Tag Archives: 1916

1916 SPORTING NEWS BASEBALL CARDS

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In 1916, The Sporting News, a leading American sports newspaper, began publishing baseball cards as inserts in their weekly newspaper. These cards featured photos and profiles of major league baseball players and became one of the earliest and most influential examples of modern baseball cards.

The Sporting News baseball cards of 1916 helped establish many conventions that would be followed by baseball cards produced in the decades to come. Each card featured a player photo on one side and biographical and statistical information on the other. The size and dimensions of the cards, roughly 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches, set a standard size for baseball cards that is still largely used today on many modern issues.

The 1916 cards were also pioneering in showcasing both the National and American Leagues. Previously, baseball cards tended to focus solely on one league or the other. By highlighting the top players from both circuits, The Sporting News cards helped bring national recognition to the sport. In total, they profiled 144 major leaguers, with cards divided equally between the two leagues.

The decision by The Sporting News to begin including baseball cards was partly driven by the rising popularity of the relatively new hobby of collecting trade cards and memorabilia related to sports figures. Prior to the heyday of manufactured cards produced by companies like Topps in the 1950s, newspapers and magazines served as a primary outlet for distributing collectible cards as promotional inserts.

The 1916 Sporting News baseball cards provided fans with photographs and statistics on the game’s biggest stars, helping to promote interest in the major leagues at a time when the sport was working to establish a national following across the United States. Players featured included superstars like Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, and Ty Cobb, introducing their likenesses to a new generation of fans.

While production values were relatively basic by today’s standards, featuring mainly simple black and white pictures with typed text on the backs, the 1916 cards established many hallmarks that would influence the format of baseball cards for decades. Styles like individual player portraits, stats on the reverse side, and cardboard stock all became standard in the ensuing golden age of baseball cards from the 1950s through 1980s.

The cards also served as early glimpses at the evolution of baseball over the years. For example, the statistics listed, such as batting average and home runs, tracked the rise of the live-ball era and prominence of power hitting starting in the late 1910s and 1920s. Equipment details like barehanded fielding also showed how the game was still adjusting to the transition from the dead-ball period.

The inclusion of both American and National League players presaged the gradual integration of the major leagues after their long segregation. A few of the players featured in 1916, such as James “Hippo” Vaughn and Charlie Thomas, were among the earliest African American ballplayers before the widespread reemergence of black players after World War II.

Condition and scarcity make high-grade 1916 Sporting News cards some of the most valuable pieces of early sports memorabilia. A near-mint example of Babe Ruth from that pioneering first issue recently sold at auction for over $200,000, demonstrating the immense interest in roots of the modern baseball card industry. Later runs of Sporting News cards from the 1920s through 1940s also hold significance as predecessors to the golden age of mass-produced cardboard.

Though mass production and specialized card companies would transform the baseball card industry, the 1916 Sporting News issues established many initial conventions. From card sizes and player statistics to dual league representation, these early test runs helped bring baseball fandom into the collectible card era. Their simple design belied an outsized influence felt across a century of the pastime’s growing popularity, documented one player at a time through the everyday ephemera that became beloved childhood memories.

1916 ZEENUT BASEBALL CARDS

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The 1916 Zeenut brand baseball cards were produced as promotional items by the Zeenut Candy Company based in Illinois. Zeenut was a popular candy producer in the early 20th century best known for their peanut brittle and caramels. In 1916, company executives decided to try branching out by producing collectible baseball cards as a way to promote their brands to young baseball fans.

They hired sports artist Carl Horner to design the front and back of each card, choosing to feature real photos of prominent major leaguers from 1915 on the front. Each photo was hand colored since color photography was still in its infancy. On the back was statistical and biographical information for each player as well as ads for Zeenut products.

The set features 50 total cards covering players from both the American and National Leagues. Some of the biggest stars featured included Ty Cobb, Joe Jackson, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, and others. The photos showed the players both in on-field action shots as well as portraits in their team uniforms. Each card stock was a thicker cardboard than previous bubble gum or tobacco issues to better withstand the rigors of young collectors.

While not the earliest baseball cards ever produced, the 1916 Zeenut set marked several milestones. It was the first set to be explicitly designed and marketed as a collectible for children rather than included randomly in candy or tobacco products. It was also among the first to use real color photos on the fronts rather than artwork or black-and-white images. Contemporary sources indicated the candy company had print runs estimated at over 500,000 sets produced.

The cards were inserted one per pack into Zeenut candy bars, caramels, and brittle sold across the Midwest and parts of the East Coast. Collectors could also purchase complete loose sets directly from Zeenut for $0.50, about average for a full new set at that time. This was an innovative direct-to-consumer sales approach not widely used for cards previously. A distinctive blue border wrapped around each 1 1⁄2” by 2 1⁄2” card sporting the Zeenut logo in one corner.

