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i.like.old.fleer

@i.like.old.fleer

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I have been building old Fleer (pre-1981) sets for over thirty years. I have picked up some pretty cards (and some fun oddballs) along the way.

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#sundayrunday Not a complete #oldfleer run; missing a 1923, and some game and quiz card oddballs from the ‘60’s.

Pictured:
1959 Ted Williams
1960 Baseball Greats
1961-62 Baseball Greats
1963
1967 Laughlin prototype
1970 World Series (blue backs)
1971 World Series (black backs)
1973 Baseball’s Famous Feats
1974 Baseball’s Wildest Days and Plays
1975 Pioneers of Baseball
1976 Baseball Firsts
1980 World Series sticker backs
1981 All Star Game sticker backs
1986 Famous Feats sticker backs

The Fleer Corporation, founded by Frank H. Fleer in 1885, was the first company to successfully manufacture bubble gum (Dubble Bubble); it remained a family-owned enterprise until 1989.

Fleer predated many of its competitors into the business of issuing sports cards with its 1923 release of baseball cards in its "Bobs and Fruit Hearts" candy product. These rare cards are basically the same as the 1923 W515 strip cards but are machine cut and have a printed ad for the candy company on the back. Many years later in 1959 it signed baseball star Ted Williams to a contract and sold an 80-card set oriented around highlights of his career. Fleer was unable to include other players because rival company Topps had signed most active baseball players to exclusive contracts.

Fleer continued to produce baseball cards by featuring Williams with other mostly retired players in a Baseball Greats series. One set was produced in 1960 and a second in 1961. The company did not produce new cards the next year, but continued selling the 1961 set while it focused on signing enough players to produce a set featuring active players in 1963. This 67-card set included a number of stars, including 1962 NL MVP Maury Wills, who had elected to sign with Fleer instead of Topps. However, Topps still held onto the rights of most players and the set was not particularly successful.

After several years of litigation, the Topps monopoly on baseball cards was finally broken by a lawsuit decided by federal judge Clarence Charles Newcomer in 1980, in which the judge ended Topps Chewing Gum's exclusive right to sell baseball cards, allowing the Fleer Corporation to compete in the market.

#oldfleerrun by @i.like.old.fleer

#sundayfunday #sundayrunday Hardly a complete representation of #oldfleer #vintagenonsportscards. One of the most notable omissions here is the 1960 Spins and Needles set featuring the Rock n Roll stars of the day. Some of these I built or am building the set. And others, an example is enough.

Pictured:
1935 Cops and Robbers
1959 Indian Trading Cards
1959 Three Stooges
1961 Pirates Bold
1966 Three Stooges
1966 All-Star Match Baseball Game
1969 Stadium Baseball Fact Cards
1971 Harlem Globetrotters

The Fleer Corporation, founded by Frank H. Fleer in 1885, was the first company to successfully manufacture bubble gum (Dubble Bubble); it remained a family-owned enterprise until 1989.

Fleer predated many of its competitors into the business of issuing sports cards with its 1923 release of baseball cards in its "Bobs and Fruit Hearts" candy product. These rare cards are basically the same as the 1923 W515 strip cards but are machine cut and have a printed ad for the candy company on the back. Many years later in 1959 it signed baseball star Ted Williams to a contract and sold an 80-card set oriented around highlights of his career. Fleer was unable to include other players because rival company Topps had signed most active baseball players to exclusive contracts.

Fleer continued to produce baseball cards by featuring Williams with other mostly retired players in a Baseball Greats series. One set was produced in 1960 and a second in 1961. The company did not produce new cards the next year, but continued selling the 1961 set while it focused on signing enough players to produce a set featuring active players in 1963. This 67-card set included a number of stars, including 1962 NL MVP Maury Wills, who had elected to sign with Fleer instead of Topps. However, Topps still held onto the rights of most players and the set was not particularly successful.

After several years of litigation, the Topps monopoly on baseball cards was finally broken by a lawsuit decided by federal judge Clarence Charles Newcomer in 1980, in which the judge ended Topps Chewing Gum's exclusive right to sell baseball cards, allowing the Fleer Corporation to compete in the market. by @i.like.old.fleer

Behind the scenes with #BowmanBetty

I take these shots near her dinner time when she’s hungry. Her “feed me” song makes it easy to grab smiling shots like this first one. But she’s not always cooperative. Sometimes she just can’t be interested even for a single shot. When she’s like this, I try to stage the shot around her. Often I’ll get shots of her looking away from the cards. Sometimes the meow shots are less than flattering.

