1952 Wheaties ChampionsIn 1952 Wheaties issued this set of cards on the back of their boxes. The 2" x 2-3/4" cards needed to be hand cut from the back of the boxes making high quality samples almost impossible to find. The set featured 30 different champions from a variety of sports in both "Portrait" and "In-Action" poses for a total of 60 different cards. 10 of the 30 athletes are baseball players with football, basketball, golf, bowling, diving and other sports also included.Top players in the set are Ted Williams, Stan Musial, George Mikan, Ben Hogan and Otto Graham. |
1962 Topps Football BucksThe 1962 Topps Football Bucks resembled U.S. currency and measured 1 1/4" x 4 1/4". But ... instead of Abe Lincoln staring at you, it could be Fran Tarkenton !!!Drawings of the player's home parks along with brief write-ups appeared on the front. The backs included team and league logos. Printing was done with black and green ink on off-white (very thin) paper stock. Bucks are typically found with a fold crease in the middle as they were inserted in packs in that manner. The 1962 Topps Bucks were inserts in wax packs of the 1962 Topps regular issue football cards. Player selection was super and the featured ROOKIES of Fran Tarkenton and Mike Ditka !!! Also numerous other Hall-of-Famers including JIM BROWN, BART STARR, Y.A. Tittle, Johnny Unitas, Lou Groza and other greats !!! |
![]() ![]() 1974 Topps Stamps |
The first baseball trading cards date back to 1869. For many years, baseball cards were packaged in packs of tobacco as a way to increase sales the same way that today prizes are packaged in boxes of cereal. In the 1920's and 1930's, candy and gum companies started packaging baseball cards in their products as well.
Baseball card production was virtually halted in the early 1940's due to paper shortages created by World War II. The "Modern Era" of baseball cards began in 1948 when Bowman Gum Inc. offered one card and one piece of gum in a pack for a penny.
The first important football set was the Mayo set featuring college players in 1984. Other than the 1935 National Chicle set no other key football set was issued until 1948 when noth Bowman and Leaf produced sets.