'08, '41, How About the Most Significant Pre-War Card Year

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Posted By: peter chao

There's a lot of talk about significant baseball years. What are the most significant pre-war baseball card years and which set or sets were issued that year. What was special about the set or sets.

Peter

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Posted By: Brian

One time, at band camp...

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Posted By: Al C.risafulli

I like 1925.

-Al

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Posted By: brian p

I would go with 1933 because of the various gum issues produced that year. If most of the T and E issues from after the turn of the century were issued just one year, instead of a 4 to 5 year span between 1908 and 1912, then I would go with that.

Brian

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Posted By: peter chao

Brian,

Out of the '33 Goudey sets I'm partial to the Sport Kings set. It's a very well done multi-sport set that has stood the test of time.

Peter

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Posted By: Andrew

"One time, at band camp..."

That's frickin fitting and hilarious.

I too would go with '33 as the single most "significant" card year.


"Take your life in your own hands and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame." -- Erica Jong

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

More happened of note in 1884 than any other baseball year in my (do I haveta pretend to be humble again) opinion.

Secondly, the team with the fewest season victorys for the year played in the UA - St. Paul Apostles (record 2-6) Old Judge cards of the following players: Hengle, Werrick, O'Brien, Carroll, Ganzel, Dealey.

C) After setting the current all-time record for long ball futility seven years earlier with zero team home runs for the season, the Chicago White Stockings set the season success record for HRs in 1884 which withstood all challengers until finally overthrown by the 1927 Yankees (ever hear of them?)

Nextly, eight pitchers won 40 or more games (2 had >50 - come on), 13 pitchers had >300Ks (4 had >400 Ks)

And best of all, you can get cards to represent almost all of this.

7th) that ain't all that happened in 1884.

Edited to add:
Of course I am partial to coordinating baseball occurances with the cards which I select. I think that is what this is about, but I recognize that there are other preferences. Such as: Leon just loves the cards (and could possibly not even care about the sport). Burdick may have felt similarly.

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Posted By: Ken McMillan

So Peter, How's that working for you?

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Posted By: Mike

1933 by a mile.

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Posted By: Wesley

1933 or 1909

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Posted By: Bob

Not even close. The great prewar sets: T206, T204 Ramly, E92s Dockman, Croft's Cocoa, Croft's Candy and Nadja Caramels, E101 and E102, E97 Briggs, E90-1, E90-2, E90-3 American Caramel, and T212 Obak.
If I had to pick another it would be 1910 with the M116 Sporting Life, E93, E95, E96, E98, E99, T209 Contentnea, E104, E286 JuJu Drum, T212 Obak, T210 Old Mill, D322 Tip-Top, T215 Red Cross Tobacco and the P2 Sweet Caporal pins.

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Posted By: JK

I agree with tbob - 1909 or 1910 without question.

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Posted By: Pennsylvania Ted

DITTO....to what Gilbert is saying....without a doubt the late 19th Century Tobacco issues are the most significant.
Simply because these are the 1st years of BASE BALL and BB card production....and these issues set a standard.

The Old Judges
Allen & Ginter
Goodwin Champions (my favorite)
Buchner Gold
Mayo Cut Plug
Kimballs
Lone Jack
OK, which have I left out ?

All subsequent issues in the early 20th Century are really great, too....especially the T206's and 1933 Goudey's.....
but, not as significant as the above.

T-Rex TED

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Posted By: Pcelli60

09'..Very important year in the Hobby...

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Posted By: leon

I noticed a comment about me possibly loving the cards and not the sport of baseball. I have said before, and still feel the same way, that there is not a sport I love more than baseball. I still play softball very competitively and grew up playing baseball all my life...through high school. In little league we went to the Texas State All Star finals and stayed in Waco for a whole week. I played every inning of every game and had the second highest batting average in our league. Our regular season team took the championship and I pitched half of every game. I am sure other board memebers have had similar experiences and are/were better ball players..I am only giving my history to show my feelings..... I love baseball. What I don't care for is current major league pro baseball. I will watch it every now and then but probably couldn't name more than 25 players today...I just don't care because of all of the things that have happened and the whiney ass attitudes of the mulitmillionaire babies. I don't begrudge them the money at all as they deserve it. The owners certainly make their share off of them. I just don't like the strikes (which I never got over) and some of the other stuff.... My family and I still go to some local AA games and we love them. I love baseball.....best regards

ps..most significant year(s) in baseball prewar cards....1887 and 1933 imho...

