In July 2000, REA sold two 1973 Topps “1953 Reissue” Test Sets in their internet/telephone auction held in partnership with eBay. The cards are awesome, but I dislike that PSA calls them reprints on the flips; they’re a little more unique than a “reprint!”
I’m not sure if there’s been some more modern research into the cards, but here’s what my Standard Catalog says about them:
Long before Topps reprinted virtually the entire 1953 set in its “Archives” program in 1991, selected cards from the ’53 set had been reprinted in a rare eight-card issue. Some sources say the cards were produced as table favors at a Topps banquet, while at least one contemporary hobby periodical said they were sold on a test-issue basis in Brooklyn. It was said only 300 of the sets were made. Unlike the original cards in 2-5/8” x 3-3/4” format, the test issue cards are modern standard 2-1/2” x 3-1/2”. Three of the players in the issue were misidentified. Card backs feature a career summary written as through in 1953; the backs are formatted differently than original 1953 Topps cards and are printed in black-and-white.
Sounds like something more unique than a re-print to me!
Here’s a complete PSA-graded set that REA sold for $1,140 in the spring of 2018, the description for which hypothesized that the cards came out of Sy Berger’s personal collection of Topps banquet keepsakes, “lending credence to the Topps banquet theory.”
REA also sold the following uncut panel of the cards for $1,080 in the fall of 2018.
I’ll have to do more research on this set; it’s fantastic but still a bit mysterious! Let me know if you have more details.
Welcome to part 3 of my series about Upper Deck commemorative sheets. This one, dedicated to basketball, has been the toughest to organize, research, and write about since they seem to be the least discussed across the hobby of the four major sports. In fact, TCDB only has 1991-92 Upper Deck Basketball (with 12 sheets on the checklist) and 1992-93 Upper Deck Basketball (with 13 sheets on the checklist) sheets on it. However, as you will see, there are other years. They’re also tough to organize because the dating on them is inconsistent. You see, The Upper Deck Baseball sheets all have a single year printed on the seal, and the hockey sheets all corresponded to specific games or events that aligned with the NHL season, so they were easy to categorize. However, with Basketball, Upper Deck has sheets that have single years (i.e., 1991 or 1992) and others that align with the NBA season that crosses calendar years (i.e.’ 91-92 or 1992-93), so I will categorize them by the year printed on the gold seal or for later years, the date printed between the words “Limited Edition” and the serial number.
1991 Upper Deck Basketball Sheets
These sheets have a gold seal with a single year, “1991”, on them.
These first two are very similar, one for the June 26, 1991, NBA Draft and another Draft-related one given away at the 12th National Sports Collectors Convention; neither have actual Upper Deck released cards depicted on them.
The following sheet has a similar design to the previous ones but has 1991/92 Upper Deck cards pictured. The sheet was likely a giveaway at the Hawks vs. Pistons game held on November 27, 1991 (the Pistons won 100-91). Also, the Upper Deck logo in the bottom right corner now says 91/92.
1991 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Hawks vs. Pistons
The following example celebrates the Lakers playing in the McDonald’s Open in Paris, France, on October 18/19, 1991. However, no cards are pictured, and the logo has no date.
1991 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – McDonald’s Open
The Open took place at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France. It featured four teams: Slobodna Dalmacija, who were the 1990-91 FIBA European Champions Cup winners; Motnigala Joventut, who were the champions of the 1990-91 Liga ACB; Limoges CSP, who were the runners-up of the 1990-91 Nationale 1A, and the Los Angles Lakers who were the runners-up of the 1990-91 NBA League. The Lakers won the Open, which was a pre-season tournament for them.
Then there are a few ‘Stay In School’ examples with a Limited Edition 1991 Seal. The first, with Bob Lanier and Otis Smith, has a 1991 Upper Deck logo, while the examples with Pistons and Nets logos in place of Otis Smith have a 91/92 Upper Deck logo towards the bottom. The Hawks vs. Pistons sheet pictured previously also has a ‘Stay in School’ logo.
1991 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Stay In School
1991 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Stay In School Pistons
1991 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Stay In School Nets
1991-92 Upper Deck Basketball Sheets
These sheets all have a gold seal with “’91-92” on them.
Upper Deck appears to have given this sheet away during All-Star Weekend in Orlando, held February 7-9, 1992, in conjunction with the Slam-Dunk Championship.
