1946 Cleveland Browns "Sears" Team Set

[jp1216]

Steve -

Thanks for the reply. Always looking for insight like that!

First, these are the CLEVELAND Browns. Not St. Louis. But worth looking at old newspaper etc ads.

The '46 Sears team booklet has about 33 or so players included. Yes, Yonakor is in there using the same picture. Same union print logo on the back of the booklet. In between the clarity of the PSA 'authenticated' set and the new Yonakor card. Blotched and hard to make out.

During the '46 season, the same 33 or so players appeared in game programs. All but a couple used the same image. No mention of the same union printing company in these game programs, but near the back there is an advertisement and store front picture for a local printing company that refers to itself as 'The official printing company of the Cleveland Browns'. But over the years - times change. The address given is now a near downtown nightclub (gay bar to be exact). Store front hasn't changed in 100 years, but the inside has.

My feeling is that the original 8 card set is due to 8 cards fitting on a sheet. A couple uncut sheets from the same original seller have been sold at auction in the past 5 or so years. Maybe more players were printed on different sheets??? HOFers Motley and Willis were black players. Could've been on a sheet with Yonakor and not widely produced. Lou Groza should've had a card too.

I'll try to do some better picture comparisons between the PSA, Yonakor, booklet etc. I also have saved pictures of another 8 card '46 Browns set that closely matches this Yonakor card. Notice the 2nd line on the front beginning with 'away..'

Thanks for the insight guys!

[jp1216]

Picture of uncut sheet:



Picture of Yonakor from the '46 Sears Booklet:



Union Print Logo from the back of the Sears Booklet:



'46 Game Program showing Yonakor:

[jp1216]

Picture of another 8 card set. Same images once used by Beckett.com for reference. Today, no images appear. Odd.
Archived Google pictures of Beckett show these cards. The fronts and backs do match the Yonakor. Sept. vs. Sep. etc.
Note the second line of text beginning with 'away'. The Yonakor card better matches this set vs. the PSA 'authenticated' ones.

[jp1216]

Front/Back of the archived Beckett.com image for Dante Lavelli.
Better match to the Yonakor than the PSA 'authenticated' sets. Front placement of words and back abbreviations.



vs.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by jp1216

Steve -



First, these are the CLEVELAND Browns. Not St. Louis. But worth looking at old newspaper etc ads.

DOH!

I plead that it's almost baseball season

Steve B

[jp1216]

Just a bump for May.
Saw one of those Sears Booklets sold on eBay tonight for over $130! AAFC collecting is strong.

[jefferyepayne]

Originally Posted by jp1216

Just a bump for May.
Saw one of those Sears Booklets sold on eBay tonight for over $130! AAFC collecting is strong.

Wow, great collectible. Sorry I missed the auction!

ejff

[jp1216]

Jeff (and others) -
With the 2015 National right around the corner - Good luck with those attending and please be on the look out for AAFC (especially Browns) items. Happy Hunting.

A great question in regards to Willis and Motley. Though a popular previous player of Paul Brown, Marion Motley may have been left out of the set due to his vehicular homicide conviction in 1940. Or the more obvious reason.....

Is there any card of Willis prior to 1980's?

[bcbgcbrcb]

Willis appears in the 1977 Touchdown Club set, his earliest known individual card.

[TanksAndSpartans]

Motley has long been one of my favorite players (this goes back to when I was a kid and read about him - I picked up a library book about football and read his chapter - it was my first exposure to NFL history and I never forgot it).

The only source I've ever found on the vehicular homicide conviction is from a writer named Dan Daly - the book is called "The National forgotten league". I never read it, but excerpts were published for promotional reasons and can be found online. I suspect there are some good stories in there, but I guess personally I wasn't excited about it because the Motley part has a bit too much of a tabloid feel to it. The story explains that Motley tried to pass a car by driving into the opposite lane and crashed head on into an oncoming car. I believe it was nighttime and that's about the extent of the details provided.

I had found the exclusion of Motley and Willis suspicious and disappointing, but in fairness, I think 1946 was the AAFC's first season. Otto Graham was a star at Northwestern and drafted by the Lions, but beyond him, not sure anyone else could've been projected to be a star before the season started.

P.S. On a brighter note, this was a great thread to read - I wasn't here the first time around, and this was a set I always found interesting since it arguably contains "rookie" cards of Graham and Dante Lavelli.

P.S.S. Speaking of AAFC collectables, there isn't anything on Spec Sanders, right?

Huge Motley fan as well and have done some research on the car accident, March 24, 1940. An interesting sidenote were the passengers in the car w/Motley; 1939 Reno Mountain Eagles baseball teammates Ralph Turner and Eddie Claxton (son of Jimmy Claxton). A decent ballplayer Motley played outfield and pitched for the black baseball team in Reno, the Dixie Club 1940-41, as well as integrated the Verdi, Nevada amateur baseball team for a few games in 1940. Eddie was an outstanding Reno High School/semi-professional baseball player (pitcher/firstbaseman), and freshman at University of Nevada at Reno. Motley separated his shoulder, Turner escaped with scrapes, and Claxtons' left wrist was shattered which ended his baseball career.

In regards to Willis, it is simply incredible that a player can have a 10 year Hall of Fame career and not have a football card until 20 years after his retirement from the gridiron...

[jefferyepayne]

Originally Posted by DezHood

P.S. On a brighter note, this was a great thread to read - I wasn't here the first time around, and this was a set I always found interesting since it arguably contains "rookie" cards of Graham and Dante Lavelli.

And HOFer Frank Gatski! This is a great set that is a must have for anybody who collects AAFC memorabilia or pre-rookie cards of HOFers.

With Jon's discover of the Yonakor, it's very possible there was a second sheet that was created either for promotional purposes or just never distributed. I don't know that we will every know for sure.

jeff