Five Hidden Treasures From 1933 Goudey Cards
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When it comes to iconic prewar sets, 1933 Goudey has a spot on just about any "short list" right alongside T206 and Cracker Jack. Though the set is most famous for its four Babe Ruth cards and ultra-rare Napoleon Lajoie, the set has far more to offer than just the 66 Hall of Famers on its 240-card checklist. With apologies to Neil Young, here are the set's "unknown legends!" with not a single Hall of Famer in the mix.
1933 Goudey Charlie Root
There is so much to love about the 1933 Goudey Charlie Root card. For one thing, it may well be the set's most attractive card. For another, Root is to this day the winningest pitcher in Chicago Cubs history. And finally, there is the history. Though the card back makes no mention, it was the year before that Root gave up what was at that time the most famous home run in World Series history, the famous "Called Shot" of Babe Ruth. Whether or not the calling of the shot has been debunked by later scholarship, the home run still remains on the short list of baseball's greatest legends.
1933 Goudey Guy Bush
Another Cubs arm with a great card and some Babe Ruth history is Guy Bush, who as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1935 gave up the Bambino's final two home runs. History aside, the card also features an attractive deep red background "color matched" to a top notch shoulder patch.
1933 Goudey Red Lucas
Speaking of red, could a card be any more red than the very red card of Cincinnati Reds pitcher Red Lucas, also known as the Red Red Red card. Heck, the card even has the red "Big League Chewing Gum" strip at the bottom. (It turns out there are collectors who seek out cards like this!)
1933 Goudey Joe Moore #231
No matter how much you or your friends know about the Goudey set, the Joe Moore card will likely seem an odd choice for one of the set's unknown legends even if he did crack six All-Star teams as the starting left fielder for the New York Giants. In the end, however, what makes this Moore card unique, is that it's currently the lowest population card in the entire set apart from the Nap Lajoie. To date, PSA has only graded the card 258 times! In truth, the card shouldn't be any rarer than any of the other 23 cards Goudey released as part of its World Series subset. Still, for whatever reason, it's the least graded.
1933 Goudey Jimmy Dykes
As for the set's rarest card (apart from Lajoie), not simply its lowest population card, that honor actually belongs to Philadelphia Athletics third baseman Jimmy Dykes. At least sort of. On the surface, the Dykes card is no rarer than any of the set's other cards. However, unlike the other cards in the set, there are two different variations. Early printings of the card back listed his age as 26 while later printings corrected the figure to 36. From all indications, both the error and the corrected version were produced in (roughly) equal quantities, the result being that Goudey printed only half as many of each Dykes as it did the other cards in the set.
Bonus: NFL Players in 1933 Goudey
When most collectors think of two-sport stars, they think of Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, and Jim Thorpe. However, the 1933 Goudey set had three MLB-NFL crossovers of its own: Charlie Berry, Evar Swanson, and Walter French. In the case of Berry he not only played in both leagues but officiated in both. In fact, eagle-eyed collectors can even spot him umping in the 1963 Topps World Series subset.
Jason A. Schwartz is a collectibles expert whose work can be found regularly at SABR Baseball Cards, Hobby News Daily, and 1939Bruins.com. His collection of Hank Aaron baseball cards and memorabilia is currently on exhibit at the Atlanta History Center, and his collectibles-themed artwork is on display at the Honus Wagner Museum and PNC Park.