Posted By:
David SmithHello all,
As I told Lyman on the phone when we were discussing my Buddy Myer card (the latest addition to the checklist), I bought all of my Star Player Candy cards (16) at one time. It was at a paper show and this dealer was the only one with vintage baseball cards.
The cards were in a binder with other trade cards and the like. When I saw the SPC's, I didn't know what they were. The cards were priced at $4 and $5 dollars a piece and being in college at the time, I didn't have a lot of money to spend recklessly. I am pretty sure I saw a Ruth and Gehrig among the cards but not knowing if they were real, I didn't pounce.
I walked quickly out to my car and looked through the Big Sports Collectors Digest price guide until I found the Star Player Candy cards. When I saw how much the cards wre worth and how rare they were, I RAN back into the show to buy the cards. When I got there, my 16 cards were all that was left. The Ruth and Gehrig were gone.
The Ruth and Gehrig COULD have been 1929 issues but I believe they were 1928's. I say this because if they were 1929's, the fronts would have looked different (the pictures seem smaller on the 1929's) and they would have had writing on the back. The player write-ups would have helped me narrow down the year of issue and I would have been able to find them in the big book quicker.
I believe that a non-collector bought the Ruth and Gehrig because in my group of 16, there were three Hall of Fame players; Joe Sewell, Harold Traynor and Tris Speaker. Anyone knowledgable about baseball would have known Tris Speaker, along with Ruth and Gehrig and would have bought him too.
So, I think someone who knew who Ruth and Gehrig were saw the cards and the names and looked at the prices and said, "I know these two guys and I will gamble $10 dollars (maybe a little more because they could have been priced higher) on them. I know if it were my Mom, she would have done something like that. She wouldn't have known the other players, even Tris Speaker, but she would have known Ruth and Gehrig and would have gambled $10 or $20 dollars on them being authentic cards.
I can't wait to see the article and read what info is in there.
David