1969 Topps BLANK-BACK PROOF # 22 Jesus Alou (Expos)

1948 Bowman Football Cards
Checklist & Values

1948 Bowman Football takes it's place in the early history of football cards. While not as flashy as the 1935 National Chicles football issue the 1948 Bowman Football set had great players in real photographs !

The set was tiny (in both card size and number of cards) containing only 108 smallish 2-1/16" x 2-1/2" inch cards. The honor of top rookie in the set is easily Sammy Baugh and there appear to be no variations in the set.

1948 Bowman Football cards checklist, values and prices.

1991 Cardboard Dreams Baseball Cards
Checklist & Values

Neat oddball set with a very unusual mix of players. A promotional lead-in for "Cardboard Dreams" a soon to be sportscard magazine. Promo cards were given out at a few regional baseball card shows mostly in So. Cal.
MLB filed lawsuits against similar magazines and the magazine was cancelled before 1st issue leaving just a small run of promo cards (limited to 5,000) and some scarce proofs. 1991 Cardboard Dreams Ryan back

      SERIES 1                   SERIES 2
  #1 Willie Mays            # 9 Mickey Mantle                
  #2 Nolan Ryan             #10 Nolan Ryan & Sandy Koufax   
  #3 Tony Gwynn             #11 Frank Thomas & David Justice
  #4 Wayne Gretzky          #12 Brett Hull                  
  #5 Jose Canseco/Madonna   #13 Ted Williams & Joe DiMaggio 
  #6 Ken Griffey Jr         #14 Barry Sanders               
  #7 Bo Jackson             #15 Dan Marino                  
  #8 Michael Jordan         #16 Magic Johnson & Larry Bird  

 Prototype #1: Nolan Ryan / Wayne Gretzky / Bo Jackson / Jose Canseco & Madonna
 Prototype #2: Mickey Mantle / Nolan Ryan & Sandy Koufax 
               Ted Williams & Joe DiMaggio / David Justice & Frank Thomas

1991 Cardboard Dreams Baseball card listings

1974 Topps DECKLE EDGE
Checklist & Values

This scarce 72-card test issue set was released with very limited East Coast distribution making them quite scarce.

Officially simply called "Topps Baseball Photos", their serrated or "DECKLED" edge gave them the name they go by today. The 2 7/8" x 5" inch cards were sold in 2 card packs with gum or 3 card packs without for 5 cents.
Click to enlarge Complete Proof Sheet on left
Fronts are similar to b&w Exhibit Postcards from the 50's with photos and facsimile autographs. The backs make this very scarce test issue more interesting ! They feature handwritten script of player's name, team, position & date and location of the photograph as well as a mock newspaper article.

This was Topps 2nd "Deckle Edge" issue, their first being the smaller and more common 1969 Topps Deckle Edge inserts in 1969 Topps packs.

Variations of 1974 Topps Deckle Edge exist, making this issue more fun and challenging to collect. Backs can be found in gray or a much scarcer white. Also, more limited proof versions with non-scalloped edges exist and can be found with and without card numbers.

1969 Topps Deckle Edge checklist and prices

Baseball card collecting terms (part S-Z)

Series are groups of cards in an issue released together. Example: Series #1 (cards #1-100) are released in April; Series #2 (#101-200) released in July; and so on. This allowed kids to easier complete sets. A side-effect was the creation of scarce "High Numbers".

Short Print (SP) is a card printed in lesser quantity than other cards in the set. Recent short prints are often serially-numbered.

Team Set is a group of all the cards of players for a certain team.

Test Issue is a small printing by a card company to see if products are of interest to collectors. Some of Topps neatest items are "Test Issues" like 1956 Topps Pins & 1974 Topps Puzzles.

Tobacco Card is typically from the early 1900's and were issued with tobacco products, the most famous of which is the T-206 Honus Wagner card.

Traded/Update Set is a set issued after the original issue primarily featuring rookies or players who were traded since the original issue came out.

Trimmed Card is a card reduced in size mostly to hide damaged edges or corners. Trimmed cards have very little value compared to the un-trimmed version. In some cases such as the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle, even trimmed cards can go for thousands. The most famous 'trimmed' card is the T206 Honus Wagner purchased by Wayne Gretzky. The card was actually too large before it was trimmed down to size.

Unauthorized Issue is a card release which is not licensed by the league, player's association or player.

Variation is a card printed by the manufacturer that differs in some way from the normal card.

Wax Pack is a generic term for a pack of cards. The "wax" came from a time when packs were sealed in wax paper wrappers. Today it is still used for packs even though they no longer use wax paper.

1969 Topps BLANK-BACK PROOF # 22 Jesus Alou (Expos)

1948 Bowman Football Cards Checklist & Values

1991 Cardboard Dreams Baseball Cards Checklist & Values

1974 Topps DECKLE EDGE Checklist & Values

1948 Bowman Football Cards
Checklist & Values

1991 Cardboard Dreams Baseball Cards
Checklist & Values

1974 Topps DECKLE EDGE
Checklist & Values