Another sheet that looks a lot like the slam dunk one and is labeled a sample appears to have been intended for the Timberwolves vs. Knicks game on February 29, 1992.
1991-92 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Timberwolves vs. Knicks
The Lakers played a home game on February 26, 1992, against the Knicks, the same date as this sheet from Upper Deck commemorating the’ 71-72 World Champion Lakers team.
1991-92 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Lakers February 26, 1992
The following sheet is also a sample copy, but it looks like it was supposed to have been given away at the Clippers vs. Pistons game that was played on March 31, 1992. Whether they were or not, I have no idea.
1991-92 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Clippers vs. Pistons
This sheet commemorating John Wooden, Adolph Rupp, Dean Smith, and Bob Knight is dated April 4-6, 1992. It looks like it was a promotion at the NCAA Final Four.
1991-92 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – NCAA Final Four
1992 Upper Deck Basketball Sheets
These sheets all have a gold seal with “1992” on them.
Upper Deck continued promoting their sets at the 1992 NBA Draft held on June 24, 1992. This first sheet commemorates the draft and shows the top draft choices in 1991. Notice the 1992 date on the seal in the bottom left and the 1992 on the Upper Deck Logo on the bottom right of the sheet.
1992 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – June 24, 1992 NBA Draft
Upper Deck also appears to have made specific sheets for each time; here are the Clippers and Bullets examples.
1992 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – June 24, 1992 NBA Draft Clippers
1992 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – June 24, 1992 NBA Draft Bullets
Upper Deck used a similar design as a giveaway at the Charles Smith Battle of the Basketball Stars in June 1992 (I think on June 21).
1992 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Battle of the Basketball Stars
The Golden State Warriors sponsored Hoop It Up event, held earlier in June, had its own Upper Deck sheet, too.
1992 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Hoop It Up
Next, and this is one of the more popular Upper Deck Basketball sets, is The 1992 USA Basketball Team example.
1992 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – 1992 USA Basketball
Finally, this Utah Jazz example has a lot in common with some of the 1991/92 examples since it has the ‘Stay in School’ logo, too. However, the Upper Deck Logo is for 92/93.
1992 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Utah Jazz Stay In School
1992-93 Upper Deck Basketball Sheets
These sheets all have a gold seal with “1992-93” or “1992/93” on them.
First, I found three examples featuring 1992/93 Upper Deck basketball cards in this category (those with 1992-93 dates on the seal). The first is saluting the Atlanta Hawks; the second was likely a giveaway at the Bull’s April 20, 1993, home game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Both of these sheets have a 92/93 Upper Deck Logo on the bottom left corner. The third sheet, however, doesn’t have a serial number and has a 1993 Upper Deck Logo; it’s for “The Ultimate Hoop It Up 3-On-3 Match Up, East VS West.”
1992-93 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Atlanta Hawks
1992-93 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Chicago Bulls
1992-93 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Hoop it Up
Next are a pair of sheets with 1993 Upper Deck logos; the first appears to have been a giveaway at a Cavaliers home game against the Cavs on January 12, 1993. and the second salutes Larry Bird at his retirement ceremony on February 4, 1993, at the Boston Garden.
1992-93 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Cavs vs. Celtics
1992-93 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Larry Bird Retirement Ceremony
This final 1992-93 sheet salutes All-Star Heroes in conjunction with the Upper Deck Trading Card and Memorabilia Show held during Utah All-Star Weekend in February 1993.
These sheets all have a gold seal with “1993” on them.
There are a couple of categories of 1993 Upper Deck Basketball Sheets. The first, again, were developed in conjunction with the NBA Draft (June 30, 1993) and appear to have been made for each team. The Upper Deck logo has 1993 on it. Here are examples for the Blazers and Sonics.
1993 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – NBA Draft Blazers
1993 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – NBA Draft Sonics
There’s also a more general Upper Deck NBA Draft sheet that depicts the Top Draft Choices from 1992 on it.
1993 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – June 30, 1993 NBA Draft Top 1992 Choices
Next, Upper Deck made sheets for the NBA Jam Session events held in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia, in August and September 1993.
