Collecting gum issues from the 30's..Delong,Heads Up and 1934 Goudey
 

Dabbling in Deaball era cards the past few years I realize I m a set collector at heart.Almost all sets are extremely expensive to complete even on the smaller sets many having Cobb,Mathewson etc.Looking to collect a smaller set I have 2 sets on my radar.Delong and Heads Up ...smiler sets which I like.Goudey 1934 is another option but multiple Gehrigs plus high numbers make this one a 3rd but lesser choice.Any experience with these sets.
Scott

Diamond Stars might be another set to look at. My favorite was the 1941 Play Ball set. Though technically not 30's, it has many of the same players of those sets. I group all of the early gum card sets from 1933-1941 together.

Good call on the Diamond Stars..another possibilty.Love the color.

34-37 looks great and really has no true big money cards either. Just the last 12 are tad harder to locate, but in VG it's a very inexpensive set to build.

Scott,
While I collect everything 1950 and back, I am a gum set collector at the core and totally hear you. I think '41 PB is a great suggestion. From what I remember, Delongs can get pretty pricey, and there is a Gehrig in that set, which will run about $1000 in a PSA 1....not sure how condition sensitive you are. I know it's out of the box, but I surprised how much I enjoyed putting together 1950 Bowman. The artwork and size are similar to the gum sets of the 30s, the star selection is great, and the most expensive card can be had for less that $1000 in mid grade. I just think it's a really nice, underrated set.

That said, if you really want to stay in the 30s, Diamond Stars are another good suggestion, though the high numbers are tough and expensive. I'm having a really hard time finding high number HOFers. They are, however, just repeat images from cards in the lower series (ala '33 Goudey Gehrigs), so you could just not do them and do 1-96. I just finished the 1937 Goudey Thum movies, which was a fun little set, though not technically cards.... but there's only 13 so not a massive commitment either. You could always go for the Goudey wide pens or exhibits if you're cool with black and white.