1940's to 1960's Cleveland Indians Team Issue Postcards
 

I had some time this past weekend and finally got around to organizing the small stacks of Cleveland Indians individual player postcards I have accumulated over the years. The sheer number of cards I had that were not duplicates was pretty amazing. Filled up an entire 3" binder 4 per page (I ended up with roughly 100 pages of them). I figured I'd have a small mountain of duplicates but had far fewer than I imagined (I kept the minor cropping differences). I stopped with the 1970-1971 uniform change, so 1940's to 1970/71.

Has there ever been an exhaustive study of these postcards?

http://starsofthediamond.com/indianspc1.JPG

http://starsofthediamond.com/indianspc2.JPG

http://starsofthediamond.com/indianspc3.JPG

http://starsofthediamond.com/indianspc4.JPG

How many different Al Rosens do you have?

Interestingly only one or two. I have seen other Rosen’s and may pursue them at this point to just add to the collection. Probably the fewest of any player of the era so they were probably removed by another collector before I got to them.

I am still amazed at the sheer number of different players and poses they made, I have probably 7-8 different Colavito’s. Most of the Cleveland postcards you find are signed but it appears some are secretarial.

Cleveland Indians PCs - Thanks for sharing!
 

This is one of those areas of collecting that is just not organized yet. The Cleveland Indians PCs from around 1948-62 are in a disarray, with somewhere around 8-10 distinct sets, and perhaps more. You probably noticed the same cards with block letters, italic letters, and no letters in some cases. The key of course will be differences in lettering, player uniforms, and PC backs, but even then I don't know if we can ever say definitively a particular set is complete unless we can account for every player, coach, manager, etc. (and in some cases, veterans such as Tris Speaker).

The 1963-69 PCs are a bit more organized. There was a great article in SCD a few years back that offered up a checklist, including numerous poses of many players. I suspect this grouping could possibly be multiple sets as well, but I have been satisfied with the moniker "1963-69 Cleveland Indians PCs" in my collection for some time now.

The 1970s is covered fairly well between The Sports Collectors Bible and the Standard Catalog from around 2000 through a few years latter or so - unfortunately you can't find them in more recent versions.

I have a smattering of cards across all of those years, but no firm checklists yet other than those mentioned. Looks like quite a nice group of cards!

Sports Collectors Bible
 

I went back and checked the Sports Collectors Bible (2nd Ed), and they actually do list and organize the Cleveland Indians PCs more than I remembered. The book lists the Tribe PCs from 1948-75 as "PC-791" on pgs 417-419, as follows:

PC-791
Type I 1948-51 (Indian Head Patch on Sleeve)
Type II 1952-54 (No Piping on Uniform)
Type III 1955-57 (No Names on Front)
Type IV 1955: (Portraits Only)
Type V 1958-62: (Pinstripe Uniforms, Block Letters)
Type VI 1963-69: (Sleeveless Uniforms)
Type VII 1970-71: (New Pinstripes, 3-D Lettering on Uniform)
Type VIII 1972: (Stretch Knit Uniforms)
Type IX 1973: (Unnumbered, Color)
Type X 1974: (Partially Numbered, Color)

PC 791-2
1975: (Color, Unnumbered)

I remember thinking the groupings, many being multiyear, had to each be more than one set. I think that would be the next level of organization worth exploring, to pinpoint by year if possible.

Many players have multiple poses in the various sets. There are a total of 5 Al Rosen PCs listed across these sets, with 2 poses in the Type Is, then 1 each in the Type II, III, and IV sets.

Checklists for Cleveland Indians Team Issued Postcards
 

I have worked with Dan Even to come up with as complete a list as we can of the team issues from 1947-72. Dan is the one who set up the ten types listed by J Lange on this thread and is considered the postcard expert in the field. I can help you if you're still interested in finding out what is out there that is known to exist. Like J Lange said, though; I don't think it will ever be a complete list. I've added three more uncataloged pcs this year alone.

Bill - you were the author of this?
 

I still carry this with me to card shows, though I’m not sure how current I’ve kept updating what I buy. It will go with me to the National in a few weeks

Trying to remember how I obtained this way back when. 😀

Dave Carson (formerly of Poland, Ohio)

Bill, Long time Tribe collector here. I am interested in possibly starting a vintage Tribe postcard collection but don't know much at all about the team issued postcards. Is the list you refer to in your post available anywhere? Thanks.

[QUOTE=JLange;1788449]I went back and checked the Sports Collectors Bible (2nd Ed), and they actually do list and organize the Cleveland Indians PCs more than I remembered. The book lists the Tribe PCs from 1948-75 as "PC-791" on pgs 417-419, as follows:

PC-791
Type I 1948-51 (Indian Head Patch on Sleeve)
Type II 1952-54 (No Piping on Uniform)
Type III 1955-57 (No Names on Front)
Type IV 1955: (Portraits Only)


Many players have multiple poses in the various sets. There are a total of 5 Al Rosen PCs listed across these sets, with 2 poses in the Type Is, then 1 each in the Type II, III, and IV sets.[/QUOTE]


Here's what I have:

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...igned%20PC.JPG
http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...0variation.jpg
http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...951%20RPPC.jpg
http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...0PC%202012.jpg
http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...d%20PC%201.JPG

I sold these with an ad in SCD back in the day. I never updated them because of all the various issues that suddenly flooded the market in 1981. I couldn't keep up. BTW, my dad's family grew up in Poland, OH. Still have relatives over there.

Sorry that it's taken me 7 years to see this. Still interested?

Hi Bill. Thought that might’ve been you.

I’ve been in Indy since 1997. I think we talked way back about the high school athletic exploits of your family. I did a lot of research on that from newspaper microfilm back in the day

Good to hear from you

I still check the booklet a few times a year