Discussion about Diamonds stars.

[Rookiemonster]

Hey, I have a few questions about this set. I search the archives and got a few answers. I did not find as much information about the set as I thought. A lot of sets even obscure sets seem to get a lot of attention. I see people post images of advertising material and original packages or old articles about the these card.
Is this set not popular?

Well I’ve picked up a few. I really like this set. The images, the size , the player selection all of it really calls to me.

I have a few questions

1) do theses cards vary in size? ( idk if I bought a trimmed card or if that’s normal)

2) how did theses card come? With gum ? 1cent packs?

3) being in the depression era Who was buying theses cards?

4) why no Ruth or Gehrig?

5) why didn’t they make the 240 of theses card that it says on the back?

I probaly have more but let’s get this thread going! Post some stuff if you have it and let’s show this set some LOVE!

[seanofjapan]

To me that is the best set of the 1930s - the design and artwork on the cards perfectly capture the feel of the era. Even the lack of Gehrig and Ruth enhances its appeal in a way since it makes it more affordable.

Not sure about the answer to all of those questions, I believe the company went bankrupt before being able to issue all the cards in answer to #5. Ruth and Gehrig might have been intended for those unissued cards, or maybe Goudey had them under exclusive contract? I'm sure a google search will turn up answers to that.

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by Rookiemonster

Hey, I have a few questions about this set. I search the archives and got a few answers. I did not find as much information about the set as I thought. A lot of sets even obscure sets seem to get a lot of attention. I see people post images of advertising material and original packages or old articles about the these card.
Is this set not popular?

Well I’ve picked up a few. I really like this set. The images, the size , the player selection all of it really calls to me.

I have a few questions

1) do theses cards vary in size? ( idk if I bought a trimmed card or if that’s normal)

2) how did theses card come? With gum ? 1cent packs?

3) being in the depression era did who was buying theses cards?

4) why no Ruth or Gehrig?

5) why didn’t they make the 240 of theses card that it says on the back?

I probaly have more but let’s get this thread going! Post some stuff if you have it and let’s show this set some LOVE!

Hi Dustin

#1....These cards do vary in size.

#2....With gum....shown here is a 1-cent wrapper.

#3....The "depression era" had no affect on BB card collecting.

#4....No Ruth or Gehrig because the GOUDEY Gum Co. had the rights to these players.

#5....The GOUDEY's, PLAY BALL's, and the DIAMOND STAR's were printed on 24-card sheets.
The National Chicle Co. had intended to compete with the 1933 GOUDEY set (240 cards).




TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[keating3620]

my dad was buying these as a kid. I still have his beaters. They are the pride of my collection.

[Rookiemonster]

Thank for the responses ! Ted I have one that is a bit smaller and have two that smell like gum. Idk if anyone else has noticed but I think the commons went up in price. I was buying commons from 7 to 12 each a year ago. I just started to pick up some and they all seem to be 20 or more. That wrapper is awesome! What are these etched wonder photos ?

[trdcrdkid]

Dustin --

Here are a couple of articles from the 1970s that I posted here, written by people who collected baseball cards as a kid in the 1930s. The first one is specifically about 1933 Goudey, but the second one does mention R327 (Diamond Stars), and both of them will give you an idea of what collecting was like back then. The cards were all sold in penny packs of gum and aimed at kids.

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=219310

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=219683

[Chris Counts]

3) being in the depression era did who was buying theses cards?

If you look back at the Depression, it wasn't simply a crash and a recovery. By 1933, when the Goudeys came out, the economy was looking better. But it dipped again in 1937, and there are barely any cards in 1937 and 1938. But there was a revival in cards in 1939, just as the economy was getting rolling again.

5) why didn’t they make the 240 of theses card that it says on the back?

If you do a Google search, it's not too difficult to find images of a later series of Diamond Stars that was never released. Just type in "1937 Diamond Stars." It appears National Chicle had plans for a bigger set.

[rjackson44]

think they are terrific

[Rookiemonster]

Thanks for the for the articles David. Chris I just googled to see what the inflation on 1 cent would be and it’s 19 cents in 2018. I guess a penny wasn’t what I thought I was back then. I have seen the 1937 diamond star reprints . I also seen the uncut sheet. They look different from the rest of the set. I wonder what this set would have been if they kept on making them.
Did the packs look the same every year?

[trdcrdkid]

Originally Posted by Rookiemonster

Did the packs look the same every year?

