3. The Stars Behind the "Cadillac" of Trade Card Sets by Frank Keetz

This Major League Player Series of ten color-lithographed cards is often called the "Cadillac" of baseball advertising trade cards. All ten cards in the set feature caricatures of Major League baseball players that played in 1887. The set carries the hobby designation of H804-21.

Five of the ten players in the set are now members of the Baseball Hall of Fame. And because each card depicts a specific nineteenth century player, the set is in higher demand than most other trade card series.

The player's name is preceded by a short phrase generally related to baseball or the player. In addition, the player's team affiliation is printed in ornate lettering in the upper left corner.

The colorful lithographed set was produced by Tobin printers of New York with a "Tobin, N.Y." logo printed in the lower right corner. The white-bordered cards in the series are further identified by a small number "56" located in the lower left corner.

The set is occasionally (but erroneously) referenced in the hobby as set H891, although the H891 description in the ACC is not consistent with the features of the H804-21 cards.

The following are card images for all ten cards in the set and a very brief career synopsis for each player (click on image to enlarge):

Adrian "Cap" Anson Adrian "Cap" Anson was a long-time first baseman and manager--mostly with Chicago. He was the first player to reach the 3,000 hit mark and was one of the earliest Hall of Fame selectees. Anson was not only a leader but simply "the greatest player of the 19th century." Highly respected by players and fans alike, he was, nevertheless, instrumental in locking out black players during organized baseball's formative years. Mike "King" Kelly Just as famous was flamboyant, dashing Mike "King" Kelly who was as notorious for his off-field escapades as his on-field exploits. The nation was shocked when colorful Kelly, a baseball player, was sold by Chicago to Boston in 1887 for a then amazing $10,000. The "$10,000 beauty" raised his last Chicago average of .388 to .394 in his initial season with Boston. His daring base running, hard sliding and stolen bases inspired a popular "Slide, Kelly, Slide" song of the period. Kelly's constant carousing led to a quick lessening of skills and an early death at age 36. Untold thousands of followers mourned his passing at the funeral as well as throughout the nation. Dan Brouthers Tim Keefe Entering the Hall of Fame in 1945 with Kelly was mighty slugger Dan Brouthers who had a lifetime major league average of .349 while playing first base. Mickey Welch Pitchers Tim Keefe and Mickey Welch both entered the National League in 1880 with Troy (later the Giants of New York and now the San Francisco franchise). Both ended their careers in the early 1890s with more than 300 victories. Keefe won 42 games in 1886 while Welch notched a career-high 44 in 1885. Keefe was the highest paid baseball player during the 1889 season when he received an astounding $5,000. The players on the other five trade cards, while not Hall of Famers, were certainly no slouches. "Pebbly Jack" Glasscock was a good fielding major league shortstop for 17 years. Known for his fielding range, he also knocked out 2,079 hits while accumulating a .297 batting average. "Pebbly Jack" Glasscock Ed Andrews Ed Andrews lasted eight seasons as an outfielder, batted .325 in 1887 (the issue year of the trade cards) and led the National League in 1886 with 56 stolen bases. Paul Hines Paul Hines, the oldest of the ten players, played four seasons before the National League's initial season in 1876. Those four seasons in the short-lived National Association plus 16 in the National League made him a 20 year veteran. Hines, who became deaf as a result of a beaning, had more than 2,000 hits which accounted for a batting average just above .300. With Providence in 1878, the center fielder was the major league's first "triple crown batter" (first in home runs, batting average and runs batted in). Jim McCormick Jim McCormick finished his major league career in 1887 with a 13-23 win-loss record. However, the husky Scotch-born hurler had a 252-191 record during the previous nine seasons, most of which were spent with Cleveland. Twice he led the National League in innings pitched with 657 in 1880 and 595 in 1882!. McCormick pitched 194 complete games over a three-year span (1880-1882). The team played a total of 250 games during that span. There were few relief pitchers a century ago! In fact, there were few starting pitchers a century ago! Last, but far from least accomplished, was Charlie Ferguson. His was a tragic tale. He reached the majors at age 21, spent four complete seasons with Philadelphia compiling an impressive 99-64 win-loss record only to die in April 1888 of "typhoid pneumonia" at age 25. * * * Charlie Ferguson

A more concise alphabetical checklist of the ten players represented in the set, along with their corresponding teams and "baseball" phrases used on the cards, is shown below:

	Player	Team	Phrase On Card
(1)	Ed Andrews	Philadelphia Quakers	Go It Old Boy
(2)	Cap Anson	Chicago White Stockings	Oh, Come Off!
(3)	Dan Brouthers	Detroit Wolverines	Watch Me Soak It
(4)	Charlie Ferguson	Philadelphia Quakers	Not Onto It
(5)	Pebbly Jack Glasscock	Indianapolis Hoosiers	Struck by a Cyclone
(6)	Paul Hines	Washington Nationals	An Anxious Moment
(7)	Tim Keefe	New York Giants	Where'l You Have It?
(8)	Our Own Kelly	Boston Beaneaters	The Flower of the Flock
(9)	Jim McCormick	Pittsburg Alleghenys	A Slide for Home
(10)	Smiling Mickey (Welch)	New York Giants	Ain't It a Daisy?
Bold Type indicates players that are now in the baseball Hall of Fame

A closely related sister set, the Tobin "147" Series (aka H804-22), is a black and white (sepia) version and has an identifying number in lower left corner of "147" instead of "56." It is otherwise identical to the H804-21 series described here. Both sets were produced by Tobin Lithographic Co. of New York.

The players' team associations printed on the cards indicate the cards were produced in 1887. While this was in the middle of the American Association's ten years as a major league, all players in the set played on teams only from the National League.

4. Bob Feller Premium is Focus of 1948 Ad Campaign

1948 Bob Feller Premium

Premium "Quiz" Back

The single-card "set" described here was issued in 1948 by Thom McAn Shoes, a brand of Long Island, NY-based Melville Shoe Corporation. The card was a premium designed to attract young boys to one of the company's chain of about 750 (and growing) stores.

The 8-by-10-inch black and white card is printed on thin but sturdy card stock and features a full body action pose of Cleveland's popular pitcher Bob Feller. The only lettering on the card front is Feller's facsimile signature located in the lower right corner.

Comic Book Ad Describes 1948 McAn Shoes Promotion

Scarce among today's collectors, the card was heavily promoted at the time in a variety of media from magazines to comic books (see comic book ad at left).

The promotion touted not only Feller's photo but a series of twenty-five Baseball Quiz questions on the card back to test the boys' (and their friends') knowledge of the sport. As advertised, a portion of the questions were illustrated with small drawings related to the questions.

A coupon in the bottom left corner of the ad explains details of promotion. The consumer was instructed to "Give this [coupon] to the Thom McAn fitter next time you buy a pair of Thom McAn shoes, and you will receive your Bobby Feller photo and quiz. Do not mail--good in a Thom McAn shop only. Expires Dec. 1, 1948."

The answers to the quiz are provided near the bottom of the card. The image of the card back (shown above right) is provided in high resolution to allow Old Cardboard readers to view the questions (as well as the answers!). Just click on the image to see an enlarged view.

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Note: The first Thom McAn retail store opened in New York in 1922. By the end of the 1960s, aided by promotions such as the Feller card above, the Melville Company had become the largest American shoe retailer, operating 1,400 stores. It held that position until the early 1980s when the shoe chain began to diversify (including the acquisition of CVS Pharmacy) and phase out some of it retail shoe operations. After other mergers and acquisitions, the Thom McAn brand is currently owned by Sears. Its shoes are still distributed online and by Sears' subsidiary K-Mart department stores.