Ruth - Gehrig 1930s cards

[Ricky]

One of the things that has always fascinated me and I've always wondered about is the appearance and non-appearance of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in early to mid-1930s national baseball card sets. Arguably the top two players from that era, they go missing in some major sets.

We know that Babe Ruth signed an exclusive contract to appear on Goudey cards in 1933, leading to his absence on sets like Delong, Tatoo Orbit and others. Lou Gehrig also appears in the '33 Goudey set, but his was not an exclusive agreement, as he shows up in Delong. So, 1933 is easily understandable.

In 1934, Gehrig gets the exclusive treatment from Goudey with the Lou Gehrig Says set. However, Ruth disappears. Coming off an excellent 1933 season, at a time when he'd be in big demand to include in a national set, he doesn't appear in Goudey, Batter Up or Diamond Star.

Ruth returns to Goudey in 1935 in his last season, but now Gehrig disappears. Meanwhile, neither get added to Batter Up or Diamond Stars. In 1936, once again, Gehrig is not in Goudey and again not added to Batter Up or Diamond Stars. And finally, Gehrig is nowhere to be found in 1938 Goudey or 1939 Play Ball. The biggest name in baseball and no major cards (outside of premiums and the like) after 1934.

I'm very curious if anyone has any thoughts as to why these two were missing from so many major sets...