She’s actually really impressed with “The Card That Touched the Mantle Rookie”: The Mick’s sheet neighbor and fellow rookie, Jackie Jensen.

Jensen was a 3x All Star, World Series Champion, 3x RBI leader, and the 1958 MVP. He was deathly afraid of flying, though. His career was cut short by westward expansion, and the rise of air travel road trips.

How am I able to get her a haul every week? Combined shipping! These #1951bowman “commons” can still be had for under $5 apiece. When shipping is $4, it makes sense to look for combined shipping. I search for “1951 Bowman”, and set the Sort to Ending Soonest. Then I will look for a cluster of cards ending closely to each other and all having the same shipping cost. That’s often a sign of a single seller. If I can get four or more from a single seller, the shipping cost comes out to a dollar per card (or less.) When I’ve identified a clutch of auctions I would like to win, I put them all in my Watchlist, and I set an alarm: usually two minutes to close. That gives me enough time to open the app and do any last minute price research; but not so much time that I get distracted, and forget about it.

The real action for me doesn’t happen until three or fewer seconds left on the auction. That’s when I decide my ceiling, and place my bid. (I know there are programs to do this for me. But I feel like those are cheating.) If I don’t win (but I usually do), I walk away knowing the winner wanted it more than I did. I had my ceiling, and I’m usually the last bid. If that’s not enough, better luck next time.

If you’re losing auctions in the last couple seconds, it could be me buying Bowmans for my cat. 😹

#caturday #adoptdontshop #oldbaseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #whodoyoucollect by @i.like.old.fleer

#miscutmonday
My first Goose RC and it’s actually a HOFer twofer! 😎✌️ Pawthenticator was doing her job again 😽🐾 Judging by the satisfying joins, these look like sheet brothers separated at birth. Or very close cousins (same cut, different sheet.)

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Goose Gossage was one of the earliest manifestations of the modern closer, with a bold mustache and a gruff demeanor to go along with his overpowering 100 mph fastball. He led the American League (AL) in saves three times and was runner-up twice; by the end of the 1987 season he ranked second in major-league career saves, trailing only Rollie Fingers, although by the end of his career his total of 310 had slipped to fourth all time. When he retired he also ranked third in major-league career games pitched (1,002), and he remains third in wins in relief (115) and innings pitched in relief (1,5562⁄3); his 1,502 strikeouts place him behind only Hoyt Wilhelm among pitchers who pitched primarily in relief. He also is the career leader in blown saves (112). From 1977 through 1983 he never recorded an earned run average over 2.62, including a mark of 0.77 in 1981, and in 1980 he finished third in AL voting for both the MVP Award and Cy Young Award as the Yankees won a division title.

Respected for his impact in crucial games, Gossage recorded the final out to clinch a division, league, or World Series title seven times. His eight All-Star selections as a reliever were a record until Mariano Rivera passed him in 2008; he was also selected once as a starting pitcher. In 2008, Gossage was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame; he holds the record with Satchel Paige and Hoyt Wilhelm for the most franchises played for (9) by a Hall-of-Fame pitcher. Gossage now works in broadcasting.

#goosegossage #eddiemathews by @i.like.old.fleer

#caturday
A moon card and a Junior for #BowmanBetty. Taking a bit of a budget breather after Matty, Jackie, and Rube. 😮‍💨😽🐾

Vern Stephens was a shortstop from 1941 through 1955. An eight-time All-Star, he was notable for being the 1945 American League home run champion and was a three-time American League RBI champion. He was the cleanup hitter for the only St. Louis Browns team to win an American League pennant in 1944, and was a top power hitter for the Boston Red Sox. Nicknamed “Little Slug”, “Junior”, and “Buster”, Stephens batted and threw right-handed. He was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2006.

Stephens played five years with the Boston Red Sox from 1948 to 1952. Ted Williams said that he was the most effective of those who followed him in the batting order. In 1949 he hit 39 home runs, second only to Williams’s 43. No other player in the American League had more than 24 homers that year. In 1949 he also batted in 159 runs, tying teammate Williams for the MLB lead. It was the first time in history that two teammates tied for the league lead in RBI. Remarkably, the next year, in 1950, he led the league in RBI again, but again tying a teammate, this time first baseman Walt Dropo, each of them collecting 144 RBI.

