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Issuing Company: Country of Issue: USA Year of Issue: 1929 Color/B&W: Red or black against light background Number of Cards in Set: Two sets of 64 each Card Size: 1 3/4" x 2 3/4" Issued as insert with what product: Issued in sheets of 16 cards with no other product. Cards are usually found cut apart. |
Notes: Blank-backed. There are two similar sets of these cards, each containing 64 cards. Both sets feature playing card designs for 52 cards, with Joker designs for the other 12 cards.
The first issued set of these contains 64 cards, issued in 4 sheets of 16 each, mixing red and black on each card for a multi-color design. For half the cards, the person on the card is in a circle in red and the surrounding symbols and numbers are in black. The other half has it in reverse, with the person on the card in black and the surrounding symbols and numbers in red. In the multi-color set, there are 34 baseball players, 9 aviators, 8 movie stars, 6 boxers, 3 tennis players, 2 golfers, 1 swimmer, and 1 polo player.
The jokers provide the clues that the multi-color version was issued first. For the Dr. Eckener card, which was used only in the multi-color version, the joker symbols around Eckener are zeppelin designs. That makes perfect sense since Dr. Eckener was a famous zeppelin captain. In the second version of these cards, the Eckener card was replaced with baseball player Henry Johnson, but the zeppelin joker design remained. Similarly, the joker designs for cowboy actor Hoot Gibson in the multi-color version were cowboy hats which made perfect sense, but when the Gibson card was replaced with baseball player Rube Walberg, the cowboy hats joker design remained, but made much less sense.
The second version of this set also contains 64 cards, issued in 4 sheets of 16 cards each, with two sheets in red color and two sheets in black color. In the second version of this set, 40 of the subjects on the cards remained the same, with changes in the other 24 subjects. In the single color set, there are 49 baseball players, 7 college football players, 4 boxers, 3 aviators, and 1 actor.
The single color version of these cards have survived in greater numbers than the multi-color version.
Date info: The Walter Hagen card says he was the British Open Champ for 1929. That event took place from May 8-10, 1929, so this set must have been issued after that date. Rogers Hornsby is identified as a Cub on his card, and he joined the Cubs for the 1929 season. There are no changes in the team designation between the multi-color version of these cards and the single-color version, indicating that they were probably issued pretty closely in time to each other.
Thanks to Bob Richardson for help with this checklist. Thanks also to oldtime collectors Lawrence Schwarts, Jake Wise, and Charles Barker, who wrote an article in 1957 for "Sport Hobbyist" magazine that helped clarify all the variations.
W560-1 Multi-Color set
*2c Walter Hagen - British Open Champ 1929 (golf)
3c Lou Gehrig - New York Yankees
4c Max Bishop - Philadelphia Athletics
5c Jim Bottomley - St. Louis Cardinals
*6c Monte Blue - Movie Actor
7c Taylor Douthit - St. Louis Cardinals
*8c Roger Q. Williams (aviator)
9c Remy Kremer - Pittsburgh Pirates
10c Goose Goslin - Washington Senators
Jc Al Simmons - Philadelphia Athletics
*Qc Janet Gaynor (movie star)
Kc Lefty Grove - Philadelphia Athletics
Ac Kiki Cuyler - Chicago Cubs
*2d Helen Wills (tennis)
3d Paul Waner - Pittsburgh Pirates
*4d Wilmer Allison (tennis)
*5d Gene Tunney - Retired Heavyw't Champ.
