Bulgaria Babe Ruth is not as Eastern European as I thought
 

Sometimes you figure out something that you feel the need to pass along. For years I have assumed, like probably some of us, that the 1932 Bulgaria Sport Babe Ruth card was issued in Bulgaria. I always found that dang odd...Bulgaria is not known (as far as I know) for producing sports cards. Looking closer at the back recently I noted that although these cards were issued by Bulgaria Zigarettan, the city named on the card is Dresden (Germany).

Not only that, but the card also features German boxing legend Max Schmeling, and to top it off the write-up appears to be German. I do not ever remembering reading a description of these cards indicating that they are actually from Germany.

Just thought I would pass this tidbit along, in case you have previously avoided this card due to unpleasant encounters involving unibrow sporting Bulgarians in the past.

Brian (card nor unibrow Bulgarian opinion are necessarily mine)

I own one of the cards, and always thought it was a German issue, but didn't understand the Bulgaria reference. I figured maybe it was distributed in Bulgaria, but the pictures were supplied by the parent company in Germany. Since I don't speak German, I couldn't really figure it out.

Which begs the questions as to why in the world a German company would put Babe Ruth on a card in 1932. Can't believe that was particularly meaningful to most Germans.

They didn't and it wasn't; they put Max Schmeling on a great many cards back in the day because he was the only German to hold the undisputed heavyweight title. Ruth was the sidekick on this one. There were a ton of ciggie card makers around Dresden and they all put Schmeling into sport, celebrity and entertainment (his wife was an actress) sets.

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...meling%201.jpg
http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...0Schmeling.jpg
http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...edonia%201.JPG
http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...-Ondra%201.jpg

A more fluent speaker can provide a better translation than an on-line programme, but it's something like this:

Schmeling and Babe Ruth
The baseball unknown with us is the popular sportsman, the baseball king
beyond the ocean, who enjoys annually 100,000 dollars, as large an income
as the President of the United States. Here Max Schmeling admires Babe Ruth
at a baseball game in Ohio; of course the photographers have given us this
"historical" event.

Bulgaria Sport
3 1/3 Pfg.-Cigarette
Album RM.1. - in the cigarettes-store or by stamps
directly through Bulgaria Cigarettes-factory, Dresden A.21

Here is an American (post)card with Schmeling and Ruth:

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...0Taub%20PC.jpg

Thanks Butch for the translation. You can still be comfortable in most parts of U.S. enjoying annually 100,000 dollars.

And Adam is correct, Babe Ruth would have been the side attraction for the German market. Note the top billing on the back of the card - Schmeling und Babe Ruth, and the fact that Max is only identified by his last name.

Brian

As long as we're talking about baseball in Europe did you guys know that in the Netherlands they call baseball HONKBALL?

During the Soviet Era, Dresden was part of Eastern Europe-- Eastern Germany.

Ruth and Schmeling
 

Illustrated here is the page in the 119-page 1932 Sanella Album with the Babe Ruth card.

http://photos.imageevent.com/tedzan7...abeRuth25x.jpg




Another page in this album features Max Schmeling and Jack Sharkey in New York City in 1932 (Sharkey won).

http://photos.imageevent.com/tedzan7...Sharkey25x.jpg




TED Z
.

Back then it was a surprise that a ballplayer made as much as the US president. How times have changed...

I actually worked with a German collector to put the PSA checklist together for their population report. I have a complete set+ that I am very slowly grading. the little bit I have is on the registry along with the story of me helping put the set composite together.

Other Americans in the set are Walter Hagen, and Charles Lindbergh, Another famous athlete of the period is figure skater Sonia Henie. There are also cards for national teams in various sports as well as cards just about a given sport in general, kind of a fascinating set that I got into by accident.