Here is a gallery of all the known gum baseball card wrappers from the 1930s through 1950s. Diamond Stars wrappers are near the middle under "National Chicle". They had a variety of different wrappers, but it looks like the differences don't correspond to different years.

http://www.oldcardboard.com/r/r-wrappers.asp

[CMIZ5290]

These cards are a great alternative to the much higher Goudeys......

[clydepepper]

My favorite Diamond Stars card:

1935 Diamond Stars MEL OTT PSA-8.jpg

[jbsports33]

Always liked this set - colorful and full of great players and versions

Design is one of the best pre-war issues, does not get enough credit - more or less due to having no Ruth or Gehrig

My first card from this set was Jimmie Foxx!

Good Luck Collecting!

Jimmy

[T206Collector]

Originally Posted by Rookiemonster

What are these etched wonder photos?

I, too, am curious. Does anybody know?

[leaflover]

My favorite is Urbanski with steel mills in the background.

[ValKehl]

The best looking Diamond Star and my favorite, of course.

[Brian Van Horn]

Originally Posted by ValKehl

The best looking Diamond Star and my favorite, of course.

Val,

I never knew you were a Cleveland Indians fan! Why didn't you go to Strongsville?

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by Brian Van Horn

Val,

I never knew you were a Cleveland Indians fan! Why didn't you go to Strongsville?

Brian, I would have been an Indians fan when WaJo managed them for parts of 1933 & 1935 and all of 1934, which was Sam Rice's last year and the only year he played for Cleveland. WaJo led the Indians to a 3rd place finish in 1934 with an 85 - 69 record.

I'm getting too old to drive to Strongsville, especially since I'll be driving to Ohio in June to attend a wedding and to Cleveland at the end of July to attend the National.

[kailes2872]

Between Tattoo Orbits, Diamond Stars, Delongs, and Goudey's the mid-30's were awesome for card collectors.

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by kailes2872

Between Tattoo Orbits, Diamond Stars, Delongs, and Goudey's the mid-30's were awesome for card collectors.

No love for the George C. MIllers and R328 U.S. Caramels?

[Rookiemonster]

I truly like the Hal Trosky !
The color the catcher and the umpire. Really cool stuff !

The Rolfe also has a umpire in the background and some kind a factory. Also
You get what looks like the Yankees left fielder.

Carl Hubbell in all his glory relaxing in the polo grounds . He even has some hat swag.

[SAllen2556]

I recently discovered that the building behind Tommy Bridges is the actual Fisher Building in Detroit. I always thought the backgrounds in this set were generic. Pretty cool!

50157.jpg
images.jpeg

[Rookiemonster]

Originally Posted by SAllen2556

I recently discovered that the building behind Tommy Bridges is the actual Fisher Building in Detroit. I always thought the backgrounds in this set were generic. Pretty cool!

Attachment 313877
Attachment 313876

Wow that is cool! I always assumed the backs generic as well. That’s a good find !

[rhettyeakley]

Originally Posted by T206Collector

I, too, am curious. Does anybody know?

We know them as R311's. They were given to retailers along with the regular cards and handed to the redeemer of 15 wrappers/coupons...


Not my piece but I had saved this image some time ago.

[Rookiemonster]

Originally Posted by rhettyeakley

We know them as R311's. They were given to retailers along with the regular cards and handed to the redeemer of 15 wrappers/coupons...


Not my piece but I had saved this image some time ago.

They don’t look Etched. All the R311 say 1936 but I thought the wrappers were from 1934 to 1936. Did they only give the premiums out in 1936?

[rhettyeakley]

The R311’s are a multi year issue that paralleled the Diamond Stars cards. As you can see above the envelope is dated 1935. They added new premiums over the years and the later added premiums are harder to find and likely correspond to the high numbers and the 1936 issues. About half the R311 set is really easy to find while the others are hard.

Later wrappers dropped the “etched” title and even included checklists of the available players. Not sure what they did in 1934 as nearly all the teams are dated 1935 or so but perhaps they had just single players that year. There is also the leather versions of R311 as well but the teams are also dated later so not sure in 1934.

[Rookiemonster]

Originally Posted by rhettyeakley

The R311’s are a multi year issue that paralleled the Diamond Stars cards. As you can see above the envelope is dated 1935. They added new premiums over the years and the later added premiums are harder to find and likely correspond to the high numbers and the 1936 issues. About half the R311 set is really easy to find while the others are hard.

Later wrappers dropped the “etched” title and even included checklists of the available players. Not sure what they did in 1934 as nearly all the teams are dated 1935 or so but perhaps they had just single players that year. There is also the leather versions of R311 as well but the teams are also dated later so not sure in 1934.

Thanks for the clarification on this set. I did notice that the Bill Terry card looks the same in both sets.