1938 Goudey Heads Up

[Eric72]

I only have two cards from this colorful set. Neither player had a spectacular career. Most people (myself included) would consider them commons; however, they both logged considerable time the majors.

Bump Hadley racked up 161 wins over a 16 year career. He was also a member of the Yankees during their 1936-39 run of four consecutive World Series titles. All things considered, he could have chosen a worse way to spend 16 years.

Dick Bartell also had a solid career, playing 18 years and rapping out 2,165 hits. He received an All-Star nod in 1933. Then, he was on the squad again in '37 and finished sixth in the MVP voting that year.

These cards (the entire set, not just Hadley and Bartell) seem to be polarizing. Collectors often take a "love 'em" or "hate 'em" stance regarding 1938 Goudey. Which, of course, makes them a good topic for a poll.

[drapala]

Definitely polarizing, but probably my favorite set. I'm not a set collector, but this would likely be the one if I started.

Here are some trimmed/stamped cards I have from the set.

[StraightRaceCards]

Edited- wrong thread for me

[familytoad]

It’s an odd but classic set!
I like the cartoons version better, and I think there was an old hobby myth that these “higher “ numbers were more difficult. I haven’t witnessed that at all, maybe the opposite!

I have the full cartoon set. I am also half way finished with the lower number , bland version, but I have not been aggressively looking. Someday maybe they will become a higher priority.

But I really do like them…heck I like ALL old baseball cards!

[GrewUpWithJunkWax]

Al Lopez with cartoons #281 is my lone Heads Up.

Classic set, very recognizable, and the cartoon embellishments add to the fun style of the cards.

[sycks22]

It's the only set I'm trying to complete. I love the huge heads.

[brianp-beme]

I like that the 1938 Goudey cards look very distinctive...it is great to have a variety of vintage looks out there. I like both the clean design of the cards without cartoons and the busy ones with cartoons, but the cartoon cards get the slight nod, just because it is fun having the additional info on the player (we probably wouldn't know that Ducky was such a ping pong enthusiast without that cartoon).

I hadn't thought of it before, but it seems 1938 Goudeys quite possibly inspired Topps designers to include the cartoons seen later on in their issues as well.

Brian

[brunswickreeves]

A friend of mine in grade school (we were about 8 or 9 at the time) told me he had $5K from family inheritance, and planned to buy Joe D's 38 Goudey Heads Up card (my first intro to the set). However when he asked his Mom which account the money was in, she said ''You're looking at it'' as they pulled into the driveway of a new commercial building she purchased with that as the down pmt. I always wondered if he ever bought it...

[BabyRuth]

tough no black ball Lombardi along with some Joe D's and Rapid Robert

[bbcard1]

Wish I had gotten some of those before prices got out of hand.

[brob28]

I never gave the set too much thought until I acquired a few in a large group of cards I purchased at a local auction. Once in hand I found yet another hobby love. Eventually I'd like to complete the high # (cartoon) subset. Here's a few of mine.

[riggs336]

Here is an interesting article that discusses the various Ernie Lombardi variations of 1938 Goudey and explains why I haven't been able to find the "Red Sox" variation in 30 years of searching.
https://prewarcards.com/2019/07/03/ernie-lombardi-1938-goudey-variations-red-sox-error-card-reds-baseball/

[Baseballcrazy62]

549517Thought this was a cool card.

[mrreality68]

I like the look and i think it is an upgrade to the Big Head cards of the 1916-1920 UNC Series