Collecting Joe DiMaggio in Yankee pinstripes

Back in 2013, I looked at Joe Dimaggio's major league cards that followed his move from PCL's San Francisco Seals to the Yankees. This post breaks down what to expect if you go hunting for Joe in New York's famous home pinstripes. It focuses on his most appealing MLB releases, which collectors often pursue over minor league cards and more esoteric issues. (See TCDB for a comprehensive list, if you like that oddball stuff.)

1936 : Two grey, one pinstripe, one TBD

The R313 National Chicle "fine pen" premium ("Joe DiMaggio slams it, Erickson catching") shows Joe at Florida spring training, debuting as #18 and wearing road grey. He switched to #9 for the 1936 regular season and then to #5 for 1937-1951.

National Chicle first distributed R312 color premiums labeled "Di Magio" (sic) in smaller print quantities, before switching to black-and-white. He's dressed for the road and posing in a major league stadium, so appears to originate after spring training. Kids got these paper-thin photos in exchange for empty baseball pack wrappers as a marketing ploy to build customer loyalty.

Goudey's R314 "wide pen" pose with manager Joe McCarthy offers our first view of pinstripe Joe. The photo premiums remain his most affordable 1930s issues, since most collectors prefer card stock over thin paper.

1936-37 World Wide Gum serves as Joe's first bubblegum card and came out in Canada. Its comparative rarity means most of these live in elite collections. I think he's wearing a pinstripe home jersey, if you look close.

1937: Painted "pinstripe"

A few years after the 1934 trade, a Goudey artist added jersey lines to this SF Seals photo for Joe's 1937 "cream paper" version of those R314 "wide pen" premiums. It lacks country of origin and company name, which I think implies Goudey sold them to fans on each side of the USA/Canada border. Read more in my Goudey SABR baseball cards article.

1938 : Second verse, same as the first

Goudey pasted that Seals image, or at least its head, onto 1938 Big League Gum's cartoon bodies for #250 & #274, once again painting on stripes.

1938 Goudey #250 & 274, Joe DiMaggio

Should we consider these real "pinstripe" cards? I dunno.

1939 : Road grey

Play Ball gave Joe a nice, sharp photo, but no pinstripes.

1939 Play Ball #26

1940 : Grey on top of grey

Play Ball featured Joe at #1 spot for 1940, with an on-card "1939 Pennant."

The pennant implies 1940 card designs wrapped up before 1939's World Series ended, as they talk about his four consecutive series appearances without noting New York's latest win.

1941 : Splitting the difference

Play Ball repeated 1940's road jersey in hand-tinted color for 1941.

1941 Play Ball #71

Play Ball never showed Joe in pinstripes, perhaps because Gum, Inc. bought its photos from Philadelphia sources, where the Yankees played road games against the A's.

Double Play caught a smiling Joe in pinstripes, our first clear on-card option. This set also played a key role deciding whether players deserved bubblegum card compensation.

1948 : Pinstripes! Again!

An anonymous printer of New York arcade cards made these "blue tints" (set profile), laden with local Yankees, Dodgers, and Giants stars. Two pinstripe cards in a row!

1949 Leaf : Return to the road

Chicago-based Leaf shows road grey again on Joe's last active card before retiring in 1951.

TRIVIA: Remember Hank Erickson, Cincy catcher from this spring training premium? He's even tougher to find than Joe D, given limited MLB playing time (career stats).

This shot of Hank wearing his gear came out during Erickson's minor league time with Toronto (1936) or Waterloo (1937). Eye-catching, either way!

Value: Budget-minded buyers should look for Double Play or R346 blue tint DiMaggios to get pinstripes on cardboard. I prefer the premium photo with McCarthy for its earlier look and quality image of two legends.

Fakes / reprints: DiMaggio's counterfeited in almost all of his vintage sets, so know your dealers if you're collecting type cards or go for graded examples to minimize risk of fakery.

1949 Sommer & Kaufmann PCL Baseball #5, Al Lien

A decade-plus into my type collection, subsets of it are close to complete, if challenging to close out entirely. I'm almost done with 1940-49, made closer still by this latest Pacific Coast League pickup. With Al Lien's card in my pocket, I'm done with 1940s domestic issues! All remaining 1940-49 #5s are from Latin America and Japan.

Smilin' Al's sporting the Seals pinstripe uniform, a typical choice when playing at home, compared to a team's plainer "road grays." I'm not convinced it's San Francisco's home stadium, though.

So where's Al throwing that ball around? The high left field fence over his shoulder doesn't look like SF Seals Stadium, which featured ads along that wall. Based on a look through available PCL outfields, I think that's Sicks Stadium in Seattle. Built in 1938 and short on MLB-class amenities like "water pressure" and "reliable toilets," Sicks still managed to host the Pilots in their ignominious 1969 season after three decades of Seattle Rainers PCL teams.

I wrote about Sommer & Kaufman once before, well before I owned the actual card. This scan shows its auburn tint better than that post's black & white scans.

What of the card itself? "Norwegian-Danish descent" describes a lot of my family, so perhaps we're distant cousins! Sommer & Kaufmann, on the other hand, sounds as German as "Ich bin ein Berliner." (German via American, that is.) Their store's shoes covered more than boys' feet, as evinced by these brand label pumps.

I think a single card printer created all of the Bay Area's minor league team sets and then branded backs with sponsor info. S&K's card design mimics contemporary PCL sets like Remar Bread (1947 set profile) and Smith's Clothing (1947 set profile), but Sommer & Kaufmann singles prove much tougher to come by. I'd seen just a handful prior to one of my favorite dealers breaking up a complete set in mid-2017. That kind of thing won't happen every day, so don't wait if you get a good shot at a type card from a dealer you trust.

Value: This EX card cost me $80, at the high end for commons, and my price paid reflects its scarcity and the hole in my wantlist. If I go hunting for another, it'll be for something closer to $40-50.

Fakes / reprints: With no stars in the set itself, there's low risk of one faked card. You're more likely to see counterfeit sets priced for big money. Authentic singles feature a shiny finish on white stock that's thinner than your average Topps card. The Smith's and Remar PCL sets prove easier to come by, so you can start with those and then add Sommer & Kaufmann once you're familiar with the style.