1968-1969 Globe Imports All Variations

[aelefson]

Hi-
As I indicated a month or two ago, I was working on buying back my old Globe Import collection from a dealer I sold it to about ten years ago. I put this collection together in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I know I got the red backed set and the Mantle at a Wilmington MA show in the early 2000s.

This collection is what the current Standard Catalog description is based on as I reported the information regarding more than one printing to the editor of the catalog in 2004. However, the catalog is wrong in that I believe it indicates that the second printing always had a red back. However, the red backs are much more difficult to find, and plain backed 2nd printings are common

I separate the printings based on variations (the earlier set contains Drysdale or Mantle as the Ace of Spades whereas Ken Harrelson is in the more common printing. The other easy way to distinguish printings is based on whether team logos show or not. The ones with team logos are part of the first printing, and the ones with the logos whited out are part of the second printing. All of the red back cards are from the 2nd series (all of the more common variations are found within it).

Not all cards have team logos at all, so that is why you will see up to three of some cards (series 1, 2 and red back) while others only have two. For some odd reason, I am missing the Tom Seaver with red back and there is no logical reason for it not to exist. I do not know if I accidentally placed it behind another card, or if I never had it in the first place.

I believe that red backed version of Mantle and Drysdale will never be found as I do believe these came in the first printing only. I also believe there exists a blue backed set as I remember hearing about it in the early 2000s. There is also a Yaz card that was found more recently (2007 or 08?) but I have never found one in all of the decks I have opened (more than 50).

Below is my full collection scanned (still inside pages). If anyone wants clearer scans of any cards, please let me know. Please also let me know if you have any questions about these cards, or about any other cards from the set(s).

Alan Elefson
aelefson@hotmail.com

[aelefson]

More scans.

[aelefson]

More scans

[aelefson]

Additional Scans

[aelefson]

Even more...

[aelefson]

Still more.

[aelefson]

Last Group!

[Bestdj777]

Very cool. Thank you for sharing.

[cardinalcollector]

Alan, very nice, thanks for showing them all.
I would love to find the 5 Cardinals with the red checkerbacks some day.

[aelefson]

Thanks Chris and Randy! Randy, if I ever find duplicates of the Cardinals (or decide to break up my collection) I will definitely let you know.
Alan

[ALR-bishop]

Neat story Alan. What caused you to sell in the first place ? Had the dealer not been able to sell them, or had he just held them ? Did it cost a lot more to require them ? What caused the change of heart ? Did you're deal with Bob Lemke at SCD ?

Tom Bartsch is the current editor and if you contact him he might make the change. You can contact him through the SCD web site...tombartsch@fwmedia.com

[aelefson]

I cannot remember if I dealt with Bob or Don (Fluckinger?) originally, but I will email Tom to see if I can get the listings corrected (thank you for his email address).

I sold the cards (along with most of the rest of my meager collection at that point) because I needed the money. I told him I would buy them back from him if he was unable to make a profit on them. Over the next several years, he offered to sell me the binder back (at cost). I declined several times because I did not have the money. He never had the binder with him, and I believe it was in his attic over the years.

Within the past several years, my situation changed, and I began trying to reacquire the binder. He and I would see each other at a few local shows every year, but he would always forget the binder! Finally, I saw him at a local show a few weeks ago and he had recently uncovered the binder in his attic. We met the next day and I purchased it for the same price I sold it for ten years ago.

I have mixed feelings when it comes to this set. It does not really fit in with my regular collections (one image of every Red Sox player, same for every HOFer, Cobb/Ruth photos and memorabilia, and 19th century stuff), but it is also cool to have the cards that changed the Standard Catalog listing.

I bought my first small group of these in the early 1990s at a flea market, and they included the Drysdale. It was my only un-catalogued card in my collection for years. I was amazed both at finding what I thought was a rare card, and that the regular set was so cheap in the catalog. I am still somewhat amazed at how cheaply this set lists at, but because of this, I was able to buy the red backed set for 10.00, and a pack with the Mantle for the same price.

