Hal Chase National Game and Tom Barker different photos used

[brianp-beme]

I thought I would share something I just noticed concerning the Tom Barker and National Game sets. Both the National Game (WG5) and Tom Barker
(WG6) Game card sets have 52 cards in the set. Nine of these are the action cards, while 43 depict identified players. Between the two sets there are 39 players in common, while each set has four players (Dahlen, McLean, Stahl and Stoval in the National Game set, and Carrigan, Meyers, Wheat and Wingo in the Tom Barker set) that are only found in one of the sets.

I always assumed that there were no differences in the photos used for the 39 players that are in common between the two sets. I was wrong. The Chase on the left is from the National Game set, and the Chase on the right is from the Tom Barker set.

Now for an inquiry--does anyone else out there know of any additional differences in photos used for the other 38 players found in both sets?

Brian

[Matt]

Brian - nice catch - that also calls into question the issue dates as Chase is identified with two different teams. His switch came in 1913, so they could both be 1913 issues, but perhaps the National Game issue is 1914?

[DJR]

.

[brianp-beme]

Thanks Matt for pointing out the team changes...I actually totally overlooked that. I also edited the original post so that the cards are accurately identified (before I had both the National Game card and the Tom Barker as being on the right, leaving the card on the left feeling rather forsaken).

I think the Chase Card identifies which set was published first--the National Game card identifies him as a Yankee, which he was up through the first part of the 1913 season, while the Tom Barker shows him as a White Sox player, which would lead one to believe this set was produced later in 1913, or possibly early in 1914, as the ads that DJR posted (cool by the way, thanks) helpfully narrow down.

Brian

[rhettyeakley]

Brian, I noticed the Chase difference a little while back (I think while I was looking at Jeff L. online collection) and have been looking over the two sets and haven't noticed any other cards having different images or team changes but I may have missed something along the way.
-Rhett

[brianp-beme]

Nothing new to add here, except maybe that the true Grover Alexander rookie card (at least as a normal sized card) would be the National Game, being that it was produced earlier than the Tom Barker version, which the Chase cards seen from this old thread prove.

A five year old 'so there'.

Brian

[Leon]

Nothing new to add here, except maybe that the true Grover Alexander rookie card (at least as a normal sized card) would be the National Game, being that it was produced earlier than the Tom Barker version, which the Chase cards seen from this old thread prove.

A five year old 'so there'.

Brian

Better late than never!!

[Peter_Spaeth]

Or the 1911 M101-2.

[Pat R]

I came across this ad while researching old newspapers that might explain
the difference between the National game cards and the Tom Barker game
cards.

The ad is from the San Francisco Examiner and ran on May 10 1914,

340222

[brianp-beme]

Thanks for posting the ad Pat. It is interesting to note that not only is the date of issue somewhat confirmed (with the May 1914 date of the ad), but that these cards were advertised on the West Coast, making them likely to be purchased by a wider swath of the US.

Still a great set, and I love both the National Game and Tom Barker Hal Chase action photos.

Brian

[brianp-beme]

As a follow up Hal Chase was traded from New York to the White Sox on June 1st of 1913, meaning that the photo used on his Tom Barker card was snapped sometime after this date during the 1913 season, as Hal jumped to the Buffalo team in the Federal League before the start of the 1914 season.

Brian

[trambo]

Thought I'd give an edit. The WG5 set has 54 cards in it if you include the score and rules card. I'm assuming the WG6 set is similar but I've never collected those.

[Butch7999]

Somehow missed this thread entirely in its first two spells of activity...
Excellent insights and information -- thanks, Brian and Pat!
Still looking for more biographical information on Tom Barker himself...

[brianp-beme]

I have a feeling Tom Barker did not exist, and was a creation of the makers of the National Game cards as a marketing idea to further the sales of their game cards after the original production of the cards under the National Game name.

Just a thought,

Brian