Mystery's of the 1933 Goudey set....and, show us your Goudey's

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by tedzan

Imagine you are in a Time Machine that transports you back to the Spring of 1933. Kids (and older) collectors were very excited with the Goudey Gum cards.
You could get colorful cards of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmy Foxx, Dizzy Dean, etc. But, trying to put together a set of these cards became quite frustrating
because certain lower numbered cards were not available. By the end of the Summer of 1933 you diligently put together a set of 191 different subjects. Plus,
tons of duplicates as the result of spending lots of pennies trying to acquire the missing lower # cards (precisely 22 cards). In September Goudey issued their
9th sheet of cards (#s 214 - 231, and 97, 98, 99, 128, 129, 142). Finally, six of the mysterious lower numbered cards were available. So, 16 more to go.

That brings us to the World Series sheet. The 10th sheet was printed in mid October, the cards were issued in November 1933. The bios on the backs of them
reflect the 1933 World Series between the NY Giants and Washington. From my set, I have arranged these cards to exactly simulate this 24-card sheet..........








This diagram of the sheet tells the story when the remaining 15 (of the 16) mysterious lower numbered cards where finally issued.





And, of course #106 (Lajoie) was issued in the Summer of 1934 to finally complete this 240-card set.

T'was a clever marketing trick that Goudey played in order to sell a lot of cards in 1933......but, it was also a "mean" trick on the collectors.

This Show-n-Tell will hopefully spark some interesting discussion regarding this great Goudey set. Show us some your "oldies-but-goodies" Goudey's.


TED Z
.

I always liked the look of most of the artwork of the 1933 Goudey cards without the red advertising bar at the bottom, like the cards in the re-creation of the World Series sheet shown by Ted. For such a large set the 1933 Goudey were surprisingly error-free (the only change to the set that I know occurred with card #6 Dykes, which has his age corrected on the back bio write-up).

But they did make a change which makes the set not quite as consistent stylistically as, for example, the Cracker Jack sets. I always wondered what the reason was to drop the red bar, which occurred prior to the issuance of the World Series cards. I personally like both versions, but I can see where some collectors might wince at the difference.

Brian

[tedzan]

This pose of Rogers Hornsby is one of my favorite cards in this Goudey set.

Gee guys, am I the only one on this forum with 1933 Goudeys ?

I don't think so, so let us see some of your favorite cards.


TED Z
.

[clydepepper]

More Great Stuff, Ted!

Very Much Appreciated!


Here's the Goudeys I have scans of:

BABE RUTH 1933 Goudey #144 - SGC-70.jpg

BABE RUTH 1933 Goudey #149 - SGC-55.jpg

1933 Goudey BILL TERRY PSA7.jpg

1934 Goudey LOU GEHRIG 37 PSA-5.jpg

1934 Goudey Lou Gehrig no 61 PSA-5.jpg

1933 GOUDEY HERB PENNOCK PSA-8.jpg

1933 Goudey - Tom Zachary PSA-6.jpg

[buymycards]

Hi Ted, I love the 33's. It is difficult to pick a favorite because they are all so interesting. I have about 20 lower grade commons. At one time I was putting the set together and I was up to 108. I sold them and I wish I still had them.

Thank you for the interesting history lesson.

Rick

[Leon]

I need more Goudeys....

[Billy5858]

Originally Posted by Leon

I need more Goudeys....

This card would surely be a PWCC (HE) and sell for double the SMR like they have recently been doing.

[flyingdutchman09]

Beautiful card, Leon.

[tedzan]

Baseball records "come-n-go......but, one still standing is Hack Wilson's single-season RBI record.

The 1930 season was magical for him...... BA= .356....HR= 56....RBI= 191






TED Z
.

[brianp-beme]

A picture is worth a thousand (divided by approximately 8) cards. Slice and Dice 'em, which gets rid of that red advertising bar at bottom, then Rack and Stack 'em for a little artistic flair. A few 1934 cards thrown in as ballast.

Brian

[brianp-beme]

Examples of my least favorite 1933 Goudey cards are the ones that include heavy, dark outlining around the player's image. Examples of this would be the Walberg, Farrell and to a lesser degree Mahaffey as seen in Rick's scan of his Goudey cards. They have always thrown my eye off. I guess not all cards within the set can be perfect.

Brian

[tiger8mush]

Thanks for the timeline info, Ted. Neat to read!

I pick up a cheap Goudey every so often ...

[Shoebox]

Originally Posted by tedzan

Gee guys, am I the only one on this forum with 1933 Goudeys ?

I don't think so, so let us see some of your favorite cards.


TED Z
.

Only have a handful and none better than VG but I have an affinity for this one that apparently some kid used as a tally sheet for something.



I have always wondered if perhaps the success of Goudey's tricks with skip numbering and no card #106 at all didn't perhaps poison the well for them with collectors going forward. Did selling lots of cards in 33 come at the expense of kids/collectors with a sour taste in their mouth towards them in later years?

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by brianp-beme

I always liked the look of most of the artwork of the 1933 Goudey cards without the red advertising bar at the bottom, like the cards in the re-creation of the World Series sheet shown by Ted. For such a large set the 1933 Goudey were surprisingly error-free (the only change to the set that I know occurred with card #6 Dykes, which has his age corrected on the back bio write-up).

But they did make a change which makes the set not quite as consistent stylistically as, for example, the Cracker Jack sets. I always wondered what the reason was to drop the red bar, which occurred prior to the issuance of the World Series cards. I personally like both versions, but I can see where some collectors might wince at the difference.

Brian

Hey Brian

Have you ever come across any of the cards from this set's first 7 sheets that have the Big League strip cut off ?

I had a bunch of them [including Ruth (#144)]. I sold most of these cut cards, but I may still have one (or two)
hidden in my archives box. If I find them, I will post them.


TED Z
.

[wolf441]

Here's a few that I've owned:

[brianp-beme]

Ted...I sold most of the stack as seen in my previous post, but did keep these 9 cards. The first four would have had the red advertising bar on the bottom, while the second group of five were issued without that bar. Evidently the original collector of these cut them all to be a consistent size.

Note the outline around Durocher's noggin, the Ott with green background, and the Berg...examples (in my opinion) of the detracting artwork choices seen in some of the 33 Goudey cards. I always liked, however, that dynamic Berg background.

Brian