Bucket Cards: Five Lesser-Known Babe Ruths

I post #BucketCards from time-to-time on my @number5typecard Bluesky account as distinctive or meaningful poses from a wide range of sets. This article gathers five cards of Babe Ruth along similar lines, reflecting his unparalleled career as hurler and slugger from 1914-35. The Bambino first appeared on tobacco-esque sets as a svelte International League pitcher and hung around long enough to still appear on cards for Boston's 1935 Braves, a legendarily terrible club.

Let's start at the beginning!

1914 Baltimore News (as Orioles pitcher)

Baltimore's International League team found an unpolished jewel in Ruth, not far removed from a rough younger life. First scouted for his pitching arm, this sweater-clad card appears in red or blue. Its value is sky high, given how hard it proves to find anything from this set, let alone the Bambino.

Baltimore hosted its own Federal League team, the Terrapins, in 1914, and competed for fans with the existing International League team, an earlier iteration of the "Orioles." Ruth spent just two months there before the Boston Red Sox acquired him in July.

1920-21 Universal Toy & Novelty Company strip cards

These two cards reflect the Babe's transformation from ace pitcher to slugging outfielder, as Universal's card artist adapted a Boston warmup photo into two cards (1920 left, 1921 right). Artistic work on that pastel card turned his normal lefty follow-through into a righty hitting pose, saving the cost of licensing a new photo.

The second card added soft pinstripes to reflect his Yankees affiliation, closer to what fans expected of Ruth by 1921, even when hitting from the "wrong side."

1925-31 W590 "King of the Bat" strip card

Surely this is how we'd all want to be known! "I am royalty and my lineage has mastered...The Bat."

These W590 cards date to the 1925-31 window, based on players and teams shown. It was common for strip card printers of that era to reprint the same images, year after year, only updating spots on each strip when players changed teams or retired. Note how this strip proves current for a single season, 1925, thanks to its bolded players.

• Ike Caveney, SS Cincinnati: 1925 was Ike's last in the majors.
• George Burns, OF Philadelphia: 1925 was as George's only year in Philly and last year in the majors.

While they could print the same photos again and again, W590 contains enough team variations to show someone paid attention to those (literal) lineups, even if to add "former" for existing cards.

Like many strip card collectors, I look forward to future research working out which company made W590 cards and how often they changed layouts. Now, back to the Babe!

1931 W626 Sun Pictures Photo Kits

If Ruth looked like this in real life, I'd call him "The Jaundiced Jolter."

These "sun pictures" tell their own creation story, as simple light exposure brought out (muted yellow) images on the self-developing panels, complete with block letter player name. 12 baseball players appear in this multi-subject set, all stars at their time. This Ruth's a superior batting pose to many others printed under his name.

1935 Schutter-Johnson "Babe Ruth's Grip"

This hand-drawn Ruth card features the art of former MLB pitcher Al Demaree, drawing hands.

Playing advice for enthustiastic kids are a recurring theme on cards and this entire set mixes cartoons with tips, all sketched by Demaree and penned by uncredited ghostwriters.

I love how Babe's quoted as saying, "you will have command of the bat instead of the bat having command of you." Sage words indeed from King of the Bat.

Those five Babe Ruth #BucketCards make for an interesting counterpoint to his far more familiar poses and creations. Let me know what cards would be on your own list!

1900s Stereoview sports scenes: #5 "Resting" - #61 "A Sacrifice Hit" (Yale?) - #73 "The Embryo Golfer"

Stereoviews, explained well here, drove most of the card market for 50+ years (1860s-1920s), pushing the bounds for what viewers expected from photography and paper collectibles. They proved so popular, many modern antique stores contain stacks of surviving images, with singles running a few dollars. Three of them caught my eye during this month's trip to Maine, starting with this new-to-me #5 of a bicyclist pausing for a smoke break.

Bicycles and cigarettes each challenged gender expectations, as a set of wheels offered women more independence to travel and tobacco let them indulge in vices while doing so. This rider's flash of black stocking also showed off the strong calves she developed getting around town, which you can imagine stopping traffic of that era!

The other two show baseball and golfing shots from the 150-card 1925 A.C. Co. set (Prewarcards set profile), where "A.C." stands for "American Colortype," a mass-market printer of many paper products. Its #61 "sacrifice" pose seems staged to enhance the 3D impact of bat and ball pointing out toward the viewer and his "Yale" jersey looks like a stage or movie costume.

This multiracial golf scene exaggerates its ball size so much, could that be the same "baseball" sphere from #61? American Colortype operated out of Chicago and I bet its photographer took this outdoor shot at a nearby park.

While I couldn't find it in person, "Modern Mermaid" offers another sports subject from this series, also studio-shot like the baseball pose to make it appear she's reaching out toward you.

American Colortype printed at least one postcard series for Chicago's 1933 "A Century of Progress" expo and put themselves front and center under the title of "Color Progress."

Baseball fans should remember Chicago's 1933 expo as the debut of our modern All-Star Game and breakout year for bubblegum cards. See my profile of Goudey's All-Star premiums for a deeper dive!

