1946 Cleveland Browns "Sears" Team Set

[jp1216]

1946 Cleveland Browns "Sears & Roebuck" 8 card Team Set.

This set was on my want list for nearly 20 years. I saw it listed in a price guide when I was about 12 and was intrigued. Many years went by..... My goal was to pick up one - any player. Sure enough, the opportunity appeared to acquire the entire team set. I had to do it.

At the time, both the PSA and SGC pop reports had nothing listed. Being a SGC guy, I tried them first. They sent them back as either 'questionable' or 'not enough information'. I called and was told that they didn't feel comfortable authenticating the set without more information. I was OK with that. PSA was next and graded the set. First in the Pop Reports. Since then, 2-3 more complete sets have been added. Also, one or two uncut sheets have been sold at auction houses in the past few years.


http://www.billripken.com/bucket/46Browns/1946_17.jpg

Story I've been told is that they were given away at Cleveland area Sears stores as promotional items. A related item is a small Sears booklet showing the same player pictures and bios.

http://www.billripken.com/bucket/46Browns/1946_16.jpg
http://www.billripken.com/bucket/46Browns/1946_13.jpg

Years later a random eBay listing surfaces. Same size and nearly identical to the 8 card lot, but a different unlisted player. Old price guides listed only 8 players. This was something new. Player was Yonakor. Featured in the Sears Booklet and game programs in 1946. Seller was primarily a vintage guy with 100% feedback. No issues. I took a shot and won it.

http://www.billripken.com/bucket/46Browns/1946_01.jpg
http://www.billripken.com/bucket/46Browns/1946_02.jpg

Card is the exact same size, uses the same '46 image as the booklet and has the same team schedule on the back. Differences, however, are the card stock, print dot patterns, and slight font differences on the front and back. Different abbreviations and font locations. Subtle.

Scanned at 1200 dpi, the print dot patterns on the Yonakor card match the Sears Booklet and the game programs. The PSA 'authenticated' set has different diagonal lines.


http://www.billripken.com/bucket/46Browns/1946_05.jpg
http://www.billripken.com/bucket/46Browns/1946_06.jpg
http://www.billripken.com/bucket/46Browns/1946_11.jpg

Another difference - the union print stamp logo on the bottom. The new Yonakor card has a much MUCH clearer logo. The 'PSA' set has a grainier logo.

http://www.billripken.com/bucket/46Browns/1946_07.jpg
http://www.billripken.com/bucket/46Browns/1946_10.jpg

Just wanted to share this with the group. Puzzles me. One question was why HOF players such as Groza, Motley and Willis weren't included in the original 8 card team set. Maybe Yonakor was part of another 8 card sheet with those players. Produced the same year, but at a slightly different time? My PSA 'authenticated' set may very well be a phoney. I really don't know. These sets never appear, but have been listed for at least 25-30 years in the price guides.

[clamendo]

I liked these early sets, but it's kind of like the Frojoy Ruth's. I know some mint ones have surfaced, I also know the there are some counterfeits on thinner stock . For that reason, I have stayed away. That's probably why SGC wouldn't grade them. They are probably fine, but it's always going to be an issue when you sell. Hopefully, you hot them reasonably.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jefferyepayne]

Very interesting thread, Jon. One of those other sets is mine. I've often wondered why there were only 8 cards in this set and why other Browns stars were left out of the set.

The fact that the Yonakor has a different font pattern and card stock makes me wonder whether someone "manufactured" additional cards later out of the images in the booklet. Or perhaps Sears printed up more sheets later in the season on cheaper card stock but never distributed them.

Where did you get your set from? I know most of the other ones I know about all came from the same Browns collector who I believe obtained them from someone affiliated with the Browns.

A very interesting development. Other ideas?

jeff

[steve B]

That's really interesting.

The Yonakor is typographed for sure. You can see what's called squeezeout on the union logo. The inked type while printing under pressure pushes some ink out to the edges, making what appears like an outline to the printed area. If they used enough pressure there will be indentations in the cardstock. And the halftone is typical for typographed pictures.

The others are probably lithographed.
And the diagonal screen is odd, I tried looking it up, and the first thing I found was a patent from 1895 claiming the diagonal only screen produces poor results.
What's interesting is that it looks like the diagonal screen reproduced the picture much better, but did a terrible job at reproducing the union logo.

I think both are probably ok. (Not totally sure, but close) Because the diagonal screen is finer than the halftone. I'd think that if it was rescreened from an original it would show the halftone pattern. It doesn't, so if it was done as a fake or reprint whoever did it probably had access to the original photos.

Do the book pictures match the PSA cards? Reprints also usually have cropping differences.

How many players in the book? I'm wondering if Yonakor came with the book, or was a promotional item for the set. Something like the book and card available from the station or stores in advance of the set, then the set given out later, maybe one or two a week? That would maybe tie in with another promotion, in-store appearances or something like that. Checking the online newspaper archives might turn up some info, but the post dispatch only has back to 1988 online and all the others are membership things.

Of course, if you're in or near St Louis the library or historical society probably has them on microfilm for free.

