Posted By:
Ted ZanidakisThe 1st series, 2/3 (33 cards) of the 49 have the 1948 COPY-
RIGHT; and, 16 cards have the 1949 COPYRIGHT. The 2nd series
(scarce issue) approx. has the same breakdown between 1948 &
1949 COPYRIGHTs. Does this suggest that some cards were issued
in 1948, while others in 1949 ? HECK NO !
1st..It is ILLEGAL, & certainly ILLOGICAL to grant a COPYRIGHT
in advance.
2nd..I can clearly recall buying and trading many of the LEAF
BB cards early in 1949. In Hillside, NJ we only had the 1st
series cards. My original collection survived and I had over
100 of these cards. We kept buying them since we could not
figure how many completed a set (due to the skip-nos. cards)
3rd..Then, in the early '80s I acquired an uncut 49-card sheet
of 1948 LEAF Boxing Champs and an uncut 49-card sheet of
1949 LEAF BB cards (1st series). This confirmed in my mind
that my recollection was accurate regarding this 1949 issue
4th..In researching into the players who were traded late in
1948 that are portrayed in this set, it becomes evident that
it is virtually impossible to have marketed this set in 1948
Finally, I was able to complete the 1949 LEAF set during the
1980's, starting with Leroy Paige. I acquired this card back
in 1982 from Rick Starks (Erie, PA dealer). He helped me with
almost all of the 2nd 49 cards, as nearby OHIO was the main
souce of them. My experience with the "scarce" LEAF cards is
that LEAF limited distribution of them to OHIO and MICHIGAN.