Thursday, July 17, 2008

1906 Fan Craze NL WG3

These cards were made by the Fan Craze Company in Cincinnati. There was a set for the National League and a set for the American League.

These cards featured an oval picture of the player with name and team information below. Plus, there was a baseball action at the top of the card, presumably to play some type of card game. The NL cards had a red back and the AL cards had a blue back.

The card that I chose to represent the NL set is of Luther (Dummy) Taylor. Luther is one of a handful of players to play organized baseball, that was deaf. Some might think that would be a disability that would prohibit them from playing baseball. That was definitely not the case.

These cards have a strange allure to them. They definitely look like a turn of the twentieth century card. Topps has already come out with this design in their Trading Card History set. I believe Pedro Martinez is the subject on the card. I think one of the card companies should use this design for a retro card set. If handled properly, like the Allen & Ginter and Goudey sets, it would be a smash hit. Maybe if Donruss gets their MLB license back, they can produce this retro set.

5 comments:

AlbuqwirkE said...

I'd buy them!

Who was the second deaf player? Curtis Pride?

Steve Gierman said...

I was thinking of Dummy Hoy. http://whitesoxcards.blogspot.com/2007/11/dummy-hoy.html

I forgot about Curtis Pride. Nice catch!

capewood said...

Somewhat politically incorrect with nicknames back in those days, weren't they?

dayf said...

This is a nifty little set. I've tried to pick one up for my Braves collection, but have been unsuccessful so far.

Steve Gierman said...

Actually, dumb is the correct terminology for someone who can't speak, which deaf people are frequently mute or near mute. But, yeah, they were a little un-PC back then.

If I ever run across a Brave from this set, it's yours. I'd kill for a Nick Altrock from the AL set. There are quite a few White Sox in the AL set.