Any stereoviews in your own collection? While surviving baseball examples seem few and far between, they cover almost every topic of interest in those days.

Top 5 Deep Cut Cards for Immaculate Grid

The Immaculate Grid encourages you to remember all kinds of team-specific trivia otherwise lost to the sands of time. When you're steeped in card history, knowing a player often means a cardboard image also jumps to mind first. This article calls out five picks for low percentages, where to use them, and highlight cards.

Julie Wera (Yankees only, played 3B, 1927 World Champ, .300+ batting season)

That championship ring netted him a spot in TCMA's retro sets for those 1927 Murderer's Row legends.

1975 TCMA 1927 Yankees

Wera must have few photos, as TCMA rotated this pose 90 degrees for its 1979 portrait version.

1979 TCMA 1927 Yankees #5

TCMA used borders from 1920s American Caramel, yet missed that this pennant-and-megaphone design fits the Chicago White Sox instead of New York. More details on my border breakdown.

Dave Vineyard (BAL only, pitcher) & John Boozer (PHI only, pitcher, sub-3 ERA, .300+ batting season)

This intoxicating two-fer appeared like a vision from a box of vintage cards at the 2024 National show. Love to see two names like this sharing space in the excellent 1965 Topps set. Boozer turns the sought-for double-play of having good ERA and hitting seasons.

Jimmy Archer (born outside USA, position 237 Pirates, 246 Tigers, 2345 Cubs, 2 Dodgers, 23 Reds)

This peripatetic and versatile Irishman excelled wearing the Tools of Ignorance in part because an industrial accident in his pre-baseball days shortened his throwing arm. That gear also makes for a great T222 Fatima tobacco image, where he's one of four different #5 cards (set profile).

Jerry Lumpe (.300 for A's/Yankees, 10+ HRs for A's, All-Star for Tigers, World Series champ for Yankees, position 456 for A's and Yanks, 45 for Detroit)

After younger years and a 1958 championship in New York, Jerry spent his peak in KC, and then four more in Detroit, notching this low percentage All-Star appearance for the Tigers. My memorable "card" turned up this year on eBay after being extracted from an overseas baseball album and it's another #5.

Lumpe moved to KC in May 1959, so I think it came out during the 1958-59 winter league season, following his utility role on the Yanks title winner.

Bob Nieman (.300+ Orioles/White Sox/Cardinals/Guardians/Giants, homered in first MLB game, 20+ HR for Orioles, position 79 Orioles/Tigers/White Sox/Guardians, 7 Cardinals/Giants)

This guy raked everywhere that needed a bat, peaking for Baltimore before closing out in spot duty for St. Louis, Cleveland, and San Fran. His memorable 1960 Topps card features Bob's spectacular specs, looking for the world like a guy who sold insurance between innings.

People outside Fenway Park shoulda bought head insurance, as Bob homered in his first two MLB at-bats, including a blast that cleared the Green Monster and reached Landsdowne Street beyond. It's an unmatched feat in our modern game. His woeful Browns lost 9-5 anyway to the Red Sox (box score). Win or lose, welcome his specs into your heart and grid!

Based the higher-than-expected scores for guys like Billy "F-Face" Ripken and Mike "Airbrush" Laga, I suspect their noteworthy cards made them easy to remember, even for fans today! Who else do you like to use on the grid who has a distinctive card? 

Five Facets of 1922 American Caramel (E120 set of 240): Babe Ruth, Surf Dry Casting, the Federal League, and more!

Introduction

Most collectors who know the 1922 American Caramel set (Old Cardboard profile) will recognize their baroque borders and aspire to own any big name from its star-filled checklist. The company, an important 1920s candy maker, made a comprehensive set (15 guys on 16 teams team) and attractive albums to display them, something seldom seen in our hobby's prewar era.

Those intricate borders drew me in first. I spent a week going through E120 card by card, searching for insights into its players, photos, and peccadilloes. This post digs into five of them.

1. Borders = teams

Each E120 card shows baseball gear in all four corners and their secret hides in plain sight: designs also identify teams. All fifteen Yankees share this catching mask, chest protector, and crossed bats.

Red Sox cards like Herb Pennock show an umpire's protector and gloved ball, each with bat, above a pitcher throwing to that righthanded batter.

E120 put its eight different borders on one team per league. Note the toning difference between leagues, creamy for AL and pale for NL.

Mask, glove, bats on bases: Washington Senators, Pittsburgh Pirates

Mask, chest protector, crossed bats: New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals

Diagonal crossed bats, gloves/baseballs: Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs

Mitt, mask, crouched catcher, pitcher: Cleveland Indians, Brooklyn Dodgers

Paired pennants, megaphone, base: Chicago White Sox, New York Giants

Bat/ball/glove, thrower, pitching windup, bat on base: Philadelphia A's, Boston Braves

Pennant, pennant, pitching windup, runner: St. Louis Browns, Philadelphia Phillies

Chest pad/bat, bat/ball/glove, batter, thrower: Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds

Just three players fall outside this pattern and seem like goofs, since team names remain correct and none of them changed franchises midseason.

