Could be the first 1955 Mascot Dog Food Cards of Mantle and Berra. Any Info?

[clydepepper]

Originally Posted by stlcardsfan

I can't believe no one on this board (so far) has even heard of this issue.

I'm amazed at that also! A Mantle issue no one was aware of?



.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Nobody has ever shown proof of another. Basically there are only 3 known examples from this set, though the backs claim there are 11 subjects I believe, and two of them are up for sale in this auction. That's a coup no matter how you slice it. Best of luck with this sale Chuck, just glad I got to see them in person before they disappear into the bowels of some amazing collection!

[pawpawdiv9]

Amazing! This guy has one.

[bocca001]

Funny, but not quite as good as the one with him and the Mona Lisa. That was a great thread.

[doug.goodman]

Thank you Wheatland for changing the title from "only one" to "first to market".

Doug

[RedsFan1941]

totally understand why you might choose not to answer, but was there a main reason you chose this auction house?

[brian1961]

I find it surprising that BECKETT was chosen to grade the piece. Unless of course PSA and SGC politely deferred, or simply refused, and passed the shoe. Nothing against Beckett, they're strict graders.

After the lengthy NET54 thread, things looked promising. Then, a Net54 gent uncovered original research in the form of an original ad and uploaded it for us all. The ad's effect was mighty, in that there was no mention of Mickey Mantle as one of the players included.

I was hoping someone with terrier tenacity would dig up a giant dog bone of another ad, this time with a mention of Mickey Mantle. By all means, Mascot would trumpet the name of Mickey Mantle if he was included. Then again, for 1954-55, the Bowman Gum Company had an exclusive with The Commerce Comet. However, that exclusive translated to only nationwide gum issues, not to a promotion involving a very limited regional distribution area, such as Stahl-Meyer Franks in Metropolitan New York (1953--55), or Dan-Dee Potato Chips in Ohio and eastern Pennsylvania (1954), and finally Briggs in Washington, DC area (1954).

Was there any further news on this that I and some of the other lads might be unaware of? Please advise.

Many thanks. ----Brian Powell


PS-----This is a case where we really needed the expertise of Mr. Bob Lemke, who sadly passed away in early January of 2017. This was just the sort of mystery that he loved to solve, and he would welcome the assistance of others.

[chuckw]

I think I mentioned previously that PSA indicated that they only grade cards that have a known checklist. They told me that I could do further research on the cards for them, but honestly I have a full time job in the engineering consulting world and wouldn't know how to do the research they needed. SGC was helpful and said they would be glad to look at the cards and do the research needed to figure out if they can grade them. Beckett said the same thing. I use Beckett a lot for grading and personally have a lot of respect for them and chose to send the Mantle and Berra to them (in this industry I try to associate and do business with people who are good people). Their vintage guys have been very nice and helpful in the past. I agree it would be awesome to find out more about these cards and Mascot Dog Food in general. The board on Net54 has been great (and Leon!) to try to help, and some good people in the industry have reached out to many regional and vintage experts, with many people having heard of the product (I think mainly due to the Robin Roberts that was know to exist and the mystery behind what other cards may have been out there). Finding out more information on Mascot Dog Food Company or this regional set would be great, and any suggestions would be much appreciated. Wheatland Auction Services was a very easy choice since it's owned by my wife! They have a strong pool of awesome buyers/collectors and I figured it would be best to get it in the hands of the right owner sooner, rather than later. Plus it's been fun finding such unique cards and many good vintage collectors are very excited about the cards. I hate talking about the Mantle so much, because the Berra is also very cool!

[Cozumeleno]

Originally Posted by pawpawdiv9

Amazing! This guy has one.

/SlowClap

[Leon]

Originally Posted by pawpawdiv9

Amazing! This guy has one.

He seems to have a lot of nice cards just not a very organized room.

Chuck- should be a great Wheatland ...https://www.wheatlandauctionservices.com. I have been following the auctions but, as I am mostly buying for resale, all of the lots seem to get to their potential. Just not a lot of meat left (which is good for consignors.)

[Leon]

Nice article in Forbes on the cards. Thanks David!!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidse.../#19d8df7f6460

.

[chuckw]

Great job to both Beckett and Forbes for doing some really nice stories. Both also gave credit to Net54 members for good research! Here is the Beckett story: https://www.beckett.com/news/1950s-m...y-mantle-card/

[Steve D]

I just found a mention of Bucky Harris having his picture on Mascot Dog Food labels, in the 24 Dec 1953 Orlando Sentinel. It doesn't mention any other players though.

There are also ads for Mascot Dog Food going back to Oct 1932 in the St Louis Post-Dispatch. The most recent ad I found is from the 5 Feb 1976 Los Angeles Times. These ads were for the dog food itself.

Steve