I taught a dealer friend some of the nuances of the set, and he ended up doing well with grading them, and selling them to player registry collections. He found the Yaz version (I never found one). I am amazed at the prices he got for some of his graded ones, but I do not like grading (never bought a graded card and hopefully never will) and will not follow in his footsteps.

Of course, these cards are paper thin and look like they could have been photo copied yesterday. I hope (maybe too naively) that folks would not be reproducing these because of how cheap they are to begin with. To me, their price, along with the player selection (large number of HOFers) makes this set a really cool collectible from the late 1960s, and easily within most collectors' budgets.

Alan

[ALR-bishop]

They are always looking for articles for their magazine. You should consider doing a write up on it and your experiences with it. A sometimes poster here, Carlton Miller, has a passion for the Topps 1968 Milton Bradley game set and did an article on it that appeared recently in the magazine. He worked through Bartsch

[cardinalcollector]

Thanks Alan, should you decide to sell, please let me know. Randy

[sschauer]

Has anyone seen the red checkered backed before or Alan do you or have you seem them before. I've search since they were listed in the catalog about the red checkered board back but have never seen even a common. Just wondered if they are super rare or even 1/1 test printings or just not super collected to be listed all that often.

[1966CUDA]

I will have to check...but I believe I have a red-tint Babe Ruth from this set somewhere. I don't remember what the card designation was but I believe it was an ace.
-Claude

[aelefson]

Hi-
The Ruth is actually from a different set (at least as far as I can tell). There is also at least one set of nude women (it is fairly common), but no other similarly designed cards that I have found. If yours has a red back similar to these (or any back other than white) I would love to see a scan. Oddly, the joker is rare to find as well (it is not normally in the no team logo/white back common sealed set).

Regarding the red backs, I believe others exist but have never seen them. I cannot recall if I purchased this set unopened or opened, but I do know that if you stack them all together with the cardboard insert at the bottom (the way they came originally) you can definitely see a red tint, so it would look different than the normal packs (all white backs).

I believe that more do exist but because the set is priced so low (and looks so bad), I do not believe anyone ever cared enough to check. I believe they are scarcer than the white backs. I also believe a blue backed set exists somewhere, as I remember being told of one.

[AP34]

Cool collection, I just purchased a sealed pack for cheap, hoping for a nice mays. So basically if the outside card has team logos, there is no mantle inside. Also is there a way to tell if it is the checkered backs or not on a sealed pack.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by AP34

Cool collection, I just purchased a sealed pack for cheap, hoping for a nice mays. So basically if the outside card has team logos, there is no mantle inside. Also is there a way to tell if it is the checkered backs or not on a sealed pack.

My understanding is that it's impossible to tell from a sealed pack whether the cards inside are checkerboard back or plain back.

I just got a big chunk of checkerboard backs graded by PSA, literally last week.

They are certs 68575084 to 68575130. They include scans of each item, so you can check out the pics just by checking out the certs on PSA's website.

And I'm selling most of them on eBay at museum prices, if someone wants to buy them badly enough. Or you can PM me here if you're interested.

[Mark70Z]

If anyone has the red checker back Brooksie I’d be interested.

[ALBB]

cool cards, I remember buying the deck as a kid, was quite cheap

Nowadays, they just seem difficult to tell if there original or reprinted

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Mark70Z

If anyone has the red checker back Brooksie I’d be interested.

I just sold mine to the man who was missing it to get to 100% on the Brooks Master Set Registry.

[Mark70Z]

Originally Posted by raulus

I just sold mine to the man who was missing it to get to 100% on the Brooks Master Set Registry.

Yeah, he probably “needed” it more than me. Still like to pick up one day if one becomes available.

[darkhorse9]

These always bothered me. Is there any way to tell an original set from a reprint?

I bought a set of these from the Baseball Hall of Fame gift shop back around 1974. I imagine it's real, but the images are pretty blurry.

[philliesfan]

Wow. pretty neat. I have never seen the red back ones before.
Bob