose cards are available on eBay right now (December 2024) for $1,899 each!

However, the Parnell looks different from the following example that MHCC sold for $159 in May 2012.

Given the scarcity of these cards, sales figures can vary wildly; Love of the Game Auctions sold this Macleod for $1,440 in the summer of 2023.

And just for completeness, TCDB has an example of a card that’s uncut from its packaging. If you know more about this particular example, please let me know in the comments.

A set born from sausages and stained by purpose; the 1963 Milwaukee Sausage Co. cards are a flavorful slice of hobby history that’s hard to resist.

Happy collecting!

Why the 1990 Score McDonald’s Baseball Cards Are Worth A Lot More Than a Happy Meal

January 20, 2025January 19, 2025 by John

You can grab a 1990 Score baseball factory set for under $10, but the 25-card McDonald’s version? With only 4,000 reportedly made (vs. who knows how many millions of base cards), it commands 40x the price!

I have to acknowledge that I only recently discovered the existence of this set after looking back through the May 1992 issue of Sports Collector Digest’s Sports Card Price Guide Monthly and skimming Jeff Kurowski’s hobby commentary.

However, while Kurowski wrote that the cards were only available in Boise, Idaho, The Standard Catalog wrote that they were also available in eastern Oregon:

This 25-card set was released exclusively at 11 McDonald’s restaurants in Idaho and eastern Oregon. Four cards were given with a large fries-soda purchase. Production was reported at 4,000 each. The cards have front borders of graduated purple shades around a game-action photo. Backs are similar in format to regular 1990 Score cards and include a portrait photo. The McDonald’s logo appears on front and back. Fifteen World Series trivia cards were part of the promotion.

BaseballCardPedia adds that the cards were only available for about three weeks in the spring of 1990. Others have presumed these cards were part of a trial pulled by McDonald’s before being implemented nationwide.

Here’s an example of a 1990 Score McDonald’s card, Ricker Henderson’s, #5, graded Gem Mt 10 from PSA that sold for $313 back in October 2016 by PWCC (now Fanatics Collect).

As I said, the sets are pricey; this ungraded example was sold on eBay for $489 on December 9, 2024.

This example, with all of the trivia cards, sold on eBay for $525 on September 28, 2024.

I haven’t been able to track down any sales of complete graded sets, but there are a handful out there, including four active ones in the PSA Set Registry; PSA has graded 680 cards across the set (as of mid-December 2024), so more are possible.

I suspect we may see a few more PSA or SGC-graded examples pop up; back in November 2024, a collector offered dozens of them on a Facebook group before mentioning he would move them to eBay later (some were already graded).

And here’s an example of the 4-card wrapper.

In late 2021/early 2022, a collector picked up a handful of packs on eBay, so there are a handful of unopened packs floating around, though I haven’t seen a graded one, which would potentially be a four-figure collectible!

Not so junky junk-wax, huh?

Check out The Unopened Archive for more!

From $121K to $50M? Revisiting the Iconic 1952 Mantle and Other 1996 Hobby Highlights

January 18, 2025 by John

Doug Kale published this piece in the January 1997 issue of Sports Card Trader, highlighting three significant sports collectibles events: The 1996 East Coast National, the Superior Sportscards Auction, where Marshall Fogel bought his 1952 Topps PSA 10 Mantle for $121k, and the September 21st sale of the Greztky/McNall T206 Wagner for $640,500.

There’s been talk around the hobby that the 1952 Topps PSA 10 Mantle cards could be worth $50M now; before Fogel displayed the card during the 2021 All-Star Game, he said he had rejected a $25M offer for it.

Here are a few photos from the Colorado Rockies Facebook page from that event.

For a bit more, Sports Collectors Digest has a nice piece about how Topps’ 1952 Mickey Mantle Became the Most Iconic Card in Hobby History.

For more about the infamous T206 Wagner’s history, click here.

Happy collecting!

One Of The Rarest Junk Wax Era Baseball Cards – The 1993 Topps Nikon House Celebrating Baseball Card

January 17, 2025 by John

Mario Alejandro introduced me to this card in his tweet from March 2024, and then I ran across the following picture of it in Issue 15 (Summer 1993) of Topps Magazine.

First, here’s a screen capture of what Mario wrote about the card

And here are the images he attached to the tweet.

Unfortunately, in their Topps Magazine blurb, Topps doesn’t add much more to the story. Mario alluded to the back of the card, which invited folks to show up at the Nikon House on Tuesday, April 13th, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. after RSVPing to Rebecca Kirisits. But that means the card had to have been distributed before then.

Perhaps it was handed out by Topps’s “paparazzi,” whose photos were displayed at Nikon House.

By the way, PSA has a single example, a gem mint 10, in its Pop Report.

Let me know if you have any more info about this card.

And happy collecting!