1939 Play Ball Variations

[bigfanNY]

The Variations folks discussed here for the1939 Playball set have been known for decades. There was one early guide that listed them coming in 2 sizes ( due to the extra large borders). The first Baseball card dealer I met in 1973 was Paul Gallagher who ran the NYC show with his brother but My Dad and I met him at an antique show in Madison square garden. he had a table stacked with all varieties of cards. My dad had bought along a few of his playballs from 39 40 and 41. And he asked him if he had any 40 playballs And I can still see my dads face as as Mr Gallagher opened up a suitcase full. My dad went through and bought the Yankees he still needed maybe 3 or 4. He said he had as many 39's if we wanted to look but My dad said he had a nice DiMaggio but never much liked the 39's. Paul laughed yes he said NO NAMES ON THE FRONT everybody says nice pictures but no names.
So the 39 set has been the least favorite set of its era for a long time. I know there were articles written about them in the late 70's describing the variations and discussing the size differances but it has never been a popular set. That is not to say it is easy to put together, The high numbers are tough and the Williams and DiMaggio have always been sought after.
Two years later in 1975 we had completed the 40 set and my Dad had his 41 set from when he was a kid but we never completed the 39 set. My old checklist says we topped out at 128 of the 161. Glad to see renewed interest.

[spec]

Originally Posted by bigfanNY

The Variations folks discussed here for the1939 Playball set have been known for decades. There was one early guide that listed them coming in 2 sizes ( due to the extra large borders). The first Baseball card dealer I met in 1973 was Paul Gallagher who ran the NYC show with his brother but My Dad and I met him at an antique show in Madison square garden. he had a table stacked with all varieties of cards. My dad had bought along a few of his playballs from 39 40 and 41. And he asked him if he had any 40 playballs And I can still see my dads face as as Mr Gallagher opened up a suitcase full. My dad went through and bought the Yankees he still needed maybe 3 or 4. He said he had as many 39's if we wanted to look but My dad said he had a nice DiMaggio but never much liked the 39's. Paul laughed yes he said NO NAMES ON THE FRONT everybody says nice pictures but no names.
So the 39 set has been the least favorite set of its era for a long time. I know there were articles written about them in the late 70's describing the variations and discussing the size differances but it has never been a popular set. That is not to say it is easy to put together, The high numbers are tough and the Williams and DiMaggio have always been sought after.
Two years later in 1975 we had completed the 40 set and my Dad had his 41 set from when he was a kid but we never completed the 39 set. My old checklist says we topped out at 128 of the 161. Glad to see renewed interest.

Jonathan,
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I spent several shows behind Paul Gallagher's table in the 70s, sorting through boxes and suitcases, usually in quest of some of the exotic nonsports cards he had. Though Paul was a bit disheveled, personally and professionally, he was kind to me and undoubtedly a passionate collector.
By the way, my understanding back in the day was that the low number Play Balls with upper and lower case names on back were issued along with the "high numbers" to bolster sales since the late series was essentially devoid of name players. In building my set, I found them about as scarce as the "high numbers."

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by spec

By the way, my understanding back in the day was that the low number Play Balls with upper and lower case names on back were issued along with the "high numbers" to bolster sales since the late series was essentially devoid of name players. In building my set, I found them about as scarce as the "high numbers."

That makes sense. There are 36 high numbers, and it appears that 72 cards of the 115 low numbers are available with the upper/lower case variation.

Have complete sheets of 1939 Play Ball been seen? It would be interesting to know how many cards came on a complete sheet.

Brian

[Sterling Sports Auctions]

All the variations from the collection received, are in the current Sterling auction.

Thanks

Lee Behrens
320-219-1372