A question for the REAL old-timers!

[droid714]

I'm no spring chicken myself, I'm 65 years old, but I'm still too young to remember the cards from the 1950's The first cards that I personally collected from packs was the 1962 Topps set. I probably collected about half of the set and I have recollections of a few individual cards.

For example, I distinctly recall having at least two complete Ruth subsets along with a few more doubles. I also specifically recall having a Willie Tasby card, although I haven't the faintest clue if it was the "W" on cap version or the "plain cap" version. I wasn't even aware that there were two variations of the card.

The 1962 set had the "Green Tint" series, yet I have no recollection of ever noticing any green tinted cards, although I was never really looking for them.

Many early sets, (1949 Bowman, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1959 and 1960 Topps) had back color variations. most had cards that were available in both gray or white cardboard; the 1952 set had the black and red backs and the 1953 set had the biographical information printed in either black or white. The 1954 Bowman set had numerous error cards that had the stats corrected in later printings.

Today's collectors are keenly aware of these variations and even pay premiums for some of them.

My question is this: Back in the day, were collectors aware of these differences? Were these variations sold together in the same packs? For example, the first 180 cards of the 1956 Topps set came in both white and gray backs. Were the cards in a pack either all white or all gray or could they be mixed? If you had noticed the differences, were you curious as to why the difference?

I've never heard much said about this subject and I've always been curious about it.

[Leon]

I am not sure of the answers but this thread was moved from a BST area to gather more responses. Good luck in the quest.

[topcat61]

Interesting question. I think it depends on the era in which collector's were collecting cards. Our Hobby Founders probably noticed a lot more than the kids did when it came to error cards.

It's difficult to say for sure who picked up on say, the 1957 Topps Gene Baker error other than the printer. As a printer myself, I know just how many quality-control checks I'd have to do on a sheet and it was at least 6 to make sure I got every color matched up to the key. On the 1952 Topps, the red/black backs were two separate print runs each of the first series and the colors denote this.

I have a sneaking suspicion that rival gum/card companies and the ball players themselves were grabbing card packs in the 40's and 50's just by the amount of Personal Privacy law suits and contract violations there were.

[swarmee]

Are multiple card stock variations available in the same packs? I doubt it, because most of the sets like that were printed in different series, and by different printing houses. So pre-1974, all Topps packs were in series of about 80-100 cards each.

If you wanted to do a study, there are now a preponderance of wax pack ripping videos on YouTube like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6bu-0N6IQg

Just search "Vintage Breaks" and the year and manufacturer to see if there are any videos of packs being broken. Some sets have hundreds of opened packs stored on the net. People that want to try and identify pack sequencing can also watch these videos and learn how they were packed. The company is opening up vintage packs daily on their YouTube or Facebook channel if you want to watch regularly. Although they've now branched out into very new cards as well, so it's not just vintage anymore.

[56Horsehide]

I am 72 and bought my first cards when I was 9 from a really small neighborhood grocery/gas station - way before convenience stores were formed. My board name, "56Horsehide" is based on my first purchases. I was certainly aware there were white and gray back cards but figured it was just the type of paper they printed on. I can not say for sure a certain pack (5 cents) was all gray or all white. I still have all my cards from 56-60.
I often wonder which cards I put in my bike spokes, which I shot at with my BB gun, or what I traded away. Back then card values were not a concern - it was the player or the team.
I still enjoy my childhood cards and have added to my collection over the years. My childhood cards are all identified and such and my family is well aware of which ones they are.
Thanks for the post, it is always fun to enjoy looking back in time.

[BruceinGa]

I just turned 70 and most cards that I bought were 1961 and 1962 Topps. We would go to town and buy 1962 Fleer cards. Every once in awhile some 1959 and 1960 Topps would show up from friends. I would assume that it came from an older brother of one of my friends.

[tedzan]

As avid BB card collectors when we kids, most of us were interested in the players' pictures and the informative bios on the backs of the cards.
Variations in colors, printing errors, etc. didn't phase most of us. For example, the 1952 Topps set was issued in 6 series. The first three series
[#1-80....81-130....131-190] had front and back variations. Here is an example of the Black and Red backs of a first series card. In the Spring
of 1952, as a young kid in Hillside (NJ), I remember getting only Black backs of the first 80 cards in this set. A friend of mine in North Carolina
collecting 1952 Topps 1st series cards got Red backs. This back color change occurred during Topps press runs of their 2nd series cards (which
they printed with Red backs). Circa Summer of 1952, Topps re-printed their 1st Series cards (#1-80) due to the tremendous demand for their
product. This time with Red backs (as cards #81 - 407). You had to be collecting 1952 Topps cards back then to really appreciate how popular
they were that year.

Note the subtle color difference on the front of these two cards. This is true for all 1st series cards.
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TED Z

T206 Reference
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[AustinMike]

Like you, I'm 65. Unfortunately, I can't help with your question very much. I don't recall buying all that many packs of cards. My main collecting dealt with going to the commissary with my mom and picking out which Post cereals to buy. Although there are variations in some of the Post cards, I wasn't aware of them at the time and focused only on whether I had the player's card already or not. I'm sure I probably also had some '63 Jell-Os thrown in the mix but I don't recall if I realized they were different sizes. My wife claims I'm not very observant, I'm sure I was even less so back then.

