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!