Baseball Cards

Kit Young’s Advertisements for Stan-The-Man’s Official 1964 Rack-Um-Up Bat Rack

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I always found it interesting that Stan Musial wasn’t signed with Topps or Bowman from 1954 through 1957. James N. Giglio wrote that Musial refused to sign due to “insufficient compensation.” I later learned that Musial had some other business partnerships (for example, with Rawlings) and was showcasing a bit of business acumen, but I didn’t research this any further. So when I stumbled upon a Kit Young catalog featuring an advertisement for the Stan-The-Man Official Rack-Um-Up Bat Rack, I couldn’t resist learning more about Musial’s company and the product.

Kit Young – 1997 Early Spring Catalog

The first ad I came across was from Kit Young’s 1997 Early Spring Catalog, featuring an autographed Stan The Man Official Rack-Um-Up Bat Rack for $69.95 plus $5.95 p/h. It included a signed letter of authenticity. 

The ad referenced that they offered the display piece in an earlier catalog and had immediately sold out. I tracked that one down from their 1996 holiday sale, and they offered that rack for $39.95 plus $5.95 p/h.

Kit Young – 1996 Holiday Sale

As a collector, I was intrigued by both options and wondered about the history of the bat rack.

Stan The Man Official Rack-Um-Up Bat Rack

My research led me to discover that the Stan-The-Man Rack-Um-Up Bat Rack was official merchandise sold by Stan Musial’s company, Stan the Man Inc. The company sold a variety of Musial memorabilia, including “Stan the Man Inc.” branded baseball bats, gloves, and signed Musial memorabilia. The company was operated by Dick Zitzmann, vice president of Stan the Man Inc. The company closed its doors in 2015. Here are a couple of photos of an entire case of Rack-Um-Up Bat Racks.

Stan The Man Official Rack-Um-Up Bat Rack Case – Image 1
Stan The Man Official Rack-Um-Up Bat Rack Case – Image 2
Stan The Man Official Rack-Um-Up Bat Rack Case – Image 3
Stan The Man Official Rack-Um-Up Bat Rack Case – Image 4

The Rack-Um-Up Bat Rack was a wooden rack-equipment holder designed to hold up to six baseball bats. It was released around 1964 and is approximately 4″ x 6″ x 19″. 

I found this description from KeyMan Collectibles: “As Advertised; Stan Musial’s Rack-Um-Up is the big league way to keep your bats, balls, and glove ready for play. Rack-Um-Up holds three bats, two balls, and has pegs for your cap and favorite glove, and the back panel features Stan’s picture and autograph….plus a list of his outstanding baseball records. The instructions and hardware for assembly are included and visible in a small plastic bag inside the larger bag on back of rack.”

As I delved deeper into the history of the Stan-The-Man Rack-Um-Up Bat Rack, I came across photographs of the bat rack, some of which Musial signed and looked like they may have come from Kit Young’s advertisement. 

Stan The Man Official Rack-Um-Up Bat Rack Signed

I also found examples of letters of authenticity that matched the ad.

Stan The Man Inc. Certificate of Authenticity

You can pick up a still-sealed rack for around $100 (with some patience).

Stan The Man Official Rack-Um-Up Bat Rack Sealed – Front
Stan The Man Official Rack-Um-Up Bat Rack Sealed – Reverse

I’ve also seen signed ones with JSA certs listed for between $150 and $200, like the following example.

Stan The Man Official Rack-Um-Up Bat Rack – Signed

Stumbling upon the Kit Young catalog advertisement for the Stan-The-Man Official Rack-Um-Up Bat Rack led me to uncover an exciting aspect of Stan Musial’s business ventures. Although his absence from Topps and Bowman cards may have seemed odd initially, it appears to have been the start of a calculated move that showcased Musial’s savvy business acumen.

Happy Collecting!

The Uncut Sheet Archive

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Welcome to the Uncut Sheet Archive! This is the hub for all the articles I’ve written about uncut sheets, sorted by sport and set. My goal is for it to be the definitive source of uncut sheet information on the web, offering insights into distribution, production quirks, and the factors behind why some vintage cards were so condition-sensitive, even out of the pack!

If you have any rare sheets to share, shoot me an e-mail.

Baseball

Basketball

Football

Hockey

Multi-Sport

Other Sports

Non-Sports

The Unopened Archive

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Welcome to the relaunched Unopened Archive! It used to have pages with photos of packs, wrappers, boxes, and cases from all the big pre- and post-war releases. This 2.0 version is more of a hub for all my blog posts about different unopened material. Over time, I’ll bring back the old content and add way more—like info about fakes, finds, sales, collation, and all the known products out there.

If you’re looking for a particular unopened product photo, shoot me an e-mail.

Baseball

Basketball

Football

Hockey

Other Sports

Multi-Sport

Non-Sports

Unopened Hobby Books, Magazine Articles, and 101s

Top 10 World Series Cards

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T.S. O’Connell wrote an excellent article for Sports Cards Magazines’ April 1995 issue about World Series Cards; these were his Top 10. What do you think about the list?

