Post War Cards – Page 6 – Vintage Sports Cards – Baseball – Basketball – Football

1952 Wheaties Baseball Cards: A Unique and Attainable Oddball Set

February 24, 2025 by John

If you feel priced out of some of the more popular post-war baseball sets, consider collecting the 1952 Wheaties Baseball Player subset. The 1952 Wheaties set has 30 athletes across many supports, but just ten from professional baseball. However, each player has two cards, a portrait, and an action drawing, meaning there are 20 baseball cards to collect.

Each panel, the back of a Wheaties box, featured a variety of cards. Individually, the cards are 2’’ x 2-3/4’’ and have blank backs. The drawings are blue on an orange background with an ivory/white border. Under the picture are the player’s name, position, and team.

Many publications say the borders are rounded, and they are if you look at the white border. However, grading companies like PSA seem to grade them inconsistently. High-grade variants exist with borders cut off in squares, with rounded borders including a blue background, and rounded borders at the white edge. Because of this, I’d recommend focusing on authenticity and eye appeal and disregarding the numerical grade.

The key card of the set is Ted Williams, but none of the ten players are commons:

Yogi Berra
Roy Campanella
Bob Feller
George Kell
Ralph Kiner
Bob Lemon
Stan Musial
Phil Rizzuto
Preacher Roe
Ted Williams

PSA has graded over 3,300 1952 Wheaties cards across all 30 trading cards. The baseball players average well under 100 combined between both their Action and Portrait cards. Williams has the most, with 162 Action and 150 Portrait cards (in February 2025). George Kell has the fewest graded examples, with 21 Action and 40 Portrait cards.

Mid-grade examples of Ted Williams cards have shot up in recent years, but most other cards can be picked up for ~$50 on average.

Wrapping up, the 1952 Wheaties baseball subset is a visually appealing 20-card series that, with some patience, remains financially accessible for collectors seeking a graded set. Featuring a distinct design unlike the major releases of its time, these cards make a fantastic addition to any collection.

Do you collect any other 1950s baseball sets? I’d love to hear about them in the comments—happy collecting!

PS: Be careful if you’re buying raw copies. The Standard Catalog mentions that the set was extensively counterfeited around 2002.

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

February 23, 2025 by John

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.

Time for Yoo-Hoo: Exploring the Rare Yogi Berra Endorsed Clock

February 22, 2025 by John

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.

Ted Williams’ Farewell: The Iconic 1960 Red Sox Narragansett Beer Poster That Captures a Changing Era

February 21, 2025 by John

Not all sports-themed advertising ephemera is as significant as this piece featuring the 1960 Red Sox; it represented Ted Williams last season and essentially a passing of the torch to Yastrzemski the following year.

This particular Narragansett beer poster was offered in Mastro’s November 1999 Millenium Auction, selling for $1789. Here’s how they described it:

1960 Red Sox Narragansett Beer Poster
A magnificent oversized Narragansett Beer poster that features the 1960 Boston Red Sox and measures 47″ × 70″ Advertising Rhode Island’s finest lager, the heavy corrugated paper poster features a color team photo of the Sox at the end of an era, the Ted Williams era. The year 1960 marked the conclusion of the Kid’s four-decade career. There he is, a legend in his own time, along side teammates half his age. The poster has a few minor edge chips, can be easily matted out, bumps, and a slight tear in the caption. About Excellent condition. Makes for a wicked display!
Minimum Bid $600

The same picture is used across various products; Lelands sold this one for $298 in January 2015.

Here are some more:

Unfortunately, neither the 1960 or 1961 Topps Boston Red Sox team cards feature this image.

A Few Ways Topps Distributed Uncut Sheets Directly To Customers

February 20, 2025 by John

I love uncut sheets of sports cards. They make awesome display pieces, they’re often scarce, they provide set education, finish “master” collections, and provide hobby integrity. So, despite the storage problem, they continue to be really popular. But how did these sheets make their way to the market if cards were meant to be cut up and put in boxes for sale? The conventional wisdom is that they came from Topps employees or out the backdoor of printing facilities. But the reality is a bit more complicated than that, particularly in more modern times, as Topps provided uncut sheets via direct sales, instant winner programs, marketing add-ons, and a few other planned/legitimate means.

You can see the code #945-84 sell sheet for Topps 1984 Uncut Baseball Card Sheets when it comes to direct sales. Topps offered six different sheets of 132 cards (132 * 6 = a complete 792 card set). Topps realized there was a market for uncut sheets and responded as any business would.

