1946 Cleveland Browns "Sears" Team Set

[steve B]

That's really interesting.

The Yonakor is typographed for sure. You can see what's called squeezeout on the union logo. The inked type while printing under pressure pushes some ink out to the edges, making what appears like an outline to the printed area. If they used enough pressure there will be indentations in the cardstock. And the halftone is typical for typographed pictures.

The others are probably lithographed.
And the diagonal screen is odd, I tried looking it up, and the first thing I found was a patent from 1895 claiming the diagonal only screen produces poor results.
What's interesting is that it looks like the diagonal screen reproduced the picture much better, but did a terrible job at reproducing the union logo.

I think both are probably ok. (Not totally sure, but close) Because the diagonal screen is finer than the halftone. I'd think that if it was rescreened from an original it would show the halftone pattern. It doesn't, so if it was done as a fake or reprint whoever did it probably had access to the original photos.

Do the book pictures match the PSA cards? Reprints also usually have cropping differences.

How many players in the book? I'm wondering if Yonakor came with the book, or was a promotional item for the set. Something like the book and card available from the station or stores in advance of the set, then the set given out later, maybe one or two a week? That would maybe tie in with another promotion, in-store appearances or something like that. Checking the online newspaper archives might turn up some info, but the post dispatch only has back to 1988 online and all the others are membership things.

Of course, if you're in or near St Louis the library or historical society probably has them on microfilm for free.

Steve B

[jp1216]

Steve -

Thanks for the reply. Always looking for insight like that!

First, these are the CLEVELAND Browns. Not St. Louis. But worth looking at old newspaper etc ads.

The '46 Sears team booklet has about 33 or so players included. Yes, Yonakor is in there using the same picture. Same union print logo on the back of the booklet. In between the clarity of the PSA 'authenticated' set and the new Yonakor card. Blotched and hard to make out.

During the '46 season, the same 33 or so players appeared in game programs. All but a couple used the same image. No mention of the same union printing company in these game programs, but near the back there is an advertisement and store front picture for a local printing company that refers to itself as 'The official printing company of the Cleveland Browns'. But over the years - times change. The address given is now a near downtown nightclub (gay bar to be exact). Store front hasn't changed in 100 years, but the inside has.

My feeling is that the original 8 card set is due to 8 cards fitting on a sheet. A couple uncut sheets from the same original seller have been sold at auction in the past 5 or so years. Maybe more players were printed on different sheets??? HOFers Motley and Willis were black players. Could've been on a sheet with Yonakor and not widely produced. Lou Groza should've had a card too.

I'll try to do some better picture comparisons between the PSA, Yonakor, booklet etc. I also have saved pictures of another 8 card '46 Browns set that closely matches this Yonakor card. Notice the 2nd line on the front beginning with 'away..'

Thanks for the insight guys!

[jp1216]

Picture of uncut sheet:



Picture of Yonakor from the '46 Sears Booklet:



Union Print Logo from the back of the Sears Booklet:



'46 Game Program showing Yonakor:

[jp1216]

Picture of another 8 card set. Same images once used by Beckett.com for reference. Today, no images appear. Odd.
Archived Google pictures of Beckett show these cards. The fronts and backs do match the Yonakor. Sept. vs. Sep. etc.
Note the second line of text beginning with 'away'. The Yonakor card better matches this set vs. the PSA 'authenticated' ones.

[jp1216]

Front/Back of the archived Beckett.com image for Dante Lavelli.
Better match to the Yonakor than the PSA 'authenticated' sets. Front placement of words and back abbreviations.



vs.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by jp1216

Steve -



First, these are the CLEVELAND Browns. Not St. Louis. But worth looking at old newspaper etc ads.

DOH!

I plead that it's almost baseball season

Steve B

[jp1216]

Just a bump for May.
Saw one of those Sears Booklets sold on eBay tonight for over $130! AAFC collecting is strong.

[jefferyepayne]

Originally Posted by jp1216

Just a bump for May.
Saw one of those Sears Booklets sold on eBay tonight for over $130! AAFC collecting is strong.

Wow, great collectible. Sorry I missed the auction!

ejff

[jp1216]

Jeff (and others) -
With the 2015 National right around the corner - Good luck with those attending and please be on the look out for AAFC (especially Browns) items. Happy Hunting.

A great question in regards to Willis and Motley. Though a popular previous player of Paul Brown, Marion Motley may have been left out of the set due to his vehicular homicide conviction in 1940. Or the more obvious reason.....

Is there any card of Willis prior to 1980's?

[bcbgcbrcb]

Willis appears in the 1977 Touchdown Club set, his earliest known individual card.

[TanksAndSpartans]

Motley has long been one of my favorite players (this goes back to when I was a kid and read about him - I picked up a library book about football and read his chapter - it was my first exposure to NFL history and I never forgot it).

The only source I've ever found on the vehicular homicide conviction is from a writer named Dan Daly - the book is called "The National forgotten league". I never read it, but excerpts were published for promotional reasons and can be found online. I suspect there are some good stories in there, but I guess personally I wasn't excited about it because the Motley part has a bit too much of a tabloid feel to it. The story explains that Motley tried to pass a car by driving into the opposite lane and crashed head on into an oncoming car. I believe it was nighttime and that's about the extent of the details provided.

I had found the exclusion of Motley and Willis suspicious and disappointing, but in fairness, I think 1946 was the AAFC's first season. Otto Graham was a star at Northwestern and drafted by the Lions, but beyond him, not sure anyone else could've been projected to be a star before the season started.

P.S. On a brighter note, this was a great thread to read - I wasn't here the first time around, and this was a set I always found interesting since it arguably contains "rookie" cards of Graham and Dante Lavelli.

P.S.S. Speaking of AAFC collectables, there isn't anything on Spec Sanders, right?