Here’s the rest of the article, and be sure to check out The Complete Topps’ World Series Card Guide, which was published a few years earlier in the Fall of 1990.

A Great New Gift Idea! The Topps 1964 Baseball Gift Box

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My favorite thing about the hobby is interacting with other collectors and hobby historians and learning about new items. Well, on the morning of May 1st, 2023, a collector contacted me via e-mail after perusing the site with two photos of an empty box of cards I’d never seen before.

1964 Topps Baseball Gift Box
1964 Topps Baseball Gift Box Lid

He thought maybe they were issued around Christmas time in 1964 to sell leftover cards after the season had ended and asked if I knew anything about it. I searched some of my older books and came up empty-handed. He mentioned the box didn’t have any code on it, so I asked if he’d be ok with my sharing it on Facebook to see if anyone else could help.

On Facebook, a collector mentioned he had seen a reference to the box before and shared the following sell sheet.

1964 Topps Baseball Gift Box Sell Sheet

One collector on Facebook commented that the box on the sell sheet looks a lot like a carton of cigarettes! And another was pretty sure Topps only made this product in 64.

The box wasn’t really meant for Christmas; it’s a gift box for any occasion, “what better way to say ‘happy birthday’ or just ‘hello.’ The boxes came 24 per case for $14.40 or 60 cents a box. Each box had 20 5-cent packs (100 total cards), though given the gift theme, I don’t think they were meant to be sold by the pack. 

A ton of collectors reached out to me asking if the owner was interested in selling the empty box, but he’s not. Given how much interest it garnered in such a short period, I presume bidding would be intense.

I’m unsure how you’d price such an item, though. However, one collector shared that there was one on eBay many years ago, and he thought it was for $500, or maybe $338, but acknowledged it would go for much more these days. Another collector thinks he saw one around 2004.

The owner later shared three more photos of the box with me.

1964 Topps Baseball Gift Box – Angle 1
1964 Topps Baseball Gift Box – Angle 2
1964 Topps Baseball Gift Box – Angle 3

An interesting thing about the box is that that’s not Whitey Ford’s 1964 Topps baseball card printed on it; it looks like a 1964 design, but with his 1963 Topps photo. 

1964 and 1963 Topps Whitey Ford Cards

Some collectors surmised it could have come out as early as December 1963, given the difference in Ford’s card design. And maybe the low item number of 400 (on the sell sheet) indicates an early release, along with the image of the smiling kid being the same as the one on the 1962 Topps Baseball Bucks dealer sell sheet?

1962 Topps Baseball Bucks Sell Sheet

Funny enough, Topps did something similar with the 1964 Topps Giants set; the picture of Whitey Ford on the box isn’t identical to his card.

1964 Topps Giants Box and Whitey Ford Card

If you have more insight into this unique Topps product, please leave a comment or e-mail me.

A Complete 1943-1947 Centennial Flour Seattle Rainiers Collection

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In 2005, Sotheby’s offered a collection of some of the scarcest Pacific Coast League cards in their “Important Sports Memorabilia and Cards” auction. The lot included 136 cards, plus a few original mailing envelopes, of the four Centennial Flour’s Seattle Rainiers sets issued between 1943 and 1947.

Here’s the lot’s description:

Produced by Centennial Flouring Mills this scarce regional consists of four sets of unnumbered cards featuring only players from the Seattle Rainiers. Includes the following: 1943-Complete Set of 25 mostly NM, 1944 Complete Set of 25 mostly NM/NM+ with original mailing envelope, 1945 Complete Blue Tint Set of 27 all but a couple NM, 1945 Complete Black & White Set of 27 EX-MT to NM but for 1/3 having a water stain in the corner (includes original mailing envelope), 1947 Complete Set of 32 mostly NM/NM+ (includes original mailing envelope).

I hadn’t even been tracking that the 1945 set had both black & white and blue tint variations.

Here’s how you can tell each of the sets apart.

  • The 1943 cards are 4” x 5”. The bottom of the card backs read “Compliments of / CENTENNIAL FLOURING MILLS.”
  • The 1944s say, “Compliments of / CENTENNIAL HOTCAKE AND WAFFLE FLOUR.” on the back.
  • The 1945s are slightly narrow but longer than the two previous releases. They have a borderless photo on the front and the name and team printed in a black bar at the bottom.
  • The 1947s share the exact dimensions of the ’45s but have a white-framed box with the player’s bio on the back.

Heritage sold a collection of all five of these complete sets (both 1945 variations) in April 2010 for $3,107.

