Hobby Library

1961 Fleer Baseball Greats: Still Great And Still Affordable

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Baseball Cards Magazine set the standard for hobby writing; here’s a piece by Tom Lamarre, published in December 1986, about the 1961 Fleer Baseball Greats set.

While Set Registry competition has driven up the prices of high-grade examples for some of the set’s key cards, complete raw sets in decent condition remain surprisingly affordable.

For example, Huggins and Scott sold an Ex to Ex-Mt near set of 152/154 cards for $390 in December 2023.

And Collect Auctions sold a similarly conditioned complete set for $566 in March 2022.

Happy collecting!

Capturing Greatness: The Iconic Cover Art Used for Inside Baseball’s 1953 Jackie Robinson Issue

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Here’s an incredible piece from Mastro’s December 2007 Sports & Americana catalog: the Inside Baseball 1953 cover art featuring William Jacobellis’ stunning photographs of Jackie Robinson.

26) Eye-Popping 1953 Jackie Robinson “Inside Baseball” Cover Art

Noted baseball photographer William Jacobellis is responsible for the images within this three-shot collage that centers on Jackie Robinson. This collage cover originally appeared on the February 1953 issue of Inside Baseball, an issue that spotlighted an article that was entitled “Is Jackie Robinson a Quitter?” The large cover portrait is amazing in the depth of its hues, with strikingly rich skin tones and lush Dodger blues! This is one of the final mechanicals, shot from a physical collage of three mounted images and then printed on one photographic sheet. This very sheet is the one that was then used to produce the cover, after the addition of clear plastic overlays that contained all of the cover’s text. These overlays are long gone, leaving only the brilliant color image of Jackie in his prime. The usual production effects such as mounting holes and tape residue and effects of its removal allappear in the outer areas that lie beyond the print guides, far from the beautifully preserved image area. The 13-9/16″ x 17″ finalized photo work is referred to as “cover art” as an industry term that harkens back to the pre-photography days when all covers were actually hand-illustrated by artists. In truth, it’s hard to imagine any laborer in paint and brush ever being able to match the quality of this Jacobellis work. An attractive copy of the magazine that first carried this image is also included. Minimum Bid $500

Today, the magazine itself is relatively affordable, with moderately worn examples typically selling for $25–$30, though this one sold for $50 on eBay in January 2025.

Joe Garagiola’s 1973 Topps Business Card: From Bubble Gum Blowouts to Baseball Card Lore

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I only recently learned about this 1973 Topps-style Joe Garagiola card from the April 1986 issue of Baseball Cards Magazine. They wrote that Joe used it as his business card, but there’s a little more to it than that!

The Topps Archives has a series of posts about the card; the first, from February 2009, identifies it as part of “a small but distinct list of baseball issues from Topps that consist of a single card. The most famous of these is Joe Garagiola’s 1976 NBC Business Card that is a dead ringer for a ’73 Topps baseball card.”

Then, in June 2009, The Topps Archives connected the card to Joe Garagiola’s Bazook Big League Bubble Gum Blowing Championship that gave us the classic 1976 Topps card of Kurt Bevacqua!

And from a photo from the event, The Topps Archives pointed out the uncut sheet behind Joe G., writing, “That, ladies and gentlemen is Garagiola’s ersatz 1973 Topps business card. I think it highly likely said pasteboards were created for him to hand out at this event. The card does have a 1976 copyright on it and I have to think the contest was held after the end of the ’75 season based on the Joe G. card copyright date.”

A pair of articles from the Baseball Hall of Fame explain the competition further. You can also watch the event on YouTube, which originally aired on October 14th, 1975, before Game 3 of the 1975 World Series.

The Topps Archives then shared a few photos of Garagiola’s card as reprinted in 1991.

BaseballCardPedia summarizes the entire story of the card as follows:

Sometime in the mid-1970s, Topps produced for former Cardinals catcher and then-current NBC broadcaster Joe Garagiola a business card done in the style of a baseball card. The front of the card has the design of the 1973 Topps set, while the back is set up like a 1976 Topps card. 

It is unknown exactly when this card was produced; however, a framed uncut sheet of the card was seen in the background of a 1975 made-for-TV bubble gum blowing contest hosted by Garagiola for NBC. The contest was sponsored by Topps and was commemorated with a card (#564) of winner Kurt Bevacqua in the 1976 Topps set.

A second run of this card was produced in the early-90s, to coincide with Garagiola’s appointment as co-host of NBC’s Today Show. This card is identical to the 70s card, with the addition of both a Topps and Today Show logo to the front.

However, there’s still one more mystery. You can see up above the back of the variation I shared above has a 1976 copyright and Garagiola’s phone number on the back. There’s another version with a different phone number and 1976 copyright along with the 1991 reprint!

Happy collecting!

