World Wide Gum Vs. Goudey

[ChiSoxTony]

Hi, all. I’m a white Sox fan and, among other things, I collect Luke Appling and Ted Lyons cards. In doing so, I’m beginning to learn about the World Wide Gum 1933 and 1934 issues. They seem to be much rarer than their Goudey counterparts. I recently picked up this Lyons and am interested to hear some other collectors thoughts on the WWG cards. Thanks in advance.



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[CardPadre]

They seem great, I'd love to pick up some WWG Ruths someday. I think most have two versions for backs, the bilingual and the English-only. The backs of the English-only are less common I think and look really similar to the standard Goudey backs.

[ruth-gehrig]

Still hope to be able to get this WWG back some day

[packs]

Here's my Babe:

[cgjackson222]

I feel like WWG 1934 Ruths and other cards are a relative bargain compared to their 1933 Goudey counterparts given than they are rarer and tend to sell for significantly less.

There is a nice write up on the history of Goudey and World Wide Gum cards on the blog Pre-War Cards by the way: https://prewarcards.com/2018/12/24/g...th-1930s-1933/

[ChiSoxTony]

Thanks, everyone. I keep reading that the 1933 WWG cards have both English and English/French backs, but it is unclear if an individual WWG card can be found with BOTH backs or if the backs just vary within the set. Does anyone know?


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[brianp-beme]

I believe, and according to this great article on the SABR site from Net54 member Jason, the 1933 and 1934 World Wide Gum sets have both English and English/French cards for each card.

https://sabrbaseballcards.blog/2019/...n-goudey-code/


Brian

[ChiSoxTony]

Originally Posted by brianp-beme

I believe, and according to this great article on the SABR site from Net54 member Jason, the 1933 and 1934 World Wide Gum sets have both English and English/French cards for each card.

https://sabrbaseballcards.blog/2019/...n-goudey-code/


Brian

GREAT info. Thank you, Brian.


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[packs]

I paid just over $500 for my Ruth at the time and it came at a steep discount to the Goudey back then. I think the Goudey was going for around $1,000 and was too rich for my blood.

[BabyRuth]

These seem like bargains compared to their Goudey counterparts.

[jimtodd]

Here's my only Ruth. Got it for $750 in 2019.

[brianp-beme]

In Jason's article I linked, he had various theories about the English only and the French/English backs. Of the three theories put forward I like the third one the best:

French-English was produced for areas with large francophone populations (Quebec, New Brunswick) while English was produced for predominantly anglophone areas.

In my opinion this makes sense because of the placement of the French writeup on top, and the English below. This French/English version also would have likely been produced after the English version, as suggested by one of his other theories, based upon the need to translate the English text.

worldwidegum33gehrig 002 (531x640).jpg

I do like the French/English versions. On Lou's 1933 card his writeup just sounds so sophisticated and exotic in French. My favorite line is "Quel frappeur!" which is written as "What a hitter!" in the language more of us know. Also in French it sounds like a seasonal drink at Starbucks, which of course would be ordered as "I would like a Venti size Quel Frappeur with almond milk, extra whip please."


Brian

[Stampsfan]

All WWG cards across the sphere that have both English Only and Bi-lingual backs (hockey, baseball, and non-sport) are that way for all cards. I have yet to see or read about any that were only printed with one type of backs.

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by Stampsfan

All WWG cards across the sphere that have both English Only and Bi-lingual backs (hockey, baseball, and non-sport) are that way for all cards. I have yet to see or read about any that were only printed with one type of backs.

Thanks...good to know, and from a trusted within the hobby AND north of the border source.

Brian

[ChiSoxTony]

Originally Posted by Stampsfan

All WWG cards across the sphere that have both English Only and Bi-lingual backs (hockey, baseball, and non-sport) are that way for all cards. I have yet to see or read about any that were only printed with one type of backs.

Now I definitely need to find a WWG English-only back Lyons card and, if it exists, an English-only back 1934 Appling. If anyone has either to sell, reach out to me.


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[Tom S.]

According to the Standard Catalog of Vintage Baseball Cards, the 1933 WWG cards were printed with either an English only or a French/English reverse. The 1934 cards only came with a bilingual back.

Here are my examples:

[brianp-beme]

Curse me...I should stick to cards produced south of the Canada/United States border. But I still should have known that the 1934 WWG set only comes with the French/English back.