Steve B

[jp1216]

Steve -

Thanks for the reply. Always looking for insight like that!

First, these are the CLEVELAND Browns. Not St. Louis. :) But worth looking at old newspaper etc ads.

The '46 Sears team booklet has about 33 or so players included. Yes, Yonakor is in there using the same picture. Same union print logo on the back of the booklet. In between the clarity of the PSA 'authenticated' set and the new Yonakor card. Blotched and hard to make out.

During the '46 season, the same 33 or so players appeared in game programs. All but a couple used the same image. No mention of the same union printing company in these game programs, but near the back there is an advertisement and store front picture for a local printing company that refers to itself as 'The official printing company of the Cleveland Browns'. But over the years - times change. The address given is now a near downtown nightclub (gay bar to be exact). Store front hasn't changed in 100 years, but the inside has. :o

My feeling is that the original 8 card set is due to 8 cards fitting on a sheet. A couple uncut sheets from the same original seller have been sold at auction in the past 5 or so years. Maybe more players were printed on different sheets??? HOFers Motley and Willis were black players. Could've been on a sheet with Yonakor and not widely produced. Lou Groza should've had a card too.

I'll try to do some better picture comparisons between the PSA, Yonakor, booklet etc. I also have saved pictures of another 8 card '46 Browns set that closely matches this Yonakor card. Notice the 2nd line on the front beginning with 'away..'

Thanks for the insight guys!

[jp1216]

Picture of uncut sheet:

http://www.billripken.com/bucket/46Browns/1946_14.jpg

Picture of Yonakor from the '46 Sears Booklet:

http://www.billripken.com/bucket/46Browns/1946_03.jpg

Union Print Logo from the back of the Sears Booklet:

http://www.billripken.com/bucket/46Browns/1946_04.jpg

'46 Game Program showing Yonakor:

http://www.billripken.com/bucket/46Browns/1946_22.jpg
http://www.billripken.com/bucket/46Browns/1946_19.jpg

[jp1216]

Picture of another 8 card set. Same images once used by Beckett.com for reference. Today, no images appear. Odd.
Archived Google pictures of Beckett show these cards. The fronts and backs do match the Yonakor. Sept. vs. Sep. etc.
Note the second line of text beginning with 'away'. The Yonakor card better matches this set vs. the PSA 'authenticated' ones.

http://www.billripken.com/bucket/46Browns/1946_12.jpg

[jp1216]

Front/Back of the archived Beckett.com image for Dante Lavelli.
Better match to the Yonakor than the PSA 'authenticated' sets. Front placement of words and back abbreviations.

http://www.billripken.com/bucket/46Browns/beckett_lavelli3.jpg

vs.

http://www.billripken.com/bucket/46Browns/beckett_lavelli2.jpg

[steve B]

Steve -



First, these are the CLEVELAND Browns. Not St. Louis. :) But worth looking at old newspaper etc ads.



DOH!

I plead that it's almost baseball season :o

Steve B

[jp1216]

Just a bump for May.
Saw one of those Sears Booklets sold on eBay tonight for over $130! AAFC collecting is strong.

[jefferyepayne]

Just a bump for May.
Saw one of those Sears Booklets sold on eBay tonight for over $130! AAFC collecting is strong.

Wow, great collectible. Sorry I missed the auction!

ejff

[jp1216]

Jeff (and others) -
With the 2015 National right around the corner - Good luck with those attending and please be on the look out for AAFC (especially Browns) items. Happy Hunting.

[pariah1107]

A great question in regards to Willis and Motley. Though a popular previous player of Paul Brown, Marion Motley may have been left out of the set due to his vehicular homicide conviction in 1940. Or the more obvious reason.....

Is there any card of Willis prior to 1980's?

[bcbgcbrcb]

Willis appears in the 1977 Touchdown Club set, his earliest known individual card.

[TanksAndSpartans]

Motley has long been one of my favorite players (this goes back to when I was a kid and read about him - I picked up a library book about football and read his chapter - it was my first exposure to NFL history and I never forgot it).

The only source I've ever found on the vehicular homicide conviction is from a writer named Dan Daly - the book is called "The National forgotten league". I never read it, but excerpts were published for promotional reasons and can be found online. I suspect there are some good stories in there, but I guess personally I wasn't excited about it because the Motley part has a bit too much of a tabloid feel to it. The story explains that Motley tried to pass a car by driving into the opposite lane and crashed head on into an oncoming car. I believe it was nighttime and that's about the extent of the details provided.

I had found the exclusion of Motley and Willis suspicious and disappointing, but in fairness, I think 1946 was the AAFC's first season. Otto Graham was a star at Northwestern and drafted by the Lions, but beyond him, not sure anyone else could've been projected to be a star before the season started.

P.S. On a brighter note, this was a great thread to read - I wasn't here the first time around, and this was a set I always found interesting since it arguably contains "rookie" cards of Graham and Dante Lavelli.

P.S.S. Speaking of AAFC collectables, there isn't anything on Spec Sanders, right?

