By now, you are probably thinking that I only collect oddball sets. I collect every kind of Indians card I can get my grubby mitts on (how's that for a little "throwback" talk?). I'm not sure that the 1943 MP & Co set would qualify as oddball, seeing as how they were one of the few companies still making cards during WWII. I guess, in a way, that is exactly why they *ARE* oddball, though, huh? :-) I wonder if an upstart card company could get away with "creating" player pictures and putting the player's bio and info on the back these days... Somehow, I think the MLB would be unhappy, but more than that, the MLBPA would have the lawyers at the door faster than the set could be printed.
I mean, no matter how hard you try, there is just no making the guy depicted on the front of this card look anything like Boudreau... This like the original "clip art" cut-and-paste or something.
I did have someone ask me how I knew this was a '43 and not a reissued '49. My first response was, "I don't." Later, I did some research (okay, popped open a copy of the SCD Almanac) and saw that the latter version actually had card numbers on them.
Regardless, this is one of the more "conversational" pieces I have in my collection as far as age and uniqueness goes. Do you agree?
Its always fun when you can pull out a card and show it to your neighbor and be pretty sure he has never seen one before.
ReplyDeleteIt does remind me of something I could make on my puter. That is also part of its charm.
Nice addition to your collection.
I've got this card and I didn't recognize him either.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Lou Boudreau (Jr.)
Oh yeah, this set is renowned for its awfulness. There are no Braves in this set but I do have a '43 Tommy Heinrich card. Johnny Sain is in the '49 set, I need to track that one down. Have you found the Bob Feller card yet?
ReplyDeleteJoey, the funny thing is that you could actually make something even better by today's computing standards (look at the 2008 A&G spoof cards on various blogs!)
ReplyDeleteLOL, glad to know I'm not the only one, Jr!! :-)
Dayf, I have not been able to find the Feller yet, but I think I'll make that my next "quest!" :-)
I'm trying to get in touch with Lou Boudreau Jr. ...as we met some years ago on a Tucson Shuttle ride from Phoenix to Tucson.
ReplyDeleteIf someone can help .... please let me know.
Dr. Ed Anhalt
dreduardoa@yahoo.com
I'm very similar to you in getting my hands on any old Indians cards and or/stars. This is by far the goofiest set I've ever seen. I have the Boudreau and the Feller from the '43 set. And the Doby from '49, and should be picking up the Lemon from '49 soon as well. The players on the cards aren't even supposed to be the players, they're just generic cartoons. You'll notice that Larry Doby is portrayed as a white man, and that Lemon's drawing is wearing a Chicago jersey...They did however make similar mistakes with other players too, so at least it's not just Cleveland...Anyways, it's still a fun and very affordable set with some HUGE old time names, and you can't go wrong with that...
ReplyDeleteYour card is definitely a 1943. Besides the fact that most '49s are numbered (two actually aren't, which helps confuse things), six of the '43 cards were reprinted for the '49 set but had different backs. The '43 cards have the full name of the player on the back, while '49s have the same name shown on the front. Boudreau's 1949 MP & Co. card says "Lou" on the back, not "Louis." Wanna learn more about this set? Check out my site. It's a legitimate site, I just don't have a log in so I'll leave a signature so you know who I am...
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Chris Stufflestreet
Vintage Sports Card Specialist