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Chris CountsI can understand why Passeau isn't in the Play Balls sets, but it's puzzling he isn't in the 1941 Double Play set, which has quite a few Cubs (Herman, Hack, Cavaretta, Galan, etc.). The previous year (1940), Passeau had his best season, winning 20 games and posting a 2.50 ERA ...
In my effort to find a player as good as Passeau who never had a card, I looked at Cubs rosters from the late 30s and early 40s. I came across Hank Leiber, a three-time all-star outfielder. Has anybody ever seen a card of Hank Leiber? As far as I know, he doesn't even have an Exhibit, although I believe I've seen a mini pennant with his name on it from the late 30s. I also came across a few Cubs team-issued premiums. He wasn't quite as good as Passeau, but he certainly deserved at least one card ...
By the way, I came across an interesting factoid during my research ... Passeau's owner with the Cubs was Philip K. Wrigley. Evidentally, he was told by the government that gum was not a wartime essential. He managed to convince them otherwise, and before the war was over, 150 billion sticks of Wrigley gum were shipped overseas as part of the war effort ...