1993 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – NBA Jam Session
This next sheet has me a little confused; American Airlines sponsored the 1992-93 three-point contest before AT&T took over in 1993-94. But the cards shown are 1992/93s – perhaps this sheet was made to announce the partnership.
1993 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Long Distance Shootout
The following Upper Deck basketball sheet is dated March 2, 1993, to celebrate the Bucks’s 25th anniversary. The Bucks had a home game against the Mavericks that evening. It’s odd that the sheet doesn’t have a 1992/93 date like the Cavs vs. Celtics sheet pictured in the previous section.
I only ran across a single sheet with “1993-94” on the seal, but I’d bet there are others. This one features Bulls players for a game held on November 13, 1993. The Bulls played the Celtics that night. Notice the 93/94 Upper Deck logo on the lower right corner.
1993-94 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Chicago Bulls
1994 Upper Deck Basketball Sheets
Upper Deck replaced the gold seal with a sort of emblem this year, but all the sheets display “1994” between the words’ Limited Edition’ and the serial number.
Upper Deck, again, made commemorative sheets in conjunction with the NBA Draft held in Indianapolis on June 29, 1994. Here’s the Seattle Supersonics example.
1994 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – NBA Draft Sonics
There are a bunch of other ‘Limited Edition’ 1994 Upper Deck basketball sheets, including the following for the Long Distance Shootout, the All-NBA Team, 1994 All-Rookie Team, the Knicks, All-Star Weekend, the Michael Jordan Tribute Night held on November 1, 1994, and the 1993-94 Upper Deck Special Edition set.
1994 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Long Distance Shootout
1994 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – All-NBA Team
1994 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – All-Rookie Team
1994 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Michael Jordan Tribute Night
1994 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – Upper Deck Special Edition
1995 Upper Deck Basketball Sheets
The 1995 Upper Deck Basketball Sheets have similar emblems to 1994’s, but the date is now “1995”.
I found three sheets with 1995 dates on them. Again, the first two were for the NBA Draft held in Toronto on June 28, 1995. One is generic for the event; the other has Kings-specific information on it.
1995 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – NBA Draft June 28, 1995 Toronto
1995 Upper Deck Basketball Sheet – NBA Draft Kings
Upper Deck also released a sheet for their Predictor Series Cards.
Now, despite sharing 43 Upper Deck Basketball Commemorative Sheets in this article, it’s not even remotely close to an exhaustive checklist. What’s really cool about these basketball sheets compared to the baseball and hockey ones is the variety. Upper Deck appears to have released them at NBA games, off-season events, in conjunction with the draft, at the All-Star Game, and as generic advertisements for upcoming sets.
Keep an eye on the blog because I’ll be wrapping up this series with Upper Deck’s football commemorative sheets!
After the success of their baseball set in 1989, Upper Deck jumped into the hockey card market with a 1990-91 release that they promoted with cards of Wayne Gretzky and Patrick Roy (cards 241A and 241B). However, just as they did with baseball, Upper Deck also promoted their hockey set in the early 90s with serial-numbered commemorative sheets. Hockey didn’t have an established Old-Timer Series for Upper Deck to sponsor and highlight their cards through, so they predominantly distributed these sheets at NHL games. In this article, I’ll highlight four Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheet sets.
1990-91 Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheets
TCDB lists 11 total blank-backed 8 1/2″ x 11″ commemorative sheets in its checklist for this “set” of sheets. Upper Deck distributed them at various NHL games to promote their first hockey set. They’re all serial-numbered.
Upper Deck released the first sheet at the game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings on November 17, 1990.
1990-91 Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheet – Maple Leafs Vs. Red Wings
Here are a few other examples.
1990-91 Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheet – Rangers vs. Whalers
1990-91 Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheet – Blues vs. Sabres
Upper Deck released two sheets as part of the 42nd NHL All-Star Game at Chicago Stadium on January 19, 1991, as well.
1990-91 Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheet – Provence of Wales Conference All-Stars
There was also a sheet dated June 21, 1991, to honor “six players selected by the Professional Hockey Writer’s Association as the most proficient at their respective positions in their first year of competitions in the National Hockey League.” Given the date, I’m unsure how Upper Deck distributed this sheet. Notice the gold emblem in the lower right corner doesn’t have a 1990/1991 date like the others; it’s a 1991 Limited Edition Collector Series Sheet.
