SetComplete! 1910 first ever basketball cards!

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chadjaja

On the way back!
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Whoo Hooo finally completed my 1910 Murad tabacco card set depicting basketball. There were the FIRST basketball cards EVER made. The only other basketball collectable earlier was the emaline girl stand up and the was hardly a card in a set like these. They were available in murad tabacco pouches and an oversize Williams version was available via mail in. Still after that one.

These are great and I love them! :oops:

All are pretty much in great condition and a fair way over the usual grade you will see them in. :D

All four will be off to SGC for slabbing soon.

Scans of front and back coz the backs of cards is SEVERLY underated. No one seems to care about the back anymore and therefore unless you own one you never see them.

Thanks for looking :)

1910muradbasketballset.jpg


muradsetbacks.jpg
 
Hey Chad...great effort!!! That is a massive achievement!!! I know we should be just appreciating them for the pieces of sporting history that they are....but what are they worth on the market, and are there many still around??
 
Wow
Well that is really cool.
You have a great and diverse collection Chad.
A real appreciation for the game there.
That's a superb addition to your PC. 'Old School' at its finest!
 
Holy crap! They're almost 100 years old.
They look like they're in pretty good condition Chad. Are you expecting some top grades?
 
Thanks guys. Two in particular, the pennant ones will grade OK. Maybe a SGC 50/psa 4?? Fingers crossed.

Suprisingly they are pretty cheap to pick up. You can expect to pay anwhere from $15 to $40US each. The Williams one pops up a bit but the pennant one are the first ones I'd seen on eBay in two years or so. I got them for a bargain price off a UK seller so I guess most US buyers are wary of buying outside the US?? Price or value means little to me though. I just love what they stand for. They are the start of the hobby and lead to the 33 goudeys and then the first full set of 48 bowman. It all had to stat somewhere. So the value to me is priceless. They may be cheapish but I had to wait a good two to three years to complete it.

They are rare by todays standards but if you look hard enough of wait you will find one. Condition is diverse though.

They are for college teams. Back then basketball was mainly a summer sport to keep football players fit for the football season. That after all is why the sport was invented. There was no pro league at that stage.

They are definatley though the first piece of memorablia that actually depicts the sport actually being played.
 
WOW Chad, that's awesome! I knew you had 1 or 2, but now you got all 4 (minus the mail-in one).

So who are the players on them, and were they ever "big" in the sport (either B'Ball or Football).

Again well done on the feat. I'm sure it means a lot to ya!
 
we all know you love the old school cards Chad, but to have a set of the cards that orginally start off the hobby is just bloody awesome, well done
 
Hey Chad....just a point of interest....the Beckett Price Guide does not have those cards in it. (Maybe you should Dr Beckett or Keith Hower know!) But they do have a price for 1910 Helmar Premiums, featuring "Women in Athletic Costumes" (8 women shown including Basketball girl). Smokers could redeem coupons for these lithographs either on card stock (BV$400), piece of satin ($800), satin pillow top ($3000) or bookbinding leather ($2000)!!! Complete set $5000
 
i cant really say how great this 'little' set is chad!
despite only being a bunch of lowly commons ;)

i would feel very proud to own such a piece of history and it is something that will only ever go up in value!

i might just pickup one myself!

well done
 
extremely nice antique cards!! well done Chad !! =D>

maybe the basketball card idea came from Australia after all?? :D I believe there are Aussie Rules cards from before 1910 ;)
 
I take back my previous post (part of it anyway!!)...there is a listing in Beckett (Under college/amateur) for 1910 College Athlete Felts B-33. It says - "Issued as a cigarette premium redemption most prominently by Egyptiene Cigarettes, but other companies also probably offered these as premiums. Many of the backs have a listing on the reverse side listing a factory and district number. Although 10 different sports are featured we are only listing the colleges in which basketball figures are known to exist." 30 colleges are listed.
 
Grandpa Chad strike again. Congrats on those, Chad. They are very nice and a great part of our collecting heritage. Nice post and thanks for showing us (and teaching us).
 
justdabestcards said:
extremely nice antique cards!! well done Chad !! =D>

maybe the basketball card idea came from Australia after all?? :D I believe there are Aussie Rules cards from before 1910 ;)
Click to expand...

Well not quite sure Just but you would have to think the idea of footy cards sprouted from baseball cards.

Thanks guys. They are pretty cool, all four are in front of the telly LOL

Beckett still does't mention the T-51 series 126 - 150 I think? It should as its a multi sport set featuring basketball and the significance to the hobby can't be understated. They book the 48 topps magic photo set and that only features a handful of basketball in it with US landmarks, actors and other non sports in it.

The earlier ones you mention only feature women. These were the first mens ones.

The silk while very very rare is hardly a card so the Hamilton girl card that came out in 1910 too may be the first as well? We just don't know.

The other Hamilton items like the pillowcase don't have much to do with the card hobby.
 
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