[pariah1107]

Huge Motley fan as well and have done some research on the car accident, March 24, 1940. An interesting sidenote were the passengers in the car w/Motley; 1939 Reno Mountain Eagles baseball teammates Ralph Turner and Eddie Claxton (son of Jimmy Claxton). A decent ballplayer Motley played outfield and pitched for the black baseball team in Reno, the Dixie Club 1940-41, as well as integrated the Verdi, Nevada amateur baseball team for a few games in 1940. Eddie was an outstanding Reno High School/semi-professional baseball player (pitcher/firstbaseman), and freshman at University of Nevada at Reno. Motley separated his shoulder, Turner escaped with scrapes, and Claxtons' left wrist was shattered which ended his baseball career.

In regards to Willis, it is simply incredible that a player can have a 10 year Hall of Fame career and not have a football card until 20 years after his retirement from the gridiron...

[TanksAndSpartans]

Thanks Ty for the additional info - so the vehicular homicide was a case of aggressive driving? Nothing more to it than doing something stupid at the wrong moment and paying a high price?

I finished Otto Graham's bio recently and subjectively, I'd say Willis was the player Graham spoke most highly of in the parts of the book that were his quotes.

It sounds strange for a HOFer to be underrated, but this is probably a case of that - I've never heard Willis come in conversations of great linebackers. I believe technically he was a "middle guard", but to me that's basically the precursor for the middle linebacker, although I believe a big part of what he did was rush the passer - I honestly never researched him - now I'm curious to check the PFRA archives....

[pariah1107]

It seems that Motley attempted to pass a car on a two lane highway. The driver of the car being overtaken sped up, and would not allow the car Motley was driving to merge safely in front of him.

A family of six Japanese laborers in what was described as a "jalopy" coming the opposite direction were hit head on by Motley's vehicle. Ted Nobori, 60, was killed and two other Nobori family members seriously injured. The driver of the third vehicle was never found or identified.

[jefferyepayne]

P.S. On a brighter note, this was a great thread to read - I wasn't here the first time around, and this was a set I always found interesting since it arguably contains "rookie" cards of Graham and Dante Lavelli.

And HOFer Frank Gatski! This is a great set that is a must have for anybody who collects AAFC memorabilia or pre-rookie cards of HOFers.

With Jon's discover of the Yonakor, it's very possible there was a second sheet that was created either for promotional purposes or just never distributed. I don't know that we will every know for sure.

jeff

[TanksAndSpartans]

Thanks Ty for the additional info on Motley - since the incident was mentioned, I'm glad we added the context.

Jeff, how rare are these? Unless I'm misreading, we only have about 5 examples of each in PSA holders?

http://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/composite.aspx?c=10999

[jefferyepayne]

Thanks Ty for the additional info on Motley - since the incident was mentioned, I'm glad we added the context.

Jeff, how rare are these? Unless I'm misreading, we only have about 5 examples of each in PSA holders?

http://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/composite.aspx?c=10999

Rare! Many of the five graded sets out there came from the same Browns collector who had multiple sets that he sold off. My bet is there's at least that many sets raw / in uncut sheets but probably not more than a total pop of 15-20 out there for each card.

jeff

[TanksAndSpartans]

Thanks Jeff.

[jp1216]

Just seeing if anyone picked up any nice AAFC items from the 2015 National.
Now 5 of these Browns '46 sets have now been graded/authenticated by PSA?

Am I crazy that every one of these has been graded/authenticated as a complete set? I can't imagine that after all these years not a single/separate card has been graded. Always all 8 at a time.

Still a mystery set. Not a lot of information out there.

[jefferyepayne]

Didn't get them at the National but recently snagged a few of the Sohio Cleveland Browns premiums from 1949.

http://photos.imageevent.com/ltsgallery/memberfoldersnr/jeffscards/1940sfootball/1949sohio/IMG_20150725_0008.jpg

http://photos.imageevent.com/ltsgallery/memberfoldersnr/jeffscards/1940sfootball/1949sohio/IMG_20150725_0002.jpg

Here's my list of AAFC football cards/premiums. There isn't a lot out there from the AAFC ... what else is on your list? We should start a thread on AAFC items. I have some vintage photos as well.

1946 Sears Browns
1948 Colts Matchbooks
1949 Silbers Bakery Colts
1949 Sohio Browns premiums

[Publius]

I've got the Motley from that set Jeff

Silbers is definitely that set that seems soooo elusive

[jp1216]

Just bumping this from last year. I picked up a nice Type 1? '46 Gatski press photo. First one I've been able to get from the '46 Browns Sears set of 8. This set still fascinates me. Haven't seen any become available in years. Zero. The Yonakor card still puzzles me.
http://www.billripken.com/bucket/46Gatski1.jpg
http://www.billripken.com/bucket/46Gatski2.jpg
http://www.billripken.com/bucket/46Gatski3.jpg
http://www.billripken.com/bucket/46Gatski4.jpg

[davemri]

Nice.. I have the PSA 4

http://photos.imageevent.com/davemri/football/prerookiefootball/websize/gatski.jpg

[jp1216]

^^ Thanks for sharing! That card looks great.

What are your thoughts on these? Compare the font with my posts #7 & #8.