Minimalist Artistic Vintage Baseball Sets

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by robw1959

Is that Ruth in the lower right corner wearing a Boston jersey? By 1920, practically the whole world knew he was no longer a Red Sox player.

The label on the graded card actually mentions 1920's, and this set may have been released somewhere around 1923 or so, due to the inclusion of boxer Luis Firpo.

Below is a quote I pulled regarding Firpo and the possible issue year by our own Adam the Exhibitman in a real old Net54 thread, as well as visuals of the box that supposedly housed these panels (along with a bunch of other items), that I found as well on another even older thread.

"The boxers card gives some help as to when the box of goodies with it was likely issued. The lower left hand image is Luis Angel Firpo [I have definitely ID'd it from an old photo]. Firpo, the Wild Bull of the Pampas, was Argentinean and did not arrive in America until early 1922, and gradually moved into the heavyweight contender picture over the next year and a half, fighting here and in Latin America until he fought and beat Jess Willard in July 1923, then fought and lost to Jack Dempsey in September 1923. I don't think it likely that he would have been picked for an American card set before that since he had never even fought here until early 1922."

Brian

[Leon]

IT doesn't get too much more minimalist than only a name and team!

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by Leon

IT doesn't get too much more minimalist than only a name and team!

There are also versions of these that just have the player's name and a silhouette.

Brian (I feel it is not my fault this is not my felt)

[Leon]

The w514 is Fleer and not necessarily minimalist, but the w9316 series has always been kind of crude, to me

from my past collection

[GeoPoto]

All this talk about Luis Firpo has excited me into wanting to point out a further connection between the boxer and baseball: In August of 1923, a young pitcher named Frederick Marberry debuted for the Washington Senators, appearing in 11 games. The next season he played a key role, particularly out of the bullpen, in Washington's capture of the American League pennant and the 1924 World Series.

Marberry enters the history books (and trivia questions) as the sport's first prominent reliever. He has been retroactively credited as having been the first pitcher to record 20 saves in a season, the first to make 50 relief appearances in a season or 300 in a career, and the only pitcher to lead the major leagues in saves six times. In his book Bill James' Guide to Baseball Managers, James wrote: "Marberry was the first pitcher aggressively used to protect leads rather than being brought in when the starter was knocked out. Thus, Marberry is in my opinion the first true reliever."

A month or so after Marberry's 1923 debut in Washington, Luis Firpo electrified the American sports world by knocking Jack Dempsey completely out of the ring during their fight for the heavyweight boxing title. Dempsey hit his head on a writer's typing machine, and for a moment, it looked like Firpo would become world Heavyweight champion. But Dempsey was helped back into the ring, benefitted from a controversial "long count" and eventually knocked Firpo out.

Marberry's emergence at a time when Luis Firpo was a sensation in the sports world combined with the physical resemblance the two shared, gave rise to Marberry's nickname: Firpo. Firpo Marberry went on to appear in 551 games during 14 MLB seasons.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1672657637
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1672657641

Originally Posted by brianp-beme

The label on the graded card actually mentions 1920's, and this set may have been released somewhere around 1923 or so, due to the inclusion of boxer Luis Firpo.

Brian

[Bridwell]

Another card of Marberry and a photo of Firpo the boxer. Also here's another example of "minimalist" issue. Hard to identify the players in this Obak issue.