1971 House of Jazz Baseball Card Set and Checklist

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Specs

Year: 1971

Title: House of Jazz

Size: 2 3/8″ x 3 1/2″

Number in Set: 35

Overview

The 1971 House of Jazz set has been a bit controversial and had its legitimacy questioned for a long time. That is most likely because the cards were unlicensed. You can see that the Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, and Mickey Mantle images were all taken from other sets.

Ted Williams’ 1971 House of Jazz and 1959 Fleer #63 Cards
Babe Ruth’s 1971 House of Jazz and 1921 Exhibits Cards
Mickey Mantle’s 1971 House of Jazz and 1947-66 Exhibits Cards

The cards were a regional issue that the House of Jazz supposedly gave away with music purchases at the House of Jazz in Glenside, PA; one card with each record purchase.

I’ve read that Ted Taylor was likely the creator of the cards. He, with Bob Schmierer, ran the original Philly card show, which had locations in Willow Grove and Fort Washington, PA.

The unnumbered cards are black and white with round corners. The backs are blank. However, some backs have a blue and white address sticker for House of Jazz LTD. You’re more likely to find a card with a sticker than with one.

1971 House of Jazz Sticker

Example

1971 House of Jazz Ernie Banks – Front
1971 House of Jazz Ernie Banks – Reverse

Key Cards

The belief is that the Mickey Mantle and Stan Lopata cards are the rarest and that fewer than 100 cards for each player exist. The Mantle is the set’s key card, though, with his dominance in the post-war market. Any card from the set is tough to find graded, though; PSA has encapsulated just 129 across the set.

Checklist

John Antonelli

Richie Ashburn

Ernie Banks

Hank Bauer

Joe Dimaggio

Bobby Doerr

Herman Franks

Lou Gehrig

Granny Hamner

Al Kaline

Harmon Killebrew

Jim Konstanty

Bob Lemon

Ed Lopat

Stan Lopata

Peanuts Lowrey

Mickey Mantle

Phil Marchildon

Walt Masterson

Ed Mathews

Willie Mays

Don Newcombe

Joe Nuxhall

Satchel Paige

Roy Partee

Jackie Robinson

Babe Ruth

Carl Scheib

Bobby Shantz

Burt Shotton

Duke Snider

Warren Spahn

Johnny Temple

Ted Williams

Early Wynn