Featured OLD(!) BASEBALL CARD? GAME PIECE?

Discussion in 'Antique Discussion' started by journeymagazine, Oct 9, 2019.

  1. journeymagazine

    journeymagazine Well-Known Member

    I bought a box of old sports cards over the week-end & have been able to find out info on all of them (including 2 that were cut outs from old Wheaties cereal boxes!) except this one!
    Does anyone know what this is from?
    Who the player is on the front?
    What year it's from?
    Any help would be greatly appreciated

    CARDS BASEBALL GAME CARD 1AA.JPG CARDS BASEBALL GAME CARD 2AA.JPG

    Here are some of the better old cards found in box (including 2 from Wheaties box) ! I had that Mickey Mantle card as a kid!

    CARDS BASEBALL WHEATIES CEREAL BASKETBALL CARD 1AAzz.JPG CARDS 1926 LAMBERT & BUTLER 2 GOLF CARD SET 1AAzz.JPG CARDS BASEBALL 1929 CHURCHMAN BABE RUTH CIGARETTE CARD 1AAzz.JPG CARDS BASEBALL MICKEY MANRLE CARD 1AAzz.JPG
     
  2. Figtree3

    Figtree3 What would you do if you weren't afraid?

    I think the uniform collar shows the photo to be from pretty early in the 20th century. That doesn't mean the game piece is as old as the photo, which could have been printed at a later date.

    I'm not very knowledgeable about the Cleveland Indians, but looking at old photos I see he resembles Nap Lajoie, one of their best players from the very early 20th century. Can't say for sure, though.

    Paging @BaseballGames for an opinion... and there are other members here who may know.

    The game card is interesting. I wonder why it was altered?
     
  3. sabre123

    sabre123 Well-Known Member

    Agreed.

    Here's a uniform from 1912, and the collar is a match:

    [​IMG]

    I think in the 1920s, the collar got reduced.

    Supposedly, that is an Away uniform:
    [​IMG]
     
  4. Joe2007

    Joe2007 Collector

    Looks like some very nice stuff in that box!
     
  5. i need help

    i need help Moderator Moderator

  6. Figtree3

    Figtree3 What would you do if you weren't afraid?

  7. Figtree3

    Figtree3 What would you do if you weren't afraid?

    Last edited: Oct 9, 2019
  8. journeymagazine

    journeymagazine Well-Known Member

    THANK YOU I need help!!
    I LOVE this board!
     
    Christmasjoy and Figtree3 like this.
  9. i need help

    i need help Moderator Moderator

    74CB10BE-DF26-4F00-AE01-97B1FDFBEE02.jpeg
    Credit goes to @Figtree3 :)

    She gets the MVP Star!
     
  10. journeymagazine

    journeymagazine Well-Known Member

    Your right - fig tree approached it like a scientist!
    Thank you BOTH!
     
  11. Figtree3

    Figtree3 What would you do if you weren't afraid?

    I think it was a joint effort. I got it started, @sabre123 contributed pictures of uniforms, and you found that excellent example!
     
  12. i need help

    i need help Moderator Moderator

    You are right, yea Team !! :happy:
     
  13. BaseballGames

    BaseballGames Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the alert, sorry we're late to arrive, looks like you guys have figured most of it out (dang, finally a thread that was right down our alley). It is Lajoie, and the game, colloquially known to card collectors, who generally don't give a rodent's keester about games per se, as "the Lajoie game," is actually The National-American Base Ball Game, first published by Parker Brothers sometime between 1910 and 1913. There were many subtle variations made to the graphics over the years the game was in production (into the mid-1920s), including the same Lajoie image in monochrome blue instead of red, and entirely different card-back designs not featuring Lajoie. There's more detail than you'd probably care to know about in this old discussion at our own forum, here:
    https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/baseballgames/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=232

    The Lajoie card and all your other cards have some value to collectors, the '63 Topps Mantle almost certainly being the other card with substantial market value, even though both the Mantle and the Lajoie are what collectors consider "low grade" due solely to condition problems. The encapsulizations by SGC and PSA (two of the only three grading companies widely trusted by collectors) raise the desirability of the Mantle and the '71 Barratt golf cards incrementally, although the collectability of baseball cards far exceeds that of golf or basketball cards.

    Apologies if any of that seemed condescending, we're just trying to be informative at a basic level for the many antiquers on board who don't know (or care!) a thing about sports cards. If anyone wants more info about the OP's cache, just let us know!
     
    komokwa, patd8643, Bronwen and 7 others like this.
  14. Joe2007

    Joe2007 Collector

    Great post BaseballGames!

    One of the few things I know about sports card collecting is that if you see a Mickey Mantle card cheap you buy it! Does anyone know if this is one of the ultra collectable issues?
     
  15. sabre123

    sabre123 Well-Known Member

  16. Figtree3

    Figtree3 What would you do if you weren't afraid?

    Thanks, @BaseballGames ! Very interesting -- I believed you would know a lot about this, and you do. :)
     
  17. BaseballGames

    BaseballGames Well-Known Member

    Joe, in the demented Wild West of sportscard collecting, where we'd think your term "ultra collectible" would tend to refer to those highly desirable, fairly scarce to impossibly rare cards that bring six or seven figures at auction, the answer would be "no," that '63 Mantle is not in that stratosphere.

    However, what you do know is generally about right, as anything Mantle is much sought after, even "common" (a hobby term) items like that particular card. There are literally a few hundred thousand examples of that card circulating among collectors, and any cards from the '63 set are not as much in demand as those from a few sets from other years. And as we said, it's not in high-grade condition -- the SGC 45 / 3.5 / "Very Good Plus" is considered low-mid-grade on the scale of 1 ("Poor") to 10 ("Gem Mint"), and frankly, we're highly suspicious it graded that high, given the visible damage. The slab (plastic case) in which it's mounted looks to have what's known as "frosting" around the edges (from the stiff plastic having been flexed to a point just short of cracking), suggesting a "genuine" 45 / 3.5 / VG+ has been slid out and a card in worse condition slipped in.

    Just a guess there, so assuming it has in fact been authentically graded at that level, your best bet for checking value is to watch several eBay auctions (can we say that here?) over the course of several weeks -- there'll be plenty of '63 Mantles for sale there with SGC grades in the 35-50 range or PSA-graded examples between 3 and 5 -- and see what they actually sell for (not, of course, what they start out asking). We see several there right now with starting prices between US $20. and $25., and as many more starting at over $200.-$250. (and ludicrously higher).

    We hope that's of some help!
     
    komokwa, Figtree3, Joe2007 and 2 others like this.
  18. Joe2007

    Joe2007 Collector

    That is very informative. Thanks! I collected a few baseball cards as a child in the 1990's and still have some nostalgia for them. Will really need to study up if I start collecting again.
     
    komokwa likes this.
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