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.




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.




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.




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.






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.




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.