In September 2024, I highlighted a handful of P.F. Canvas shoe advertisements. Well, I ran across another in a March 2000 auction catalog, and I think this one’s my favorite!
I dig the giant baseball in the background.
The piece dates back to the early 1950s when baseball was first on national TV and showcases the game’s top stars endorsing the P.F. canvas shoes (later known as P.F. Flyers). The framed ad was described as 19” x 25”.
In March 2016, Hake’s sold a copy for $707 and they said the ad was a 19.5” x 25-5/8′” stiff cardboard standee w/easel back.
And then, in September 2023, Rockhurst Auctions offered it for sale again, but it failed to meet its reserve.
I’ve written about Yoo-Hoo a few times on the blog before and am super interested in the 1959 Yoo-Hoo set and 1959 Yoo-Hoo Mickey Mantle card, but this example of a Yogi Berra Yoo-Hoo clock is a first for me!
Mastro sold this specific example in November 1999 for $1,357. They described it as being 12” x 29” and still in working condition with the original cord. However, they wrote that it had a crack on the side panel. They assumed that it was used in retail stores in the late 1950s or early 1960s.
I’ve found three other sales, and it’s tough to compare, and they may all be unique.
Lelands sold the following copy for $1,503 in October 2016. They said it worked perfectly. They added that the clock was only available commercially.
Heritage sold the next fully functional one for $1,260 in August 2019, and they included a photo of the back.
Most recently, REA sold a copy for $1,320 in the spring of 2021. They said the clock worked, but the light did not. They described the clock as a 1960s point-of-sale advertising clock and noted that it was intended to be hung at retailers as an additional advertisement for the popular drink.
There are a lot of unique sets in the post-war hobby, but many more exclusive releases exist, not entirely fitting the traditional classification of an oddball set like individual promotional issues. These cards are usually only known by folks who collect specific players but not the rest of the hobby. In this article, I’ll spotlight one such hidden gem: the 1952 Shelby Bicycles Yogi Berra promotional card.
The card itself is 5″ x 7″ and features a black-and-white photo of Berra in a squatting catcher’s pose. Along the bottom, an endorsement in white script reads, “Ride Shelby, The Winner’s Bike, Sincerely, Yogi Berra.” The back is blank.
The following example currently sits in the current #1 Yogi Berra Master Set on the PSA Set Registry
1952 Shelby Bicycles Yogi Berra
The date of issue on this card is conjecture. The first driver is the familiar photo of Yogi Berra that Shelby used for this card. Robert Edward Auctions sold a circa 1949 Yogi Berra Original New York Yankees (their propriety stamp is on the back of the photo) PSA/DNA Type I image that was used for the Shelby Bicycles promo, his 1950 Bowman card, and his 1950 Drake’s card; it sold for $2880 in August 2023.
Here’s the front and back of the Type I photo.
Yogi Berra New York Yankees Type 1 Photo – Front
Yogi Berra New York Yankees Type 1 Photo – Reverse
And here’s Berra’s 1950 Bowman baseball card.
1950 Bowman #46 Yogi Berra
The second reason the hobby dates the card to around 1952 is from the advertisements featuring Berra promoting Shelby Bicycles. While you will see many of them referenced to 1954 and 1955, Shelby Cycle Company only manufactured bicycles in Shelby, Ohio, from 1925 to 1953 before being purchased by AMD in 1953. One specific advertisement features the Shelby Cycle Company name (and a Shelby, Ohio address) and features an illustration of the offered promotion card. It was free, along with a 16-page catalog, to anyone who requested it.
Shelby Cycle Co. Ad Featuring The 1952 Berra Card
That advertisement, along with three others (AMF moved bicycle production to Cleveland in 1953, which is where Shelby is addressed to in the next three ads) and a PSA 2.5 copy of the 1952 Shelby Bicycles Yogi Berra card, was sold by Robert Edwards Auctions in October 2015 for $1320. The card was part of Al Johnson’s All-Time Finest Yogi Berra Master Set, but that was retired in July 2017, so I suspect he purchased it.
Yogi Berra Shelby Ad
Yogi Berra Shelby Ad
Yogi Berra Shelby Ad
1952 Shelby Bicycles Yogi Berra – REA
At the time of sale, that PSA 2.5 graded Berra was the only one that PSA or SGC had graded. Its sales history after the initial REA auction and I suspect the retirement of the Master Set, is fascinating.
Heritage Auctions resold the PSA 2.5 for $430.20 in November 2016. They noted that the card has a vertical crease.
1952 Shelby Bicycles Yogi Berra – HA
Memory Lane Inc. then got its hands on the item in August 2017, but it went unsold with an opening bid of $300. It was still described as the only example ever graded by either PSA or SGC. But today, PSA shows five cards and two autographed cards in their pop report, while SGC shows a single copy.
1952 Shelby Bicycles Yogi Berra – Memory Lane Inc.
Clean Sweep Auctions sold one of those signed PSA-encapsulated cards in February 2022 for $775.20.
The 1952 Shelby Bicycles Yogi Berra card is a particularly significant post-war collectible. It’s rare, features a Hall of Fame Yankee, and is directly connected to a classic American company and a post-war classic Bowman set.
Before Memory Lane Inc. sold the lone PSA 10 1948 Bowman Yogi Berra RC for $192k in 2017, Mastro moved the gem mint example in their April 2006 Sports Catalog Auction.
Mastro wrote, “This singular card is the ultimate complement to a high-grade assembly of its series, and it dominates the field in establishing the industry standard.”
Today, of just over 2200 graded samples, it’s still the only Gem Mint example.
As I said, Memory Lane Inc. sold the card for $192k in May 2017. You can see that it had been reholdered into a case I believe it remains in today.
Mastro Fine Sports Auctions offered this Ex-Mt Yoo-Hoo easel back counter sign for sale in their November 2000 catalog.
They described the 11” x 14” piece as being from 1964, featuring eight New York Yankees. Moose Skowron split 1964 between the Senators (the hat he is pictured in) and the White Sox after spending 1963 with the Dodgers but was with the Yankees from 1954-1962.
From an advertising perspective, Yoo-Hoo had a long-standing relationship with Yogi Berra, their spokesman, for around two decades, starting in the late 1950s when Berra became friends with the company’s owner. Berra helped recruit investors and brought in his teammates to help promote the drink.
A few copies exist across the hobby, and when they pop up for sale, they have been selling for ~$1k, but higher prices are possible. However, replicas are available on eBay for under $20.