Bilingual only does make sense for the 1934 WWG set...those Canadians had plenty of time to translate the English text, since the first 48 cards in the 96 card 1934 World Wide Gum set (numbers 1 to 48) are from the 1933 Goudey set, while the second group of 48 cards (numbers 49 to 96) are card numbers 1-48 in the 1934 Goudey set. Perhaps in 1934 they determined they could issue just the bilingual version for the whole country, and easily translate the first 48 1934 Goudey cards after their production.

Brian

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by ruth-gehrig

Still hope to be able to get this WWG back some day

looks a lot like the 7 we sold last year.

[JimC]

Some us us were commenting recently that the colors on the 34 WW Gum Ruth seem brighter than on the 33 Goudey 53. I know the paper stock is different. Has anyone else noticed the color difference or explained it?

[Spike]

My impression's that sports agent Christy Walsh (who represented Lou, Babe, and many others) wanted Gehrig and Chuck Klein as his on-card stars for 1934 Goudey. Walsh might've asked for too much money for Ruth to appear on American cards, so Goudey left him off their domestic 1934 Big League Gum. World Wide Gum, on the other hand, used Ruth in 1933 and 34, so either had a more affordable license or Canadian law gave them more latitude to reuse the Babe's image. This image shows a 1933 WWG sheet with three Ruths, so they took full advantage of what they had! I also wrote about the relationship between Goudey & WWG a few years ago: https://www.number5typecollection.co...an-goudey.html

[Lordstan]

Here is my Gehrig 33.

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[robw1959]

My goodness! That right-most vertical strip is so amazing with two Ruths, a Gehrig, and Jimmy Foxx.

[pro9]

Originally Posted by brianp-beme

I believe, and according to this great article on the SABR site from Net54 member Jason, the 1933 and 1934 World Wide Gum sets have both English and English/French cards for each card.

https://sabrbaseballcards.blog/2019/...n-goudey-code/


Brian

Can somebody please show me a 1934 WWG card with an English only back. Ideally one from the first 48 and one from the 2nd 48.

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by pro9

Can somebody please show me a 1934 WWG card with an English only back. Ideally one from the first 48 and one from the 2nd 48.

I momentarily fell under the powerfully hypnotic sway of one of your fellow Canadians, but I righted myself (see post # 17) and now disavow all 1934 World Wide Gum English only sentiments I foolishly expressed earlier.

Having said that, if they do exist, I would like to see them as well.


Brian

[tjisonline]

Great thread. Despite living in America, I’ve been buying Canadian Cards for as long as I can remember. It started in the 1980s with hockey. When I got back into the hobby in 2018, I went straight for O-Pee-Chee. Shortly after, I learned about World Wide Gum. Here is my ‘33 Morris (Moe) Berg. Baseball’s version of an odd James Bond-lite

I also own a ‘33 Goudey Berg. Both can be seen in my 1st YouTube video.
https://youtu.be/ELv9l2EALnI?si=XyNEXCCx4vZ8CJTc

[Yoda]

The English only backs are surprisingly rare, given that they were produced first and followed up by the bilingual version to keep collectors happy in Quebec. Canada, of course, has 2 national languages. I have only seen a couple, so they do exist.

[rhettyeakley]

The one aspect of the WWG cards that hurts them is that the colors on the cards themselves tend yto have a more muted color tone than their (typically) more vibrant Goudey cousins. It is usually pretty obvious when you have them side by side.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by rhettyeakley

The one aspect of the WWG cards that hurts them is that the colors on the cards themselves tend yto have a more muted color tone than their (typically) more vibrant Goudey cousins. It is usually pretty obvious when you have them side by side.

I know you said "tend to" but I certainly don't think it's a safe generalization. This was much more colorful than the Goudeys we've had of the same card.

[rhettyeakley]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

I know you said "tend to" but I certainly don't think it's a safe generalization. This was much more colorful than the Goudeys we've had of the same card.

There are certainly exceptions to the rule, 100% true!

That being said, having had nearly both sets (minus Lajoie) in the past you can almost get the point where you can tell by the front if you are holding a Goudey vs WWG after a while just by the color.

The WWG are criminally underpriced imo, great set and much tougher to find.

[brunswickreeves]

I love the WWG issue, being in 2 languages adds a unique aspect to the card and maybe inspired kids to pick up French as the cards circulated the US market.