1990-91 Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheet – 1990-91 NHL/UD All-Rookie Team
1991-92 Upper Deck Hockey Promotional Sheets
TCDB lists the 1991-92 Upper Deck sheets as Promotional rather than Commemorative Sheets for some reason, so I’ll stick with that for the section heading, but the concept was the same as the previous series of sheets. However, there appear to be 19 different ones that were used to promote the 1991-92 set.
Here are a pair of examples: one used as a promotion at the Flames vs. Rangers game on November 4, 1991, and another that was used at the Rangers vs. Capital game on February 7, 1992.
1991-92 Upper Deck Hockey Promotional Sheet – Flames Vs. Rangers
1991-92 Upper Deck Hockey Promotional Sheet – Rangers Vs. Capitals
And while I mentioned that Upper Deck didn’t sponsor a Heroes of Hockey Series as they did in Baseball, this year, there was an Alumni Heroes of Hockey game that was played on January 17, 1992, between the 1974/75 Stanley Cup Champion Flyers and a team of legendary NGL stars the day before the 43rd NHL All-Star Game.
1991-92 Upper Deck Hockey Promotional Sheet – Philadelphia Heroes of Hockey vs. NHL Heroes of Hockey
The next night, on January 18, Upper Deck distributed sheets honoring the Wales and Campbell Conference All-Star Teams.
1991-92 Upper Deck Hockey Promotional Sheet – All-Star Teams
1992-93 Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheets
There are 17 items listed in TCDB’s checklist of Upper Deck Commemorative sheets used to promote the 1992-93 hockey set. The majority were given away at NHL games; again, there was a pair for Campbell and Wales All-Stars, but there was also one for the 1991-92 Upper Deck All-Rookie Team, a Hockey Heroes pair for Gordie Howe, and one for the New York Rangers as the Defending NHL Regular Season Champions. Here are a few examples.
1992-93 Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheet – Blackhawks Vs. Red Wings
1992-93 Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheet – 1991-92 NHL/UD All-Rookie Team
1992-93 Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheet – Gordie Howe Birthday Tour
1992-93 Upper Deck Hockey Commemorative Sheet – All-Star Teams
1992-93 Upper Deck Hockey Wayne Gretzky Hockey Heroes Commemorative Sheet
The Gretzky Heroes sheet wasn’t available at a game; it was a mail-in wrapper redemption that numbered to 29166.
1992-93 Upper Deck Hockey Wayne Gretzky Hockey Heroes Commemorative Sheet
The terms required users to send a sheet offer card, 15 foil pack wrappers from’ 92-93 Low Series Hockey, and $2.95 via check or money order to:
Wayne Gretzky Hockey Heroes Commemorative Sheet Offer – Front and Back
There was a series of Hockey Heroes: Wayne Gretzky cards inserted in Low Series packs at a rate of 1:18.
Conclusion
Just like the baseball sheets, the Upper Deck hockey commemorative sheets can each be picked up for just a few dollars; however, a few examples exist (like the Gordie Howe pictured above) that are signed, which will cost quite a bit more. I suspect there aren’t a lot of collectors who have tracked down all 48 Upper Deck hockey sheets; it would make for an incredible collection to view in a binder. Now, don’t forget to come back to the site so you don’t miss the next two parts of this series on Upper Deck Sheets. The basketball and football sheets come out next!
With their 1989 baseball set, Upper Deck brought the hobby its first premium product. They backed that up with another innovation in 1990 with the first major chase card. But Upper Deck also innovated in how they marketed their products. All the major brands put ads in hobby publications and sports magazines along with providing sell sheets and pamphlets directly to dealers, but Upper Deck decided to target collectors directly in another way by distributing promotional/commemorative sheets.
This article kicks off a four-part series dedicated to these Upper Deck sheets, starting with those for baseball sets (later, I’ll cover hockey, basketball, and football sheets). There are two categories when it comes to baseball. In 1989 and 1990, Upper Deck provided Limited Edition Commemorative Sheets at card shows, announcing their entrance to the hobby, while from 1991-1994, they had commemorative sheets and Heroes of Baseball sheets that they distributed at sporting events. They’re all ~8 1/2″ x 11″ and blank-backed.
In 1989, Upper Deck distributed a pair of Limited Edition Commemorative Sheets at two events to promote their first set. The first was at the 10th National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago, held from June 29 – July 2. The sheets are numbered out of 25k.