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Posted By: Andrew

Answers will surely differ if a range of years are included, e.g., 1909-1911 versus a single year. Moreover, there's obviously a difference between the most significant card year versus the most significant sport of baseball one. That said, there is no right answer as it's all subjective anyway. I selected 1933, but 1910 and 1887 are damn close.

Also, I'm one of those who loves baseball cards, but the enjoyment of the game has waned as the years go on. As a spectator, football is definitely tops now.

"Take your life in your own hands and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame." -- Erica Jong

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Posted By: peter chao

Guys,

The original question was pretty broad in scope, you've done a good job in narrowing the scope of the question. Thanks.

Peter

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Posted By: JimB

I agree with Bob; 1909-10 must be on the top of the list IMHO. 1887 and 1933 are next.
JimB

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

Leon,
This is the first time I heard you speak of the game. Although now that I think about it, I know that you do go to games (Orkdoolian told me). I feel similarly to the way that you do about current baseball, and don't know most of the players even with a scorecard.
So, as you point out, I was wrong. I apologize if I misled anyone here, and I apologize for making ill informed and poorly thought out statements about you. I should know better. Sheesh, sometimes I wonder about myself.
So a pitcher, huh? My mortal enemy on the diamond. Im glad that you have good memories too.
Gil

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Posted By: Preece1

No question in my mind:

1887

Lone Jacks (likely year of issue)
Old Judge
Four Base Hits
K-Bats(non-NY issues)

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Posted By: peter chao

Old Judge, K-Bats, and Four-Base Hits are some serious cards. But 1933 Goudeys helped pull a country out of a depression. During the depression, Baseball was still America's game, people were still listening to the exploits of Babe Ruth on the radio. The Goudey sets came out just when the country was pulling themselves out of the depression. Goudey produced the second major color sets of the century. Few if any people had color TVs back then. When they saw the Babe Ruth cards in the '33 Goudey Set, it may have been the first time they saw their hero in color.

Peter

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Posted By: leon

The Development of Color Television

A German patent in 1904 contained the earliest recorded proposal for a color television system. In 1925, Zworykin filed a patent disclosure for an all-electronic colour television system. Both of these systems were not successful, however, they were the first for color television. A successful color television system began commercial broadcasting, first authorized by the FCC on December 17, 1953 based on a system designed by RCA.

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Posted By: JK

Peter,

You may want to recheck your history books. The great depression started with the stock market crash in 1929 and was at its worst by 1933. World War II (among other things such as the New Deal legislation) and not Goudeys brought this country out of the depression.

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Posted By: JK

From Encarta (online encyclopedia):

"Great Depression in the United States, worst and longest economic collapse in the history of the modern industrial world, lasting from the end of 1929 until the early 1940s. Beginning in the United States, the depression spread to most of the world’s industrial countries, which in the 20th century had become economically dependent on one another. The Great Depression saw rapid declines in the production and sale of goods and a sudden, severe rise in unemployment. Businesses and banks closed their doors, people lost their jobs, homes, and savings, and many depended on charity to survive. In 1933, at the worst point in the depression, more than 15 million Americans—one-quarter of the nation’s workforce—were unemployed.

. . .

Continuing throughout the 1930s, the depression ended in the United States only when massive spending for World War II began.

The depression produced lasting effects on the United States that are still apparent more than half a century after it ended. It led to the election of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who created the programs known as the New Deal to overcome the effects of the Great Depression. These programs expanded government intervention into new areas of social and economic concerns and created social-assistance measures on the national level."

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Posted By: Mike

I used to be a huge sports fan. Basketball, football, baseball. The players attitudes, and arrogance have left me sick of it all. In my mind at least, baseball is the one sport left, that I like. I can't imagine ever detesting it, like I detest the other big 2. If you bought my tickets, gave me a ride, and paid me $500, I wouldn't go to a pro basketball game. I hate it. The fact that we have the Timberwolves, has nothing to do with it. I hate all the teams. I had Vikings season tickets for 8 years. You couldn't pay me enough to go see that bunch of clowns. And it isn't their poor play that I hate. I hate the law breaking, big mouth, drinking bunch of pigs that they are. I still like baseball, but the players are chewing away at that love as well. The Twins are at Yankee stadium this week. During the Star Spangled banner, Jeter was blowing bubbles with his gum, talking and not paying attention to anything. Like he was above it all. What a complete piece of crap he is. Rude, arrogant, and self centered. I still like baseball, but I hope it doesn't turn into a garbage sport like the rest.

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Posted By: peter chao

Guys, I apologize for overstating the case for 1933 Goudeys. Let me simply say it was a cheap form of entertainment during the height of the depression. That is enough to make it special.

Peter