Although over a half million sets were distributed, the survival rate on the 1916 Zeenut cards has proven to be quite low given their age and the rough handling many received in kids’ hands and pockets over a century ago. Also, because they had no resale value initially and were simply promotional items, many were likely eaten, damaged, or thrown away without a second thought once collecting was done. Still, enthusiasts and experts consider any intact 1916 Zeenut card in above average condition to be a significant find today.

Grading and census data shows fewer than 150 examples are known to exist from the full 50-player set among all grades. The scarcest include stars like Home Run Baker, Edd Roush, and Smoky Joe Wood, with perhaps only a handful or two of each in collectors’ hands today. High grades of 8 or above are extremely rare, usually selling at auction for five figures or more when they surface. Even in lower grades of 3-5, individual common players can still fetch $1,000 due to their legendary status in the card collecting hobby.

What makes the 1916 Zeenuts particularly intriguing is the colorful and innovative concept behind their production that helped pave the way for the Golden Age of baseball cards in the 1920s. They represent a bridge between the early tobacco issues and modern design standards. Several grading services now recognize and encapsulate examples in the elite tier of pre-WWII cardboard. Major auction houses include selections when important vintage card collections come up for sale.

Overall the 1916 Zeenut baseball cards were an ambitious early experiment that brought the joy of card collecting to many young Midwestern baseball fans of the time through creative promotion and packaging. Despite over half a century of wear since then, their fragile remnants continue exciting collectors and historians with their blend of artistic and statistical early sports history on cardboard. Any extant examples pull strong bids as among the most coveted and challenging vintage pieces to secure in the modern marketplace.

BASEBALL CARDS PRICE GUIDE 1916

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Baseball cards were first introduced in the late 1880s as a promotional method used by tobacco companies to encourage sales. It was not until the early 1900s that baseball cards started to gain widespread popularity among collectors. The 1916 series is considered one of the most iconic issues from the early 20th century, featuring some of the biggest stars from that era. Let’s take a deeper look at the 1916 baseball card price guide and what collectors can expect to pay for cards from this highly coveted series over a century later.

The 1916 series was produced by several tobacco manufacturers, with the most notable issues coming from Sweet Caporal, Piedmont, and Old Mill tobacco brands. These early 20th century cards featured vibrant color illustrations of players and provided statistics and biographical information on the back. Some of the biggest stars featured included Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and Grover Cleveland Alexander. With legends of the game like Ruth just starting to emerge, the 1916 set is seen by many as documenting the transition period from the deadball era to the live ball era that would explode in the following decades.

In pristine gem mint condition, the most valuable cards from the 1916 set can fetch astronomical prices when they come up for auction. One of the premier keys to the set is the Babe Ruth card, which has sold for over $5 million when graded mint or near mint. Even in lower, worn conditions a 1916 Babe Ruth can still sell for well over $100,000. Other top stars that can reach six-figure prices include a Ty Cobb ($250,000+), Walter Johnson ($150,000+), and Grover Cleveland Alexander ($100,000+). Most 1916 cards even in played condition still sell for thousands.

For collectors looking to acquire their first 1916 card, there are still plenty of affordable options to be found. In poor/good condition, common players from the set typically sell in the $100-500 range. These include cards of infielders like Heinie Zimmerman and Buck Herzog or outfielders like Fred Clarke and Sherry Magee. Pitchers like Rube Benton, Hippo Vaughn, and Red Faber can also usually be acquired in poor shape for $200-400. Even stars in worse condition are accessible, with a played Cobb, Ruth, or Johnson potentially selling for $1,000-3,000 depending on overall appeal.

When considering condition and grade for 1916 cards, it’s important to note the challenges of surviving intact for over 100 years. Most cards from this era are well-worn and have flaws, earning grades no higher than Good or Fair. Still, subtle differences in centering, corners, edges and surface can make a huge impact on price. A card graded Fair that is still fully intact may sell for 2-3 times as much as one with creases, folds, or losses. For the true key cards, even minor improvements to condition translate to tens or hundreds of thousands of added value. This makes 1916s an intriguing target for patient graders looking to profit long-term.

In addition to individual cards, complete or near-complete sets from 1916 also bring premium prices when they cross the auction block. A set containing 100% of the main tobacco issues could realize over $500,000 today. More realistically, collectors may be able to assemble around 80-90% of a 1916 set for $50,000-150,000 depending on the included stars and condition overall. In the long-run, acquiring a substantial portion of this groundbreaking set is seen as a worthwhile investment for the dedicated baseball memorabilia enthusiast.

For collectors just starting out, a more prudent approach may be to focus on acquiring individual stars or teams of interest. Building a collection of 1916 Cardinals like Rogers Hornsby or Browns like Urban Shocker can provide a satisfying display for a fraction of the complete set price. Alternatively, one could zero in on their favorite player and aim to eventually acquire graded examples across multiple decades of issues. By specializing initially, newcomers can participate in the vintage cardboard market without breaking the bank.