18 Awesome Early 1990s Baseball Cards to Collect

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The early 1990s have a nostalgic place in my collecting soul since I stopped collecting cards somewhere around 1997 before returning to the hobby as an adult. Today, my collecting and hobby interest is focused more on post-war vintage vs. this late “junk” era, but there are some important cards from this time. Some stand out to me today because I remember their popularity at the time, others because of today’s market prices, and others just because of the player’s career performance. No matter the reason, here are 18 early 1990s baseball cards that came to my mind that you might be interested in adding to your collection.

1990 Leaf #300 Frank Thomas

1990 Leaf #300 Frank Thomas

At its release, all the kids in my neighborhood wanted to get these Leaf cards, which we treated as a premium release at the time. I think I focus on the Frank Thomas card from this set today because our family had moved to Chicago, and he became the decade’s premier player.

1990 Score #697 Bo Jackson

1990 Score #697 Bo Jackson

Bo Jackson’s accolades across multiple sports led him to be considered one of the best athletes of all time. He was incredibly popular in the hobby, and this photo is simply iconic.

1990 Topps #414 Frank Thomas

1990 Topps #414 Frank Thomas

I think I focus on this card more as an adult because of what I said earlier about Frank’s performance on the field, and as a hobby historian today, the story of the No Name on Front card brings a lot of attention to 1990 Topps as a set.

1990 Topps #414 Frank Thomas No Name on Front

1990 Topps #414 Frank Thomas No Name on Front

The No Name on Front 1990 Topps Frank Thomas card is a bucket list card for a ton of collectors.

1990 Topps #USA1 George Bush

1990 Topps #USA1 George Bush

We now believe there are two versions of this card: glossy-coated cards that Topps gave to President Bush and ones without the coating that Topps probably didn’t intend for public release. Cards were peaking at this time, so the card got a lot of attention, and it still demands incredible prices today.

1991 Topps #333 Chipper Jones

1991 Topps #333 Chipper Jones

Chipper didn’t play much until 1995, so I think my inclusion of this card is based on the popularity of the 1991 Chipper Jones cards today and my memories of watching every Braves game on TV.

1991 Upper Deck #SP1 Michael Jordan

1991 Upper Deck #SP1 Michael Jordan

I mean…yeah, of course.

1991 Upper Deck #SP2 Ryan/Henderson

1991 Upper Deck #SP2 Ryan/Henderson

Upper Deck did a great job making exciting cards, and this Nolan Ryan and Rickey Henderson card captured a fantastic day in baseball history.

1992 Bowman #302 Mariano Rivera

1992 Bowman #302 Mariano Rivera

1992 Bowman was super popular when it was released, but the Rivera card being on this list is more a result of his career accolades than my younger collecting journeys.

1992 Donruss Elite Cal Ripken Jr.

1992 Donruss Elite Cal Ripken Jr.

I’ve written a lot about Cal Ripken Jr. in the past; add this one to the bucket list.

1992 Fleer #712 Frank Thomas

1992 Fleer #712 Frank Thomas

If you collected cards during the junk era, you absolutely knew about this card.

1992 Fleer Update #U-92 Mike Piazza

1992 Fleer Update #U-92 Mike Piazza

I’ve included the Fleer Update Piazza rookie card on this list due to its popularity today, which is in a tight race with his 1992 Bowman card. But I think, as kids, we all preferred his 1992 Topps Stadium Club card.

1992 Upper Deck #SP3 Deion Sanders 

1992 Upper Deck #SP3 Deion Sanders 

Another multi-sport superstar, Deion Sanders was a high performer on two fields and has continued to be relevant in sports as a commentator, public figure, and coach. Upper Deck did a great job on this 1992 Upper Deck card, blending football and baseball together.

1993 SP #279 Derek Jeter

1993 SP #279 Derek Jeter

Today, this is Jeter’s most desirable rookie card, and high-grade variants dwarf most sales of cards from this era. 

1993 Topps #98 Derek Jeter

1993 Topps #98 Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter is one of the most popular baseball players of all time, and Topps is the most celebrated brand, so I feel like this card has to be included on any list of great 1990s baseball cards, though I prefer his Pinnacle rookie card.

1994 SP #15 Alex Rodriguez Foil Die-Cut

1994 SP #15 Alex Rodriguez Foil Die-Cut

Alex Rodriguez was a monster when he came into the majors, and this card was a beast when it first came on the market and was a quick addition to many top 100 baseball cards of all-time lists.

1994 Upper Deck Mantle/Griffey Jr. Autograph

1994 Upper Deck Mantle/Griffey Jr. Autograph

In the days before there were more inserts and specialty cards in sets than base cards, any insert/chase was popular. I think this card may be underrated (despite high prices) when you couple Mantle and Griffey with the way cards were made and printed in the first half of the 1990s.

1995 Pinnacle #128 Ken Griffey Jr.

1995 Pinnacle #128 Ken Griffey Jr.

Who didn’t laugh and get a kick out of the Griffey bubble gum bubble card?

Are there any key early 1990s baseball cards that stand out to you that I may have missed? Let me know in the comments; happy collecting!