Upper Deck gave out the other sheet at the National Candy Wholesalers Association Exposition in Washington, D.C., between July 27 and 29. This sheet is scarcer and costlier (probably because it includes the Ken Griffey Jr. card photo) than the NSCC one.
And a final version, and the toughest to track down, was available at the 1990 All-American Sports Collectors Convention, August 31-September 3, in San Francisco, CA.
Around this time, The Upper Deck Company replaced Equitable Financial Companies as the sponsor of Baseball’s Old-Timer Series – which was renamed the Heroes of Baseball Series.
The following article from The Journal Times in Racine, Wisconsin, from February 1991, explains that the 1991 24-game exhibition series benefits the Baseball Assistance Team (BAT) and that Upper Deck would donate $10k to BAT for each of the Heroes of Baseball games that were set to begin on April 14.
Old Timers Series Renamed
So the next Upper Deck sheet is this single version dedicated to BAT, the Foundation of Baseball, and is numbered to 1500. Notice that it’s dated to 1991 on the seal.
1991 Upper Deck Commemorative Sheet
1991 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheets
TCDB lists 23 total sheets in the 1991 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheet series, including two cover sheet versions with the schedule. One is numbered to 10k, the other to 20k, and both feature the same Reggie Jackson Heroes of Baseball card. The seal has a 1991 date, but the Upper Deck logo says 90/91.
1991 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheet – Cover Sheet Version 1
The rest of the items were distributed at various events throughout the year. Interestingly, and perhaps it was based on expected attendance, the sheets are numbered to different totals. Here are a few examples.
1991 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheet – Battle of Missouri
1991 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheet – 1971 Pirates vs. Orioles
1991 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheet – A Tribute to Joe DiMaggio & Ted Williams
1992 Upper Deck Commemorative Sheets
TCDB describes this series of five 1992 commemorative sheets as those distributed at Upper Deck-sponsored events but doesn’t include the Heroes of Baseball series, which they listed separately. The five events were the Yankees Second Annual Fan Festival (Jan/Feb 1992), Opening Day at Oriole Park at Camden Yards (April 6, 1992), two versions were available at the All-Star FanFest in July 1992, and the last version honored the Atlanta Braves 1991-1992 Back-to-Back National League Champions.
1992 Upper Deck Commemorative Sheet – Yankees Fan Fest
1992 Upper Deck Commemorative Sheet – Opening Da at Camden Yards
1992 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Commemorative Sheets
The following article from the Tampa Bay Times, from February 1992, explains that in 1992, the Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball “tour” would be visiting all 26 stadiums plus Mile High Stadium (the original home of the Rockies who would join MLB the following season). Again, Upper Deck Co. donated $10k to BAT for each game.
Old-timers – Tampa Bay Times
TCDB lists 31 items in their checklist for this series of sheets. Here are a few examples, and again, serial numbering varied.
1992 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Commemorative Sheet – The 200 Club
1993 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheets
Again, Upper Deck gave these sheets away during the Heroes of Baseball Tour. The checklist on TCDB includes 27 blank-backed sheets that again have varied serial numbering.
1993 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheet – Inaugural Season
1993 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheet – May 15, 1993
1993 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheet – A Tribute to Billy Martin
1994 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheets
The following article from the Journal News in White Plains, NY (March 1994) explains that Upper Deck was now donating $225k for every Heroes of Baseball game played to BAT and that in 1993, they donated $300k.
Sports Collecting – Journal News
TCDB’s checklist includes just eight sheets in 1994 that the article explains Upper Deck gave away to every fan attending the various games.
1994 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheet – Brewers Silver Anniversary Season
1994 Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Sheet – Hollywood Softball Game
I’m unsure what happened to the Hereos of Baseball series; Wikipedia implies the final game was played in June 1995 at Dodgers Stadium. And while the following ad from the LA Times from Tuesday, June 6, 1995, still includes Upper Deck’s sponsorship, the advertisement shares regular Dodgers games and the Saturday game against the Phillies at 7:35 (that they lost 3-0). I’m unsure if there was a Heroes game before the first pitch or if it was just a sponsored night where stars of the past appeared. Commemorative sheets aren’t mentioned in the ad for the Saturday game, and I haven’t found any from years after 1994.