The 1916 baseball card series remains one of the most important and valuable issues for enthusiasts of the pre-war era. Featuring legends of the game in their early prime, the cards provide a window into a pivotal time period before the modern structure and popularity of Major League Baseball began to take shape. Over a century later, 1916s continue to excite collectors and break records when prime examples surface on the auction block. With patience and strategy, it is still possible for today’s fans to start acquiring a piece of this seminal sportscard history.

BASEBALL CARDS PRICE GUIDE 1916 M101 4

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1916 Cigarette Baseball Cards Price Guide – M101-4 Series

The 1916 M101-4 series of cigarette baseball cards produced by American Tobacco Company featured players from the National League and Federal League. These vintage baseball cards provide a glimpse into the early 20th century of professional baseball and are highly collectible among sports memorabilia enthusiasts. This price guide will examine the key details of the 1916 M101-4 series and provide estimated value ranges for the different player cards in the set.

Background and Production
American Tobacco Company had been producing baseball cards as promotional inserts in cigarette packs since 1909. Their 1915 and 1916 series focused on the National League and included some players from the upstart Federal League, which operated as a third major league from 1914-1915. The 1916 M101-4 series was printed using a lithographic process and consisted of 48 total cards issued over multiple packs of cigarettes. Each pack would contain between 1-5 cards at random to encourage repeat purchases by collectors.

The cards measure approximately 2.5 x 3 inches and feature a color portrait of the player in uniform on the front. The backs have a blank white space. Production runs were quite large for the time, with millions of sets issued, which has resulted in most 1916 M101-4 cards being relatively common in the today’s market, even over 100 years later. There are still some key short prints and more valuable individual player cards that can fetch higher prices.

Notable Players and Short Prints
Some of the most notable future Hall of Fame players featured in the 1916 M101-4 set include Nap Lajoie, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Edd Roush, and Dave Bancroft. Their individual cards are not particularly rare. One of the true “short prints” of the set that is significantly harder to find is pitcher Rube Marquard’s card, which has an estimated population of only around 500 surviving copies. His card routinely sells for over $1000 in top-graded condition.

Other short prints that are also quite valuable include outfielders Benny Kauff and George Starr. Kauff was a speedster who stole over 100 bases several times, while Starr was a solid hitter and defender for several NL clubs. Their scarcity, coupled with their importance as early 20th century players, pushes their individual card values up considerably compared to more common cards from the set. Graded examples of Kauff and Starr have sold for $500-800 each.

Condition and Grading
As with any vintage issue, condition is absolutely critical to the value of 1916 M101-4 baseball cards. Even small bends, creases or edge wear can downgrade a card significantly. The most desirable copies will be sharp, well-centered examples that grade high on the standard 1-10 Sheets/Beckett grading scale. A grade of NM-MT 7 is usually where most valuable examples top out in terms of condition due to the age of the cards. Anything grading 8 or higher would be truly exceptional.

It’s estimated that less than 5% of issued 1916 M101-4 cards would grade above a 5 today just based on simple survival odds over the past 100+ years. As such, high graded examples will demand big premiums. A PSA/BGS 8 Rube Marquard could conceivably sell for $2500-3500, while a 9 would be worth $5000 or more. Even more common players like Alexander or Lajoie can reach $100-200 in top-graded NM-MT 7 condition.

Price Guide and Valuation
Here is a general price guide for the 1916 M101-4 baseball card issue based on average sales over the past few years:

Common Players (80% of set) in NM-MT 6 condition: $10-25

All-Star Level Players in NM-MT 7: $50-150

Hall of Famers in NM-MT 7: $75-250

Benny Kauff in NM-MT 7: $300-500

George Starr in NM-MT 7: $250-450

Rube Marquard in PSA 7: $500-1000

Rube Marquard in PSA 8: $1500-2500

Rube Marquard in PSA 9: $3000-5000

Keep in mind this is just a general guide – individual auctions can always vary based on current market conditions and level of bidder interest. The condition and eye appeal of each specific card will also impact its exact price. But this should provide collectors with a solid baseline for estimating values of 1916 M101-4 cards in different grades. With such a long and rich history in the game, issues like this from baseball’s early 20th century remain a fascinating area for memorabilia enthusiasts.

While most 1916 M101-4 baseball cards are obtainable even for beginning collectors, the true short prints and highest graded examples can sell for thousands due to their extreme rarity surviving over a century. For those chasing the elite condition cards of legends like Marquard, Kauff and others, deep pockets are required. But affordable common cards are still available to build full sets and enjoy pieces of sports history from this classic cigarette issue era. The 1916 M101-4s offer a great look at the National League and Federal League during a fascinating transition period in early pro baseball.