#vernstephens #adoptdontshop by @i.like.old.fleer

Separated at birth… 😼
#bowmanbetty #mckaylamaroney #adoptdontshop by @i.like.old.fleer

Explaining the World Series match up to #BowmanBetty who has never seen a devil ray or a Devil Ray. Her collection ends at 1987 Topps or 1992 Upper Deck.

“So you see, it’s the Brewers versus the Rays,….” 😺😽

I picked up Parsons because I collect 1973 action shots. And the Rays? This is the closest I’ll come to his cards. Even these reprints are fantastically scarce!

Bill Parsons played his first game in the major leagues on April 13, 1971. He was in the starting rotation for the last-place Brewers in his rookie season, going 13–17 with a 3.20 ERA, while 7th in the league with 4 shutouts and 8th in the AL with 93 walks. Parsons was second in the 1971 BBWAA Rookie of the Year voting, losing out to Chris Chambliss, and was named The Sporting News AL Rookie Pitcher of the Year.

He saw little game time for the remainder of his career.

Ray Caldwell finished the 1919 season with the Cleveland Indians. While other clubs tried to curb his alcoholism, manager Tris Speaker had a novel approach. He commanded Caldwell to pitch, drink, sleep off the hangover the next day, and come back for wind sprints two days later, and batting practice the day after that. The regimen worked. In six starts with Cleveland that year, he went 5-1 with a 1.71 ERA. On August 24, he was struck by lightning having completed 8 ⅔ innings. Despite being knocked unconscious, he refused to leave the game and went on to record the final out for the win. Three weeks later, he pitched a no-hitter against his former team, the New York Yankees.
#billparsons #raycaldwell by @i.like.old.fleer

#montemonday #monteirvin
Seems like I’m slowly building a #pinhole set of 53’s.

Approached by Branch Rickey in 1946, Monte Irvin turned down the chance to be the first black player in Major League Baseball.

“I got home on September 1, 1945. In October, I started playing right field for the Newark Eagles. I had been a .400 hitter before the war. I became a .300 hitter after the war. I had lost three prime years. I hadn’t played at all. The war had changed me mentally and physically.”

He returned to the Newark Eagles in 1946 to lead his team to a league pennant. Irvin won his second batting championship, hitting .401, and was instrumental in beating the Kansas City Monarchs in a seven-game Negro League World Series, batting .462 with three home runs.

Late in 1948, Rickey signed Irvin to a minor league contract, believing he was a free agent. But when the Eagles protested that he was still under contract, Rickey renounced his rights. In January 1949, the Eagles sold Irvin’s contract to the New York Giants for $5,000.

In 1951, Monte Irvin sparked the Giants’ miraculous comeback to overtake the Dodgers in the pennant race, batting .312 with 24 homers and a league-best 121 runs batted in (RBI), en route to the World Series (he went 11–24 for .458). In the third game of the playoffs between the Giants and Dodgers, Irvin popped out in the bottom of the ninth inning before Bobby Thomson hit the Shot Heard ‘Round the World. That year Irvin teamed with Hank Thompson and Willie Mays to form the first all-black outfield in the majors. Later, he finished third in the NL’s MVP voting.

During that season, Giants manager Leo Durocher asked Irvin to serve as a mentor for Mays, who had been called up to the team in May. Mays later said, “In my time, when I was coming up, you had to have some kind of guidance. And Monte was like my brother ... I couldn’t go anywhere without him, especially on the road ... It was just a treat to be around him. I didn’t understand life in New York until I met Monte. He knew everything about what was going on and he protected me dearly.” Irvin later replied, “I did that for two years and in the third year he started showing me around.” by @i.like.old.fleer

Been watching a Red Man Yogi 🧘 for a while now. Because how could you not? Then this lot came along and I managed to snag two more HOFers and another Yankee for #BowmanBetty to sit on. (She steps on Mantles. 🤦🏼‍♂️😹)

In November 1951, it was reported that Boston Red Sox manager, Lou Boudreau, wanted to trade Ted Williams for Chico Carrasquel but White Sox general manager Frank Lane refused the offer. “We’ll take Williams and pay him his Boston salary, not the $125,000 given out to gullible reporters in Boston. In return, we’ll gladly pay the proper and required price in player, money, marbles and bubble gum. But,” added a pompous-sounding Lane, “no proper price can possibly include our All-Star shortstop, especially in a deal for a 33-year-old outfielder who couldn’t play shortstop with the aid of three arms and a lacrosse racquet.”

