1908-09 BB card Wars....RAMLY vs American Caramel

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

It's no secret that BB card producers favored their hometown BB players in their sets......

American Caramel Co. (Philadelphia)....A's and Pittsburg ballplayers dominate in the E91 and E90 sets

Ramly (Worcester, MA)....30+ Boston area ballplayers, managers, and players residing in Worcester are in the
T204 set

American Lithographic Co. (New York City)....over 100 New York Giants, Highlanders and Brooklyn subjects are
in the T206 set.


Before we get into the "nitty-gritty", here is the Timeline of these three Company's BB card sets to......


SET..................E91-A..........E90-1 (1st series)..............T204.....................T206 (150 Series)......

DATE issued........1908...............late 1908..................Spring 1909..................Summer 1909.........>>



The absence of any player from both Boston teams and the Cincinnati team in the first 100 cards of the E90
set is not just a coincidence. Ramly had the exclusive rights to portray 35 subjects of these 3 teams.

And, Ramly's portrayal of Walter Johnson may possibly be the reason that he was not in the E90 set. Further-
more, the Ramly set portrays Burkett, Murname and Jimmy Collins....all of which were associated with teams
in the Boston area. Including Frank Bancroft, a native of the Boston area, who briefly managed Cinci.

Most puzzling is the absence of Boston's Cy Young. Perhaps, that Young (Boston AL) was already in the E90
set prevented Ramly from portraying him. Or, by the time Ramly was ready to issue their cards, Young had
been traded to Cleveland (Feb 1909). Charlie Chech was involved in this trade and is portrayed as a Boston
player. This tells us that the first release of the Ramly's must of been in the Spring of 1909.

Also telling is....the total absence in the Ramly set of any players from Pittsburg team....no Honus Wagner !
Yes, this is a tobacco set. Yes, we all know Wagner's story. But then, why are all the Pirates missing in the
Ramly set ?
Perhaps, there is more than meets the eye with the age old Wagner "myth" ?

The Ramly set has only one Phillies player, Bransfield (a Worcester native).

It also has only one Chicago (AL) player, John Anderson (a Worcester native)


Could it be that there was some sort of mutual agreement between American Caramel Co (ACC) and Ramly
as to who would be portrayed in their sets ? These two sets were designed about the same time.

In any event, it is not just a coincidence that the last (1910) series of the E90 set includes many of the
Boston and Cincinnati players that were in the Ramly set. I would speculate that Ramly prevented ACC
from portraying these guys in their earlier series of the E90 set.

Just some thought-provoking ideas of what transpired back in the 1908-09 era, in what I call the "Candy-
Tobacco wars" by the various BB card company's in order to portray BB players in their sets.

We can extend this discussion to include the T206 set....with this set in the mix, the brain-storming can
be mind-boggling !


Hey, guys and gals, this is exactly what occurred in 1949....Bowman vs Leaf, or

in 1954....Topps vs Bowman over the Ted Williams card, and again

in 1959....the bidding war between Fleer and Topps over the the rights to portray Ted Williams.



What's your thinking on what happened 100 years ago ?



TED Z