Upper Deck Heroes of Baseball Night Ad – LA Times
Conclusion
You can find most of these Upper Deck baseball commemorative sheets for just a few dollars, but they hold a lot of historical value to the hobby and baseball. So whether you’re an Upper Deck card collector or just looking to make a display piece, these sheets would be an excellent way to spice up a collection or hobby cave. Ultimately, they’re a fantastic journey through Upper Deck’s contribution to the sports card industry. Don’t forget to revisit the blog over the next few days since I’ll be covering Upper Deck’s hockey, basketball, and football commemorative sheets, too.
This article marks the conclusion of my series on collector issues, which began a few weeks ago with my look at Mike Aronstein and TCMA and was followed by an article about Larry Fritsch. This week, I’ll be looking at Mike Cramer, who, as T.S. O’Connell wrote, “parlayed his initial foray into minor league cards and collector issues into full-fledged licenses with baseball, football, and hockey. In other words, a collector-issue company became one of the big boys, no small feat when considering the size of some of his competitors.”
Hobby Figure Mike Cramer
Cramer was a fan of baseball cards from an early age. The details for his book Cramer’s Choice: Memoir of a Baseball Card Collector Turned Manufacturer note that before high school, he had a mail-order trading card business before founding Pacific Trading Cards.
Cramer’s Choice Book Cover
In his early days, Cramer would buy vending cases of Topps baseball cards and collate sets from them. In a Sports Collectors Daily article, he shared that his wife Cheryl did a lot of the work while he was off crab fishing to make money.
After doing this for a while, Cramer started making his own sets and also innovated collecting a bit around that time. They produced plastic sheets to put cards in binders and cardboard boxes designed for cards.
Key Mike Cramer Collector Issues
Before getting those big licenses with the major sports leagues, Cramer got his start with a few minor league sets and Baseball Legends releases.
1975 Phoenix Giants Minor League Set
1975 Circle K Phoenix Giants Michael J. Cramer
It seems Cramer actually produced a few different sets for the Phoenix Giants, but his first is cataloged as the Circle K Phoenix Giants set and included a card of Cramer from the Phoenix Giants thanking him for his work in helping produce the card set. It added that his collection had almost half a million cards!
A search on TCDB also turned up a 1976 Cramer Phoenix Giants set that included a sponsorship from CocaCola.
1976 Cramer Phoenix Giants Horace Speed
Some of his other late 70s minor league sets included ones for the Seattle Rainiers, Tucson Toros, Salt Lake City Gulls, Spokane Indians, Tucson Toros, Albuquerque Dukes, Tacoma Yankees, and Hawaii Islanders.
1980-83 Baseball Legends
1980 Cramer Baseball Legends #5 Joe DiMaggio
From a collector issue perspective, Cramer is probably best known for the four Baseball Legends sets he released between 1980 and 1983. The cards have a sepia-toned photo on the front with a black frame. The backs are brown and include personal data, stats, and career summary. The key cards across the series include Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson’s portrait card, Roberto Clemente, Ted Williams, and Joe Jackson.
Each series had 30 cards, but the 124-card total comes from the four fourth series cards Cramer printed on this box in 1986.
Baseball Legends Box Bottom
Baseball Legends Box Top
Notice the ad for Pacific Trading Collector Sheets on the wrapper! The wrapper and box have a 1985 copyright, but I usually see them advertised as a 1986 product.
Baseball Legends Wax Wrapper
Cramer would develop another series of Baseball Legends cards from 1988-90 under the Pacific name that were printed in color.
Conclusion and Further Reading
Along with Mike Aronstein and Larry Fritsch, Mike Cramer was pivotal in moving the hobby forward since they were creating many of their now-famous collector issues at a time when Topps had their monopoly. However, the role of collector issues slowly diminished after 1981 when three major companies, Donruss, Fleer, and Topps, started competing to produce the most popular cards. Given the current market consolidation under Fanatics, one has to wonder if the hobby might need collector issues again.
The Halper Collection is pretty legendary, but it’s also shrouded in controversy due to some fake/counterfeit items. I’ve hesitated diving deep into it for that reason. However, rediscovering a March 1997 Sports Card Magazine article on the collection gives me a great baseline from which to start on the blog moving forward.