From Grand Prize to Auction Block: The Fall 1992 Topps Magazine Centerfold Signed by Mantle, Mays, and Snider

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The Fall 1992 Issue of Topps Magazine featured a great competition. The grand prize was an autographed copy of the 9th Topps Magazine’s centerfold illustration featuring Mays, Mantle, and Snider.

This copy was sold by Collect Auctions for just $264 in July 2021.

I presume this was the Grand Prize for the “In The Ball Park” Game Time competition pictured below.

I guess a collector could have removed the centerfold from the magazine and had the players sign it, but the Beckett LOA and the auction description don’t specify whether this was the case.

This Topps Magazine centerfold features Mickey Mantle, Duke Snider and Willie Mays, with signatures from each. Each signed in fiber-tip marker over their images, with each signature authenticated by BAS with a full LOA.

Collect Auctions Description

Happy Collecting!

The Rare 1938 R83A Gum, Inc. Lone Ranger Promo Sheet

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A blast from auction history past: In October 2007, Mastro, via his Classic Collector Auctions, offered this incredible 1938 R83A Gum, Inc., Long Ranger Premiums Store Advertising Promo Sheet.

Unfortunately, the catalogs for these “internet-only” auction events from Mastro Auctions didn’t include an item description. However, several promo sheets have been auctioned off over the years. For example, REA sold a lot of three of them for $420 in the spring of 2015.

Here’s what they wrote about them:

Extremely rare collection of three advertising sheets, issued by Gum, Inc., in 1938, promoting the company’s “Lone Ranger” premium cards (R83A). The front of each 8 x 10-inch paper flyer pictures a montage of all five premium cards offered, while the reverse provides complete instructions for boys and girls on how to obtain them (it involved buying a lot of “Lone Ranger” Bubble Gum!). As noted on the reverse, the premium cards depict scenes from Republic Pictures’  The Lone Ranger, thus promoting the movie serial as well. While nearly all collectors are familiar with the actual premium cards, this promotional flyer is seldom encountered and is a perfect complement to any advanced R83A collection. In many ways, it represents a “sixth premium” to the set. The reason for its rarity today is obviously related to its purpose (it is an advertising piece) and limited distribution, as well as its extremely fragile nature. Printed on thin paper stock, few survived the rough handling they endured at the hands of young children as they ran from the candy store to show their parents exactly why they needed more money for “Lone Ranger” Bubble Gum. Parents too were probably quick to toss them in the trash as soon as their son’s or daughter’s interest shifted to the next “must have” premium. The offered advertising sheets were recently discovered by our consignor at a garage sale. (The entire find consisted of five examples, the other two of which were sold in REA’s fall 2014 auction.) The three advertising sheets are in Excellent condition overall, displaying only very tiny touches of wear at the corners and no creases or heavy wrinkles. This is a very rare collection of three desirable advertising pieces relating to this popular series of premiums! 

As for the five-card premium set, which together can sell for well over $1k, James Watson, in his fantastic Non-Sports Bible, wrote that the set was “actually issued prior to Gum, Inc. card set, these premiums contain artwork that is not reproduced on any of the regular issue R83 cards. Attractive artwork is one attribute that certainly contributes to their popularity. The majority of premium #1 contain the hero’s mask ‘drawn in by hand,’ but is absent in this original variation. This set was originally listed as R83A in the American Card Catalog.”

Happy Collecting!

PS, here’s a larger scan so you can read the back!

Uncut Treasures: Rediscovering Rare Sheets From a 1982 Baseball Cards Magazine Ad

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I ran across an advertisement from Stephan R. Juskewycz in the Spring 1982 issue of Baseball Cards Magazine offering some cool and scarce uncut sheets, so I tried to find them and tracked down six of seven.

1981 Donruss Baseball Uncut Sheet

These are probably the most common sheets on Juskewycz’s list, and they were also the cheapest in 1982. Here’s an example of one of the sheets.

1981 Granny Goose Uncut Sheet

The advertisement initially motivated me to write a dedicated piece on the 1981 Granny Goose set, but this was the one uncut sheet I couldn’t track down!

1977 Burger King Yankees Uncut Sheet

The advertisement said it was a sheet for a single set, and I found that REA sold a lot of 10 progressive proof uncut sheets back in 2008 for $588.

Heritage also sold this complete one in October 2024, along with a 1983 Topps Gaylord Perry Peanut Farm uncut sheet for $750.

1977 Cloth Stickers Uncut Sheet

REA sold this sheet with two complete sets for $630 in the fall of 2019.

1977 Cloth Stickers Puzzle Cards Uncut Sheet

REA failed to sell this example in the fall of 2018 when its reserve was $300.

1971 Topps Coin Proofs Uncut Sheet

Lelands offered this example in 2004, but the sheet failed to meet its reserve.

1969 Topps Uncut Proof Sheet of 9 1969 Deckle Edge Cards

I wrote about this sheet back in August 2024.

Happy collecting!

PS, check out The Uncut Sheet Archive if you’re into this hobby niche.