T206 & Old Judge

BillyCoxDodgers3B · #1 09-25-2025, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric72

Stretching things a bit, I believe Casey Stengel had:

1910 Old Mill
1933 Worch Cigar
1952 Bowman

And Topps stretching through to 1965, I believe. Impressive.

Connie Mack could have destroyed some records if Goudey and Topps/Bowman had thought to add him. There were the Topps Connie Mack All Stars if you wanted him in on a technicality! We do have Play Ball, though.

Aquarian Sports Cards · #2 09-25-2025, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

And Topps stretching through to 1965, I believe. Impressive.

Connie Mack could have destroyed some records if Goudey and Topps/Bowman had thought to add him. There were the Topps Connie Mack All Stars if you wanted him in on a technicality! We do have Play Ball, though.

That leads to a new question.

Is Stengel the record holder for longest run between first and last cards for an active participant in the game (player, coach or manager)

You've got guys like Schoendienst, and Red Sox Johnny Pesky and Charlie Wagner who had 70+ years in the game but did they have a "cardspan" that matched Stengel?

judsonhamlin · #3 09-25-2025, 05:02 PM

Connie Mack had an Old Judge card as a player and was an active manager in 1940 Play Ball (53 years)
Dusty Baker’s rookie card was 1971 Topps and he had a 2024 Topps Heritage card (53 years).
Can’t think of anyone close to those two.

And for fun, Ted Williams was an active player in 1940 and an active manager in 1971, linking (almost) the entire history of baseball cards with three people.

BillyCoxDodgers3B · #4 09-25-2025, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by judsonhamlin

Connie Mack had an Old Judge card as a player and was an active manager in 1940 Play Ball (53 years)
Dusty Baker’s rookie card was 1971 Topps and he had a 2024 Topps Heritage card (53 years).
Can’t think of anyone close to those two.

And for fun, Ted Williams was an active player in 1940 and an active manager in 1971, linking (almost) the entire history of baseball cards with three people.

This has to be the best piece of baseball card information ever put forth. And Williams appeared in both the 1940 PB and 71 Topps issues. It's remarkable, isn't it?

ValKehl · #5 09-25-2025, 07:44 PM

The issue period for Clark Griffith's cards is almost the same as that for Connie Mack's cards, except that Griffith's Old Judge card was issued two years later than Mack's (1889 vs. 1887) and Griffith isn't in the 1951 Topps Connie Mack All-Stars set. Here are Griffith's 1889 Old Judge, 1948-50 Safe-T-Card, and 1950 Callahan:

sreader3 · #6 09-25-2025, 08:24 PM

I believe Jimmie Reese has a 1925 Zeenut player card and a 1993 Carls Jr. coach card. That would be a 68 year span.

BioCRN · #7 09-25-2025, 09:18 PM

I don't own either, but Babe Pinelli has a 1917 Zee-Nut as a player and a 1955 Bowman as an umpire...just to toss a new branch on the discussion...

Ed Rommel, Jocko Conlan, and Lon Warneke are also umps in the 55 set with pre-war experience...might be missing someone, but Pinelli is the earliest player.

egri · #8 09-25-2025, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

This has to be the best piece of baseball card information ever put forth. And Williams appeared in both the 1940 PB and 71 Topps issues. It's remarkable, isn't it?

You could stretch it a year further; Williams was in the 1939 Play Ball set as well.

If we're counting minor-league and special issues, Bobby Doerr was in the 1936 Goudey premiums, then was featured in the 2007 Topps Distinguished Service set.

Aquarian Sports Cards · #9 09-25-2025, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by egri

You could stretch it a year further; Williams was in the 1939 Play Ball set as well.

If we're counting minor-league and special issues, Bobby Doerr was in the 1936 Goudey premiums, then was featured in the 2007 Topps Distinguished Service set.

The idea was to limit it to while the person was active in an on field capacity though.

ASF123 · #10 09-25-2025, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by judsonhamlin

Connie Mack had an Old Judge card as a player and was an active manager in 1940 Play Ball (53 years)
Dusty Baker�s rookie card was 1971 Topps and he had a 2024 Topps Heritage card (53 years).
Can�t think of anyone close to those two.

And for fun, Ted Williams was an active player in 1940 and an active manager in 1971, linking (almost) the entire history of baseball cards with three people.

Tony La Russa, 1964-2022. That�s 58 years, by my math.

BillyCoxDodgers3B · #11 09-26-2025, 05:04 AM

Reese and Griffith both came to my mind, but I was only thinking of MLB cards even though that wasn't specified as a parameter by anyone. Just how my mind was working, in spite of the fact that Eric already threw Casey's Old Mill into the conversation.

If minor league cards are to be taken into consideration, Reese should definitely be our winner! Talk about a long career, and just like Charlie Wagner, another great person.

On a related note, has it ever dawned on anyone else that these baseball lifers with ridiculously long careers seemed to be unusually nice people and beloved by so many? I was friends with a few men who fit the bill, and that could unfailingly be said about all of them, too.

