With very much sadness, I'm reporting the passing away of one of the greatest friends I have had the honor of knowing in this great hobby. I'd like to take a little of your time
to tell you about Jack Weaver.
Circa 1983, I was set up at a small BB card show at a Firehouse in Trenton, NJ. An older (mid-60's) gentleman approached my table, looking for 1934-36 Diamond Stars cards.
I gave him a stack of about 60 cards. And, I noticed that he was more interested in the backs of these Diamond Stars. So, I asked him if he was completing a set ? He said.....
"My 108-card set was completed in 1936, and I am now working on a Master set (170-cards)". Then, Jack told me of all the sets (Sports & Non-Sports) that he had completed
in the course of 50 years. His sets went back to 19th Century, early 20th Century T-cards & E-cards, virtually all the Goudey, Play Ball, and Bowman sets. And, a vast number
of Topps sets. The 1975 Topps set was one of his favorites. Including the Mini version, Jack had completed 14 sets of the 1975's.
To paraphrase Claude Rains to Bogey in the closing scene in Casablanca "this was the start of a great friendship"..when Jack informed me his Aunt was George Moll's secretary.
George Moll was the genius behind the Bowman Gum Co. in 1938 - 1955. The George Moll Advertising Agency in Philadelphia produced the Gum, Inc. (1938 - 1943) Sports &
Non-Sports cards. And, also for the 1948 - 1955 Bowman Sports and Non-Sports cards. Jack arranged for me to meet and interview some of the artists that were former em-
ployees of the Bowman Gum Co.
Jack was a professional artist who never really retired. In his later years he did artwork for many of the well-known BB players. When I would visit Jack at his home in Yardley,
Pennsylvania, I was amazed at all his artwork of living HOFer's that he had on display on the walls of his BB room. And, I'll never forget our great BB card trading sessions that
would last for many hours. Or, some exciting Phillies games we got to see with his season tickets.
Many of you may find this quite interesting. In 1973, Jack attended a BB card Show in Lambertville, NJ. There was a guy there from Princeton selling T206's. Jack acquired 40
cards for only $1 each. Included in this group were Johnson (pitching), and 3 green Cobb's. One of these green Cobb's was the "split-screen" card (that may be the same Cobb
that Jeff Lichtman owns).
At the Willow Grove Show in the late 1970's, Jack traded this unusual green Cobb for 5 - 1933 Goudey's. Needless to say, this was his biggest regrets in the hobby. Conversely,
in the early 1970's, Jack acquired one of his favorite BB players, Buck Weaver (OBAK) for a few $$.
Recently, when Jack consigned his collection to an auction house, he sold the above stated Johnson (SGC 84) for $4500. And, his Buck Weaver (SGC 60) for $4500.
Jack would occasionally check into Net54. He never posted, but did enjoy reading threads that pertained to his collecting interests.
Several years ago, my Family celebrated my birthday. Friends attending were Barry and Judy Sloate, and Jack and Jayne Weaver. Jack presented me a token of his artwork.....
There is a lot more I could say about Jack; but, I will leave you with this to ponder....we all love these little pieces of artistic cardboard that we collect and they will be here for
a very long time. Far more important are the people we meet in the process of collecting them and the long term friendships we establish because of this hobby.
GOD BLESS your soul Jack....and, comfort your Family.
TED Z
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