[Leon]

My wife says I can't hear well. I hear everything well I just don't listen to her . It is called selective hearing. Great stories so far. And to the original question, when we pulled cards from packs as kids, in the late 60s and early 70s I don't ever recall hearing about errors. We just looked for the players we wanted.

Originally Posted by AustinMike

Like you, I'm 65. Unfortunately, I can't help with your question very much. I don't recall buying all that many packs of cards. My main collecting dealt with going to the commissary with my mom and picking out which Post cereals to buy. Although there are variations in some of the Post cards, I wasn't aware of them at the time and focused only on whether I had the player's card already or not. I'm sure I probably also had some '63 Jell-Os thrown in the mix but I don't recall if I realized they were different sizes. My wife claims I'm not very observant, I'm sure I was even less so back then.

[droid714]

I meant to include it in my original question, but does anybody know why they switched between the gray and white stock? My first though was that they simply ran out of one stock and used what was available but if you look more closely, it seems like they planned for the different stock.

For example, in the 1959 and 1960 sets, Topps very clearly alternates the stock by series:

1959

1-110 (110 cards) (White)
111-198 (88 cards) (Gray)
199-286 (88 cards) (White and Gray)
287-374 (88 cards) (Gray)
375-440 (66 cards) (White)
441-506 (66 cards) (Gray)
507-572 (66 cards) (White)

1960

1-110 (110 cards) (White)
111-198 (88 cards) (Gray)
199-286 (88 cards) (White)
287-374 (88 cards) (Gray)
375-440 (66 cards) (White and Gray)
441-506 (66 cards) (Gray)
507-572 (66 cards) (Gray)

Any thoughts?

[Exhibitman]

I've only been collecting since the early 1970s. Back in that time info on errors was word of mouth. It was hobby lore you'd acquire from "talking" with people at "card shows"; alien concepts, I know. And once you knew of a variation you'd hunt them down relentlessly and see how many you could grab up. My first list of variations and errors was in The Complete Book of Baseball Cards vy Steve Clark (1975).

[tachyonbb]

Born in the 40's started collecting in 1955. I used to use any Yankees card as a target for my bb gun and eventually my .22 Must of shot a bunch of mantle cards during my time . Other Yankee cards went between the spokes of my bicycle until i learned how to cut sheet metal which made a much more satisfying sound.
The cards were and education. Living in fly over country and not owning a tv set our only knowledge of the players in the majors came from the cards and the daily paper. I made a notebook with the starting lineup of the Cardinals and their history from the cards. (Omaha was their class "A" western league club until 55 then their "AAA" club in the American Association).
The first set I completed was the 1960 Topps. like many of you, mom threw my collection of 1000's of cards away when i was in college. (She did keep my sophomore English notes from high school in case i would need them in the future.

[insidethewrapper]

As a kid I collected from 1958-1962 and never remember a word being mentioned of errors or variations. Checking off the checklists was the main thing and trying to complete a set.

[insidethewrapper]

Frank: You must have been one of the first in the country to have a Color TV in 1955. Only 3% had a Color TV in 1964 ! That's why The Beatles were in b/w on the Ed Sullivan Show that year.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by tachyonbb

Born in the 40's started collecting in 1955. I used to use any Yankees card as a target for my bb gun and eventually my .22 Must of shot a bunch of mantle cards during my time . Other Yankee cards went between the spokes of my bicycle until i learned how to cut sheet metal which made a much more satisfying sound.
The cards were and education. Living in fly over country and not owning a tv set our only knowledge of the players in the majors came from the cards and the daily paper. I made a notebook with the starting lineup of the Cardinals and their history from the cards. (Omaha was their class "A" western league club until 55 then their "AAA" club in the American Association).
The first set I completed was the 1960 Topps. like many of you, mom threw my collection of 1000's of cards away when i was in college. (She did keep my sophomore English notes from high school in case i would need them in the future.

Many in today's climate could use those notes!

My earliest collecting experiences were in around 1966/7 or so. As previously stated, I don't remember looking for errors but I do remember listening to the Astros on the radio, in the front yard of our sw Houston house, eating sunflower seeds and spitting out the kernels on said front yard. .

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[50sBaseball]

I am 73 and bought wax packs from 1953-1961. In my younger years, I was guided by older brothers, with whom i traded. As a few others have already said, we were mostly interested in who was on the front of the card, and were most interested in players on our favorite teams.
I noticed that card backs were different colors, but so what? I never thought one might be more valuable. I never got a 1958 Topps Frank Herrer error card, but had I done so, I would have felt ripped off...like this card is defective. I remember getting a 6-card pack 1957 Topps pack and all the cards were badly out of focus...I felt cheated by Topps!
Though I did read the backs of cards, and found it interesting who were World War II veterans and the jobs that ballplayers had in the offseason, it was all secondary to who was on the front. Occasionally, we might find an "error" of some sort on the back of the card, but it was no big deal. And we could not easily Google to find out if a birthdate or HR total was wrong. The cards were what they were and we enjoyed them for what they were. Great times!