ASF123 · #12 09-26-2025, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

Reese and Griffith both came to my mind, but I was only thinking of MLB cards even though that wasn't specified as a parameter by anyone. Just how my mind was working, in spite of the fact that Eric already threw Casey's Old Mill into the conversation.

If minor league cards are to be taken into consideration, Reese should definitely be our winner! Talk about a long career, and just like Charlie Wagner, another great person.

On a related note, has it ever dawned on anyone else that these baseball lifers with ridiculously long careers seemed to be unusually nice people and beloved by so many? I was friends with a few men who fit the bill, and that could unfailingly be said about all of them, too.

Self-selecting. If you�re a jerk, you can still have a long playing career if you�re a star. But teams aren�t going to keep you around as a coach for decades after that.

Eric72 · #13 09-26-2025, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

...Eric already threw Casey's Old Mill into the conversation...

Candidly, I was just thinking about the "big three" sets. How cool would it be if someone was in T206, '33 Goudey, and '52 Topps? Casey Stengel was the closest I could come up with.

As an aside, I would have loved it if they'd made a T206 Casey Stengel.

tulsaboy · #14 09-26-2025, 02:55 PM

Just limiting it to Topps/Bowman, you've got Yogi Berra in 1948 Bowman and then in 1987 Topps on the Astros Leaders card. So 40 years worth of Topps cards. He's also in the 2025 Heritage set, but I hardly think that counts for these purposes. So 48-87. Not the longest, but a good stretch.
kevin

sreader3 · #15 09-27-2025, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

Reese and Griffith both came to my mind, but I was only thinking of MLB cards even though that wasn't specified as a parameter by anyone. Just how my mind was working, in spite of the fact that Eric already threw Casey's Old Mill into the conversation.

If minor league cards are to be taken into consideration, Reese should definitely be our winner! Talk about a long career, and just like Charlie Wagner, another great person.

On a related note, has it ever dawned on anyone else that these baseball lifers with ridiculously long careers seemed to be unusually nice people and beloved by so many? I was friends with a few men who fit the bill, and that could unfailingly be said about all of them, too.

Not from a �major� set, but Reese has a 1931 Exhibit from his MLB career�so a 62-year span for his MLB issues.

(Cards shown are not mine).

puckpaul · #16 09-27-2025, 09:29 AM

i am not a collector of recent modern sets, when did they stop making manager and coaches cards? I know they still made them in the 70�s Topps sets, last ones that i actively have collected. Did they stop or have they beeen included recently again? Team cards?

BillyCoxDodgers3B · #17 09-25-2025, 05:05 PM

It really sad, but Wagner didn't actually have a card of his own as an active player. According to TCDB, his first issued card as a current/active partcipant in baseball pathetically didn't arrive until 1980 when TCMA depicted him as a coach for the Elmira Pioneer/Red Sox. That's a grave injustice for a wonderful human being and incredible baseball lifer.

As to your other question, Connie Mack has to hold the record for longest span, doesn't he? OJ to the 1950 Callahan. I am not sure what exact year his OJs were actually released, but this could be up to a 63 year span between issues. Was his Callahan a 1950 release? If they released them in the order of when the HOFers were inducted, I would have to think so, but others will know better. Unfortunately, his 1951 Topps Connie Mack All Star was released the year after the last game he managed.

Steve D · #18 09-25-2025, 05:21 PM

Eddie Collins was also in both T206 and 1933 Goudey.

Steve

BillyCoxDodgers3B · #19 09-25-2025, 05:28 PM

Why were Speaker and Collins (and Lajoie) included in this set? None were still active. Might as well have thrown Ty and WaJo into the mix as other recently retired greats.

Steve D · #20 09-25-2025, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

Why were Speaker and Collins (and Lajoie) included in this set? None were still active. Might as well have thrown Ty and WaJo into the mix as other recently retired greats.

We could actually count Cobb in the mix too, since he was in T206, and 1933 Goudey Sport Kings.

Steve

brianp-beme · #21 09-25-2025, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

Why were Speaker and Collins (and Lajoie) included in this set? None were still active.

Perhaps added as fillers to puff up the set to 240 cards.

Brian (my filler is BO-tox...aka Body Odor toxic)

petecld · #22 09-25-2025, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

Why were Speaker and Collins (and Lajoie) included in this set? None were still active. Might as well have thrown Ty and WaJo into the mix as other recently retired greats.

I've always felt Speaker (being retired) was actually intended for the Sport Kings set but for whatever reason they needed to fill in a last minute empty spot in the Goudey set so Speaker got added.

With Hubbell having such great year in 1933 they moved him to Sport Kings at the last minute which would explain why he is at the end of the set and then used Lajoie who was supposed to be a Sport Kings card but they had to cover spot #106 unexpectedly. The style of Lajoie's portrait doesn't match the other '33 Goudey cards at all.

Collins was general manager for the Red Sox in 1933 and his card really doesn't look like him so I wonder if he was just a name to use instead of the guy in the artwork.

Just speculation..

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