Lionel Carter on 1949 Leaf baseball in 1960

[trdcrdkid]

In May 1957, Lionel Carter wrote a column for Sport Fan on postwar gum baseball cards, including the 1949 Leaf cards. He wrote that 49 cards were known in the skip-numbered set, and he listed their numbers; I haven't checked, but I assume that these are the 49 relatively common cards in that set. The other 49 cards, the ones that are much scarcer, were apparently unknown to the hobby in 1957.

In the January-February 1960 issue of Sport Fan, Carter had another column about 1949 Leaf baseball, announcing the discovery of 33 previously unknown cards in the set, to go with 8 others that had been discovered since 1957. That made 85 cards known in the set as of 1960. I'm not sure when the other 14 were discovered, but I remember seeing an article by Dick Reuss about how he had discovered a previously unknown one, I think in the late 1960s. I know there were other articles about 1949 Leaf baseball published later in the 60s, and when I have more time I'll look them up and see what I can find.

[Leon]

Nice article. His first sentence still rings true today. We never know what will pop up next. It keeps it exciting.