Mastro Wins???

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Posted By: warshawlaw

That's a really nice card.

But Mastro's description is still wrong. Other cards in the set prove it, as nearly all are athletes and others whose heydeys were the 1924 Olympics and/or 1924 championships. A few examples:

Yakima Canutt: Inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame of the Rodeo Historical Society (a support group of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum) in 1975. 1917, 1919-1920 & 1923 World All-Around Rodeo Champion. In 1924 he started working in films, playing bits, stunting, and finally starring (albeit in incredibly cheap independent oaters such as 1927's The Iron Rider). Source: Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia, http://www.us.imdb.com/name/nm0134831/bio

Charles Jewtraw: Jewtraw was the first athlete ever to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. He won the 500-meter speed skating championship, the first event at the 1924 "Olympic winter carnival" in France, which was approved by the International Olympic Committee. He was the national outdoor champion in 1921 and 1923. Source: http://www.hickoksports.com/history/speedskatehof.shtml (National Speed Skating Hall Of Fame)

Edward Gourdin: A standout track athlete at his high school in Florida, Edward (Ned) Gourdin attracted national attention as a long jumper. He broke the World mark in 1921 with a jump of 25-foot-3. That same year, Gourdin won the pentathlon of the National Amateur Athletic Union. He won first place in three events: the broad jump, the javelin throw and the 200-meter dash. Following a successful collegiate career, Gourdin competed in the 1924 Olympic Games in France. He captured a silver medal in the running broad jump. Source: ivyleaguesports.com

Jack Dempsey: Listed as world chamion on the card, he was defeated by Gene Tunney in 1926 and by the early 1930s was retired in all but name. The championship, meanwhile, had passed through multiple hands. I also recognize the Dempsey image as one from a photo shoot that ended up being used on two of his 1925 Exhibit cards.

By 1932, when this series of cards is alleged to have been issued, Exhibit Supply Co was already onto a 1932 set of champions in a different format. It is not likely that they would have printed two such sets.

Finally, if you look at the Ruth card itself, he is wearing a pre-1925 uniform, which is fine except that Exhibits of Ruth had the correct (navy cap) uniform for Ruth for several years before this issue's supposed date.

The 2006 SCD big book will have a corrected description of the card, so if you plan to have it slabbed, you may want to go with the earlier date so you don't have to resubmit.