#yogiberra #smarterthantheaverageberra #caturday #adoptdontshop by @i.like.old.fleer

#fleerfriday #funfriday Picked up a Hippity Hopp the other week because if you couldn’t tell from Boots Day, sometimes it’s just the name that makes me want the card. This one was an oops buy. It popped up in my Saved Search. I took the first bid fully expecting to get outbid. And I didn’t. And I’m not even mad. As long as I have Hippity Hopp, may as well pair him with a Rabbit. 🐰👍

Johnny Hopp played 14 seasons with six teams. He went to the World Series 5 times and came home with four rings. He had an All Star selection in 1946 and a lifetime .296 batting average which included a .336 season in 1944 and a .334 mark in 1946. His brother Harry “Hippity” Hopp played in the NFL and sometimes the press would give him that moniker as well.

#hippityhop #rabbitmaranville by @i.like.old.fleer

Some days it is a no shoes day. And others, it is a Boots Day! With a playing and coaching career spanning 55 years, he was the second oldest player to record an at bat in professional baseball at age 74.

In 1971, his best major league season, Boots Day reached career highs in hits (105), home runs (4), RBIs (33), and batting average (.283) in 122 games played. He was tied for second in the league in sacrifice hits (16). Although he only played in 118 games in center field, he tied for the league lead in assists by a center fielder (9), with Cito Gaston who played 125 games in center field that year. Day was also second in fielding percentage (.983).

Before the 1974 season, the Expos acquired veteran center fielder Willie Davis in an offseason blockbuster trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers for star relief pitcher Mike Marshall (who would win the Cy Young Award for the Dodgers in 1974). Day lost his semi-regular job. After only 52 games and 72 at-bats in 1974, he returned to the minor leagues for the remainder of his playing career.

His No. 8 uniform was then issued to rookie catcher Gary Carter in 1975; Carter went on to a Baseball Hall of Fame career and the Expos retired the number in his honor.

Day appeared in 471 MLB games (449 of them with Montreal), and batted .256 with 295 hits, 28 doubles, eight home runs and 98 runs batted in, in 1,151 at-bats.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, and Montreal Expos. Day was bench coach for the Evansville Otters of the Frontier League, and was in professional baseball for 55 years before retiring in 2021.

In his final game as a coach, he was also the lead-off batter and designated hitter at age 74. After working the count, he bounced out to the left side. He was subbed out for the rest of the game. The Otters won their league leading 57th game that day to close out their season.

#bootsday #vintagebaseballcards #pinholecards by @i.like.old.fleer

#wabiwednesday #waddellwednesday
This is two lies and a truth. Turkey Red edition. The Perez-Steele was the first I picked up. Then the Helmar. This may be my only Helmar piece. But I love it. And just recently, I was able to pick up the real deal, the T3 Turkey Red cabinet card. After waiting for the sleeves and top loaders to arrive, I cracked it from its plastic tomb with ease. It was SGC so it gave up its grip without any major effort. It smells every bit delicious as we were expecting it to!

The Rollins one sent me down a rabbit hole. Continued in the comments.

Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida and Stetson University at nearby De Land, Florida had for years carried on a keen rivalry in sports – particularly baseball. Things heated up in 1903. Stetson, in an attempt to beef up its team, brought in some University of Illinois players and inserted them in the lineup. The Rollins College counterattack involved major league star Rube Waddell and his Philadelphia Athletics battery mate Ossee “Schreck” Schreckengost.

Rollins trustee and avid baseball fan William C. Temple was instrumental in bringing Waddell to Florida in January 1903 where he enrolled as a student and signed up for a business course. The Rollins catcher was unable to handle Waddell’s fast ball (it was reported that Waddell’s speed would frequently flatten his battery mate). Rube insisted if he was going to pitch for Rollins it would require professional catching and that’s how Schreckengost entered the picture.

The day of the big game rolled around and Stetson came down to Winter Park by train. Whether they had their big University of Illinois players with them or not, the sight of the powerful and overwhelming Rube Waddell was too much for them. The Stetson team refused to play and waited for the next train to take them back to De Land.

…continued in comments…

#rubewaddell #wabisabi by @i.like.old.fleer