AUTOGRAPHED: 1972 Topps #298 Claude Osteen IA w/PSA/DNA Auction LOA (Dodger

1974 Topps & Parker Brothers Football

Most Parker Brothers cards are similar to the ones from packs except on the back where most Parker Brothers cards had 1972 stats instead of 1973 and (2)* rather than (1)* in the copyright line. BUT NOTE: Some regular Topps cards have both * and ** --- It's complicated! Six of the cards have totally different designs; three All-Pros and three with horizontal designs that were changed to vertical to match the rest of the cards.

Team checklist cards were randomly included in the Topps wax packs.
TOP ROOKIES: Joe DeLamielleure, Ray Guy, Bert Jones, Harold Carmichael, John Matuszak, Ahmad Rashad, Chuck Foreman, John Hannah and actor Ed Marinaro.

1952 Topps Baseball Cards
Checklist & Values

1952 is often thought of as Topps 1st baseball card set, but it was not.
Topps issued several smaller baseball card sets prior to their huge 1952 set.
Topps buzz word was "BIGGER is BETTER" for their 1952 Topps set which Topps described as: "GIANT IN BOTH SIZE and NUMBER of CARDS" (407).

Key card in the 1952 Topps set is #311 MICKEY MANTLE. Often called Mickey Mantle's Rookie card - BUT IT IS NOT. That honor goes to his 1951 Bowman.
1952 Topps "High Numbers" (#311-#407), are very, very scarce with an interesting story:
This HUGE set was released in series weeks apart. By the last (6th) series, baseball season was over and football starting. Candy shops had plenty of baseball cards from earlier series so most cancelled their orders for the last series creating the scarcity.

Adding interest is how Topps disposed of the now un-needed cards including THOUSANDS of 1952 Topps MICKEY MANTLE's. They dumped them into the Atlantic Ocean like most of New York's trash in those days.

1952 Topps Baseball card checklist, values and prices.

Tobacco Cards

Starting approximately in 1886, sportscards, mostly baseball cards, were often included with tobacco products, for promotional purposes and also because the card reinforced the packaging and protected cigarettes from damage. These sports cards are referred to as tobacco cards in the baseball card hobby. Over the next few years many different companies produced baseball cards. Tobacco cards soon started to disappear as the American Tobacco Company tried to develop a monopoly by buying out other companies.

They were reintroduced in the 1900s, as American Tobacco came under pressure from antitrust action and Turkish competition. The most famous and most expensive, baseball card is the rare T206 Honus Wagner. The card exists in very limited quantities compared to others of its type because Wagner forced the card to be removed from printing. It is widely (and incorrectly) believed that Wagner did so because he refused to promote tobacco, but the true explanation lies in a dispute over compensation.

Soon other companies also began producing baseball and football cards. Sports magazines such as The Sporting News were early entries to the market. Candy manufacturers soon joined the fray and reflected a shift toward a younger target audience for cards. Caramel companies were particularly active and baseball cards were one of the first prizes to be included in Cracker Jacks. World War I soon suppressed baseball card production.

AUTOGRAPHED: 1972 Topps #298 Claude Osteen IA w/PSA/DNA Auction LOA (Dodger

1969 CITGO Coins

1974 Topps & Parker Brothers Football

1952 Topps Baseball Cards Checklist & Values

1952 Topps Baseball Cards
Checklist & Values