1974 Laughlin Old-Time Black Stars - A Set Ahead of its Time

[bcbgcbrcb]

Interesting info on the production numbers, I never heard that information released before, thanks for sharing.

[paleocards]

Thanks, fellas, for the info on this set. I'm still pretty much a novice concerning its history and distribution so it is much appreciated. In '74, I was in my last years as a mid-teen collecting cards (1975 Topps were the last packs I bought) but I have no recollection of the Laughlin sets (I grew up in LA). Were they only dist'd via mail-order? Did they come in clear cello packs or was there any designed wrapping associated with them? Does anybody own, or if not, has anyone seen "unopened" '74 or '78 Laughlins recently?

[bcbgcbrcb]

My guess would be mail order only sets.

[novakjr]

Given the scarcity, yet affordability of these, and the number of RC's(especially in the '74s), I've had a lot of fun tracking down the Laughlin cards. I'm always excited as hell to find new ones...And I'll agree, the '78 seem WAY harder to find.. Just picked up these 3 '74s today...

[laughlinfan]

All of Bob's independently sold (i.e., non-Fleer issued) sets were not sold in packages (OK, except maybe the 1980 Famous Feats set) but were sold as complete sets through Bob (mail order or at shows) or through a dealer he supplied with sets. He sold the sets for roughly $3 a set.

Bob did these as a labor of love, I think, and I doubt he ever made a ton of money on any of his independent sets. For most of his sets, he did a print run of 500 sets, which would allow him to recoup all of his costs for production. If he sold enough, he would do a second run (again of about 500) which would provide any profits from a set. As of 1976 (two years after the 74 set), the most sets he had ever produced of any of his sets was 1500. My guess is that 1500 number was for either his Great Feats set (from 72 with a great selection of popular players) or the Old Time Black Stars - those two seemed to be the most popular of his independent sets. The Long Ago set from '78 again seemed to be a lot less popular at the time, again I think because the player selection (and maybe the card design itself) was much less attractive. I would be very surprised if he did a second run of the 78 set, which is why I pegged the number of those sets at maybe 500. And since you guys are looking for the sets/cards to some extent, I am sure you would agree that the 78 set seems to come up even less often than a 1500 to 500 ratio would suggest. Bob may not have sold all that he printed of the 78 set, or maybe he eventually printed another run or two of the 74 sets (sometime after 1976).

Hope this helps! If anybody ever runs into any Laughlin original art or Stand-ups, let me know! Would happily trade for what I need!

Marty

[4815162342]

Hmm... http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=146941

[paleocards]

Just picked-up another raw set of '74 Laughlins and noticed something I hadn't seen before on the back of Card #1 - Smoky Joe Williams: a Laughlin tag-line. Perhaps this is a set that was printed in a later run? Anyone else have this on the back of their #1 Williams?