1984 Topps Baseball Uncut Card Sheets Sell Sheet

One collector on a forum had written that they had bought some sheets in the mid-1980s from local stores (not card stores), and the sheets came wrapped in plastic. So Topps sold some of these, though perhaps not through hobby stores. Another collector responded that as early as 1982, they bought sheets like this from ToysRUs. They were in a large box with the top cut off, left in the aisle for display, and sold for around $6. Others surmise this sales method may have happened as early as 1981

There are also examples of complete boxed sets of 6 uncut sheets of 1987 Topps that are still widely available. Whether they were sold by Topps or a 3rd party is less clear.

1987 Topps Uncut Sheets Complete Box Set

1987 Topps Uncut Sheets Complete Boxed Set Zoomed In

3 Boxes of 1987 Topps Uncut Sheets Baseball Card Collections

Topps also used to provide sheets to collectors through add-ons. In 1989, as the code #325 sell sheet indicates (courtesy of 4192Cards), if any store purchased a case of Bazooka Gum, they got two uncut sheets of Topps baseball cards. It’s believed this happened between 1986 and 1990.

In 1984, OPC inserted instant winner cards into packs, and one of the prizes was the three sheets that made up a complete set.

Earlier in the 1980s, for $4 ($5 in 1982), collectors could receive a full-sized uncut sheet of 1981 or 1982 Topps baseball and 1981 Topps football cards through a promotion with Coca-Cola (through the header card packed with team sets). Many of the sheets the distributor sent to collectors had errors. So, this tactic may have been a way for Topps to make some money rather than throwing away printer errors or allowing staff to walk off with them.

The distributor in Connecticut included an additional offer to get every sheet from 1981 for $4 a sheet or $24 for an entire print run.

There’s another example of acquiring uncut sheets as far back as 1972 for Topps basketball in partnership with Wheaties. The Topps Archives wrote about getting 132 player sheets for $2 plus two Wheaties proof of purchase panels. I’ve included the photos from the Topps Archives blog post below, just in case that site ever goes down and we lose access to its incredible history of articles.

Wheaties Box with 1972 Topps Basketball Uncut Sheet Offer

I’m sure there are dozens of more legitimate examples of how Topps distributed uncut sheets of cards in addition to the methods discussed in this post. If you know of any others, share the details in the comments below.

Happy collecting, and don’t forget to check out the Uncut Sheet Archive, too!

Help Unravel A Mystery: The 1979 Topps Baseball Iron-Ons Test Issue

February 19, 2025 by John

Mastro offered this 1979 Topps “Baseball Iron-Ons” Test Issue Keith Hernandez promotional piece in their Classic Collector Auctions Catalog in October 2007. After a lot of searching, I can’t find ANYTHING about it online or in The Hobby Library!

Unfortunately, the catalog was intended to augment an online auction, so there weren’t any item descriptions. On the net54Baseball forums, one collector wrote, “Topps would mock these up for internal use, creating Presentation Boards for one kind of pitch or another. Each piece was handmade by the New Product and /or Art Departments. I’ve not run across this one before but it’s pretty awesome.”

If you have any insight into this item or set, please get in touch with me.

Hidden Highlight: The 1962 Topps Ken Hubbs Flexichrome Artwork from the 1995 NSCC Auction

February 18, 2025 by John

The 1995 National Sports Collector’s Convention Auction featured some remarkable items, including the 1962 Topps Flexichrome artwork for card 461, Ken Hubbs’ rookie card, tucked away as lot 169.

Here’s the lots full description:

1962 TOPPS ORIGINAL FLEXICHROME ARTWORK FOR CARD # 461 KEN HUBBS ROOKIE
4 1/2 inch by 5 1/2 inch original one of a kind flexichrome for Ken Hubbs, “Rookie Of The Year” in 1962, killed in a plane crash in 1964, multicolored artwork comes with the 1962 Topps card final process #461, artwork is in perfect condition with no defects.
MINIMUM BID: 200.00

Guernsey’s doesn’t appear to have sold it in their famous Topps Auction in 1989, but I may have missed it in that catalog. If you know the flexichrome’s provenance, let me know!

Finally, here’s a super clean copy of the final card, a PSA 9 that REA sold for $510 in May 2022.

And don’t forget to check out The Original Artwork Archive for more items like these!