6d Tom Heeney - Heavyweight
*7d Bobby Jones (golf)
8d Fred Lindstrom - New York Giants
9d Larry Benton - New York Giants
*10d Tommy Hitchcock, Jr. - Polo Star
*Jd John Van Ryn - Davis Cup Doubles Champ. (tennis)
Qd Lloyd Waner - Pittsburgh Pirates
Kd Fred Fitzsimmons - New York Giants
*Ad Johnny Weissmuller (swimming)
2h Hugh Critz - Cincinnati Reds
*3h Dolores Del Rio (movie star)
4h Rogers Hornsby - Chicago Cubs
5h Luke Sewell - Cleveland Indians
*6h Tommy Loughran - Light Heavyw't Champion
7h Babe Herman - Brooklyn Dodgers
8h Cl. Chamberlain - Holder of Many Records
*9h Charles Ray (movie star)
10h Sam Gray - St. Louis Browns
Jh Waite Hoyt - New York Yankees
*Qh Mary Brian (movie star)
Kh Andy Cohen - New York Giants
Ah W. Clark - Brooklyn Dodgers
2s Walter Johnson - Washington Senators
*3s Jack Sharkey - Heavyweight Contender
*4s Lewis Yancey (aviator)
5s Jim Wilson - St. Louis Cardinals
6s Dazzy Vance - Brooklyn Dodgers
*7s Max Schmeling - Heavyweight Contender
8s Thomas Thevenow - Philadelphia Phillies
9s Fresno Thompson - Philadelphia Phillies
10s Jesse Haines - St. Louis Cardinals
Js Guy Bush - Chicago Cubs
*Qs Dolores Costello (movie star)
Ks Del Bissonette - Brooklyn Dodgers
*As Jean Assolant (aviator)
Jokers (no card numbers or suits)
Com. Richard E. Byrd - First North Pole Flight (red)
Micky Cochrane - Philadelphia Athletics (black)
Jack Dempsey - Ex-Heavyweight Champion (red)
*Dr. Eckener - Commander of Graf Zeppelin (black) (blimp joker design) (for Henry Johnson card)
Charles Farrell - Movie Actor (red)
Jim Foxx - Philadelphia Athletics (black)
*Hoot Gibson (movie star) (black) (cowboy hat joker design) (for Rube Walberg card)
*Dale Jackson (aviator) (red) (man with helmet joker design) (for Ken Strom card)
Col. Chas. A. Lindbergh - First New York-Paris Flight (red)
*Forest O'Brine (aviator) (black) (parachute joker design) (for Lester Bell card)
Herbert Pennock - New York Yankees (black)
George Babe Ruth - New York Yankees (red)
W560 Single-Color set
*2c Fred Maguire - Boston Braves
3c Lou Gehrig - New York Yankees
4c Max Bishop - Philadelphia Athletics
5c Jim Bottomley - St. Louis Cardinals
*6c Buddy Myer - Boston Red Sox
7c Taylor Douthit - St. Louis Cardinals
*8c Willie Sherdel - St. Louis Cardinals
9c Remy Kremer - Pittsburgh Pirates
10c Goose Goslin - Washington Senators
Jc Al Simmons - Philadelphia Athletics
*Qc Vic Aldridge - New York Giants
Kc Lefty Grove - Philadelphia Athletics
Ac Kiki Cuyler - Chicago Cubs
*2d C. K. Cagle - West Pt. Milit. Academy
3d Paul Waner - Pittsburgh Pirates
*4d Benny Leonard - Ret. Lightw't Champion
*5d George Uhle - Cleveland Indians
6d Tom Heeney - Heavyweight
*7d Jack Delaney - Light Heavyw't Champion
8d Fred Lindstrom - New York Giants
9d Larry Benton - New York Giants
*10d Dave Lowry - Princeton University
*Jd Fred Cy Williams - Philadelphia Phillies
Qd Lloyd Waner - Pittsburgh Pirates
Kd Fred Fitzsimmons - New York Giants
*Ad Dutch Loud - Yale University
2h Hugh Critz - Cincinnati Reds
*3h Willie Kamm - Chicago White Sox
4h Rogers Hornsby - Chicago Cubs
5h Luke Sewell - Cleveland Indians
*6h B. Dumont - Colgate University
7h Babe Herman - Brooklyn Dodgers
8h Cl. Chamberlain - Holder of Many Records
*9h Al Lassman - New York University
10h Sam Gray - St. Louis Browns
Jh Waite Hoyt - New York Yankees
*Qh Bob Sprague - West Pt. Milit. Academy
Kh Andy Cohen - New York Giants
Ah W. Clark - Brooklyn Dodgers
2s Walter Johnson - Washington Senators
*3s Flint Rhem - St. Louis Cardinals
*4s George Pipgras - New York Yankees
5s Jim Wilson - St. Louis Cardinals
6s Dazzy Vance - Brooklyn Dodgers
*7s Fred Marberry - Washington Senators
8s Thomas Thevenow - Philadelphia Phillies
9s Fresno Thompson - Philadelphia Phillies
10s Jesse Haines - St. Louis Cardinals
Js Guy Bush - Chicago Cubs
*Qs Johnny Mostil - Chicago White Sox
Ks Del Bissonette - Brooklyn Dodgers
*As Glen Wright - Pittsburgh Pirates
Jokers (no card numbers or suits)
*Lester Bell - Boston Braves (black) (parachute joker design) (for Forest O'Brine card)
Com. Richard E. Byrd - First North Pole Flight (red)
Micky Cochrane - Philadelphia Athletics (black)
Jack Dempsey - Ex-Heavyweight Champion (red)
Charles Farrell - Movie Actor (red)
Jim Foxx - Philadelphia Athletics (black)
*Henry Johnson - New York Yankees (black) (blimp joker design) (for Dr. Eckener card)
Col. Chas. A. Lindbergh - First New York-Paris Flight (red)
Herbert Pennock - New York Yankees (black)
George Babe Ruth - New York Yankees (red)
*Ken Strom - New York University (red) (man with helmet joker design) (for Dale Jackson card)
*Rube Walberg - Philadelphia Athletics (black) (cowboy hat joker design) (for Hoot Gibson card)
*designs that have changed between the two sets
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