I started my collector issue series a few weeks back with my article about Mike Aronstein and TCMA. Today, I’ll shift to another hobby pioneer from the 70s known as having had one of the largest personal collections of anyone in the hobby, Larry Fritsch.
Hobby Pioneer Larry Fritsch
Fritsch became a full-time dealer in 1970 when he launched Larry Fritsch Cards, Inc. on May 1st. But Fritsch traced his involvement in the hobby back to 1948 and was a collector first – he built one of the most legendary collections in hobby history. He was known to have bought, traded, and sold cards religiously since childhood.
Larry graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and worked multiple part-time jobs, including one as a train baggage handler, a tax researcher, and in a paper mill, before following his passion in the hobby.
Fritsch operated primarily as a mail-order business with giant catalogs. He advertised his company in many different publications, like The Sporting News. Around 1989, he was selling more than 200k mail-order cards per week.
Larry was the face of the business side of the hobby for over 30 years.
Key Fritsch Sets and Cards
Today, many people know the Fritsch brand for having some incredible unopened material that Larry had bought directly from manufacturers’ end-of-year stock, but he created some significant collector issues.
Fritsch One-Year Winners
1977 Fritsch One-Year Winner Eddie Gaedel
Fritsch’s first offering was an 18-card set, One-Year Winners, printed in 1977 and sold through his catalog. It featured players “with brief, but often well-known, major league baseball careers.” The first card in the set was Eddie Gaedel, who, along with Pete Gray, had the key cards in the 1977 release. The set was continued with 36 more cards in 1979 and another 64 in 1983 (many of which used unused Topps pictures and were designed similarly to 1966 Topps baseball cards), all continuously numbered. As I said, he was a collector first, so it makes sense that his first set was something the hobby had never seen before.
1986 Fritsch Negro League Baseball All-Stars
1986 Fritsch Negro League Baseball All-Stars #25 Jackie Robinson
The Standard Catalog describes this set as “one of the most comprehensive collectors’ issues to features stars of the Negro League…most of the photos are contemporary with the players’ careers from the 1920s into the 1950s, with a few of the segregated leagues’ earlier pioneers also included.” The set’s key cards are Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson, Moses Fleetwood Walker, Josh Gibson, Willie Wells, and Smoky Joe Williams. If you’re into baseball history, pick up this 119-card set.
The SAMPLE backs are a little more desirable.
1986 Fritsch Negro League Baseball All-Stars Sample Back #11 Jackie Robinson
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Cards
1995 Fritsch All-American Girls Professional Baseball League #1 Dorothy Wiltse
From a collector issue perspective, Larry Fritsch Cards key set came out in 1995 when they released a set of 234 cards highlighting the women’s league that the movie “A League of Their Own” made famous. They added a second series in 1996 to bring the set’s total to 340 cards. Later, in 2000, they added a third series with another 72 cards and an updated series of nine cards in 2002.
Other Key Cards
As a collector first, Fritsch didn’t make reprint sets for a long time because it was against his philosophy. But he said that when a set reached $5k, a lot of folks couldn’t afford them anymore, and he wanted more people to be able to see the cards. An example is the 1982 Fritsch 1957 Spic and Span Reprints.
1982 Fritsch 1957 Spic and Span Hank Aaron Reprint
In the 80s, Larry Fritsch Cards created a few dozen Midwest League minor league sets along with a great minor league card of Kirby Puckett on the Visalia Oaks.
1983 Fritsch Visalia Oaks #6 Kirby Puckett
In 1983, Fristch commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Boston Braves’ move to Milwaukee with a 33-card set that included Eddie Mathews and Warren Spahn.
1983 Fritsch 1953 Boston/Milwaukee Braves #41 Eddie Mathews
Wrap-Up and Further Reading
Not only did Fritsch contribute some incredible collector issue sets to the hobby, but he also did a lot to educate it. He contributed to many hobby guides and books like the Sports Collectors Bible series and authored the Baseball Card Alphabetical Handbooks.
Baseball Card Alphabetical Handbook Volume 1 by Larry Fritsch and Bill Haber – 1975
The Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards also used his knowledge and collection to detail a lot of obscure and rare cards.
Unfortunately, Larry Fritsch passed away in 2007. Kit Young wrote a wonderful article about his friend in the Sports Collectors Digest.
