Was 1938 Goudey baseball originally designed by National Chicle?

[Spike]

I've been looking at the timelines & designs of Goudey and National Chicle between 1933 and 1937 and wonder if the (repeated) 24-player series released as 1938 Goudey is, essentially, two design proposals abandoned by National Chicle when they went bankrupt and completed by Goudey for 1938 after they acquired Chicle's assets and equipment.

The art in Chicle's hand-painted sets and innovation of their die-cut Batter-Ups stands out compared to Goudey's repeated use (and reuse) of black-and-white or tinted photos for cards & premiums, leading me to think Goudey's best creative talent went to local competitors after 1933-34. (Like Goudey, both National Chicle and DeLong were based in Greater Boston.) Artistically, 1938 Goudey is a significant departure from their 1935-37 baseball issues, but closer to Chicle's handmade style.

The mystery I hope this can explain is why Goudey printed two near-identical series of the same 24 players. If Chicle themselves planned new cards in 1937 or 1938, they could've continued the 1934-36 Diamond Stars, but might've either lost their artist or needed a cheaper option. 1938's cards are headless figure drawings overlaid with newspaper cut-outs. It's good-looking, but not complicated to produce. Rookie Bobby Doerr dates the art itself to 1937, but it could've been April 1937, as Doerr started strong and played locally for Boston.

No single detail makes a sure link 1938 Goudey and Chicle, but the business timing makes sense, considering how little effort Goudey put into baseball packs after 1936. Chicle's artist could've created two 24-player sets to give them options: "Which do you like better, with or without cartoons?" 1938's font is also a better match for Chicle; compare its clean lettering to Diamond Stars.

Chicle might've planned to use just one or the other, but once Goudey acquired Chicle's assets, any ready-to-print cards, even if repetitive, would've been a bonus. They might've even brought back former Goudey employees, ready to link to 1933's glory days by starting at #241.

So am I crazy? Do I have important history wrong? It's hard to think this hasn't been considered before, given the attention paid to Topps' similar acquisition of Bowman a generation later.

[Al C.risafulli]

There's nothing in this theory that seems outrageous to me.

Obviously, Goudey acquired the Chicle assets in 1937, and aside from their use of the "Diamond Stars" brand name, and their use of the R344 Rabbit Maranville "How To" artwork (from the high number Batter-Up packs) in the R303 premiums, there's no evidence that Goudey actually used any of the assets they purchased.

Design concepts that were in process at Chicle would be a PERFECT thing for them to have used, and I think the fact that they simply aped the backs of the 1933-34 Goudeys for the backs of the '38s helps bolster your theory.

Goudey clearly intended to produce more of these cards than the 48 they issued. The second series refers to a series of 312 subjects on the reverse, yet the last card in the set is #288. While guys like Frank Pytlak and Vernon Kennedy - certainly good players in their own right - were included in the set, folks like Al Simmons, Carl Hubbell and Bill Dickey were not. I've always wondered about that.

In any event, I think your theory is as good as any. Sadly, all my research into this over the years has yielded very little, as most of Goudey's early records were discarded into the furnace, or into the hands of collectors who haven't relinquished them. I had conversations with a member of the Goudey family who was somewhat of a family historian some years back, and he didn't have much info, either. Sadly, the website he maintained has vanished from the web, and his email address is inactive; I have no clue what happened to him but hope he's okay.

-Al

[Spike]

Thanks much, Al. Good to get feedback from you specifically, as I found your own 1938 Goudey site while poking around their company history and plan to reference it in a post about The Knot Hole League set. Also hoping the Goudey heirs are faring well and getting history from a family member must've been a great help to you!

(BTW, did you learn anything further about the tilted Pytlak cards? With only one 4x6 print sheet dedicated to each 24-card series, I assume Goudey misaligned his card on the sheet itself.)

[Leon]

I have posted this before but it seems to fit with the subject. The cards in it are R311, glossy.

[Al C.risafulli]

Leon, was that published by Goudey, or National Chicle? That's a great piece.

Matthew - nothing new about the tilt on the Pytlak. I have only seen one high number uncut sheet in my life, which I sadly lost in an auction a while back. I didn't notice anything peculiar about the Pytlak. That said, it's the only logical explanation for the inordinate amount of Pytlak cards with the exact same tilt.

There are a lot of mysteries surrounding Goudey and Chicle between 1937 and 1939, and unfortunately no good resources for getting answers. Or maybe FORTUNATELY, as it makes those cards a lot more interesting to me.

-Al

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Al C.risafulli

Leon, was that published by Goudey, or National Chicle? That's a great piece.


-Al

edited for new info....

Actually, this particular giveaway is stated on the Diamond Star wrappers. I guess I didn't remember or hadn't checked it. This isn't my wrapper but they aren't super rare.

[Spike]

Wow, cool promo! That's very interesting and adds some context to those overlapping months when Goudey made the acquisition. Thanks for sharing it.

I happen to live a couple miles from the old National Chicle factory and confirmed there's some hardcopy on the Cambridge, MA gum and candy industry that might help with the bigger picture. They've also run a Candy Land tour of that neighborhood with several documented sites.

http://www.cambridgehistory.org/discover/candy/map.html

Note that the tour includes George Close Candy!

[toppcat]

We are nerds. Passionate and well-informed, but still nerds. Having said that, great piece of research Matt!

[Spike]

Thanks Dave! Looking forward to bringing more clarity to the Goudey / National Chicle relationship, assuming such info exists.