Adolfo Luque: Reds team, Braves border

Frank "Dixie" Davis: Browns team, Red Sox border

Walter Mails: Indians team, Browns border

2. Babe Ruth vs. Harold G. Lentz

Now that you know more about the Babe border, why's he holding that baseball like a farm-fresh egg?

His original photo raises more questions than it answers. Easy enough to see Ruth's companion holds a fishing rod, so what else is happening?

You're looking at the 1922 Polo Grounds pregame event to promote dry surf casting, a competitive distance sport with rod and reel. Reigning champ Harold Lentz attempted to outdo the Babe's longest homers with his 4oz lead weight. History differs on their outcome. First, read a note linked to that source photo and recall those Polo Grounds went 483' to deep center.

"New York: Champion Surf Caster Fails to Beat Babe Ruth's Swat. In a most unusual contest at the Polo Grounds today, Harold G. Lentz, world's champion surf caster, using a four-ounce lead, tried to better Babe Ruth's record swat of 470 feet. Lentz made four attempts, casting the lead 392 feet, 402 feet, 440 feet and 438 feet."

Popular Science Monthly cited different distances for each competitor, with Lentz now outdoing Ruth. Their circled handshake happened about the same time as E120's source photo.

I welcome anyone who can ID their real winner! Either way, you never look at E120's Ruth card the same way again.

3. Two teams, same day, 1922 edition

Trivia fans might remember Joel Youngblood as a guy with hits for two teams on the same day after being traded by the Mets to Montreal on August 4, 1982 and joining Les Expos in time to suit up.

Custom card maker and blogger Nine Pockets recognized this feat with a 1984-style highlight card and full story on Joel's big day.

E120 players Max Flack and Cliff Heathcote managed half-bloods by being traded for each other mid-doubleheader on May 30, 1922, and playing in two uniforms without leaving Chicago's North Side.

After going hitless in the day's opener, each did better in game two, Flack went 1-for-4 with an outfield assist, while Heathcote notched a pair of singles.

It appears Americal Caramel released their set in phases through that year and finished its Cubs and Cardinals lineups before late May, since Max and Cliff appear with their original teams. Consider other 1922 transactions to fill out their timeline.

Note: I assume American Caramel produced all 15 players on each team at once, since they also took pains to plan out league albums. This "team teamline" could fail if cards went out piecemeal, even if I use correct transaction dates.

May 31: Toledo purchases Lee King from Phillies and Aug 3, Giants purchase him from Toledo

E120 shows Lee's opening day team, so they set the Phillies checklist sometime before late May and the Giants sometime before August.

July 12: Tigers purchase Roy Moore from A's

E120 shows Moore on his original team, so add the A's to those distributed before mid-July.

July 14: John Mokan purchased by Phillies from Pirates

E120 shows Mokan's original team. As a Pennsylvania company, American Caramel might reflect local transactions sooner than others, so we can set the Pirates checklist by this time.

July 23: Yankees trade Smith & Dugan to Red Sox for Miller + more

All three players in E120 appear on their new teams, our biggest update for midseason changes.

New York outpaced St. Louis by a single game for 1922's AL pennant, so I think this update says more about American Caramel making fans wait for Babe Ruth's card to show up. Their July 23 swap marks E120's latest transaction cutoff, so I infer Red Sox and Yankee sets went out in August or September.

4. Max Flack and the Whale

There's another secret hiding in plain sight on Flack's card. That notched "C" on his chest dates to 1914, when Max played for Chicago's short-lived Federal League franchise!

 

That Federal League spirit remains with us today, at least in Chicago. Wrigley Field began as a park built by Charles Weeghman for use by his "Feds" in 1914.

Rookie OF Max sits dead-center in their 1914 team photo

The squad changed to "Whales" for 1915 and captured that year's title on its final day of play. When the Federal League folded, MLB allowed Weeghman to buy Chicago's Cubs, where Flack played until that midday 1922 trade. Cool to see this photo history resurface eight years after the fact!

5. Frank Snyder and Charles Robertson, International Men of Mystery

I promise this photo does not ask whether you can see through Frank's uniform, a "thin pants" reference that'll be dated by summer 2024. It's for something you can't see: any photo credit.

All but two E120 cards credit their photo to one of five sources.

1. I.F.S. : International Film (or Feature) Service (179 cards, maybe 180)
2. U&U : Underwood & Underwood (14, maybe 15)
3. FM : Felix Mendelsohn (13)
4. P&A: Pacific & Atlantic (5)
5. S: Company not yet identified (27)

Photos for Frank's Giants teammates came from I.F.S., as well as all 15 Yankees. These guys show that expected © mark near their feet.

 

Synder's stats show he played often and well, with no midseason team change to muddle things. I assume an editing gaffe omitted his I.F.S. photo credit, making Frank's card unique in E120!

Charlie Robertson, another "man out standing in his field," got a step closer with © and then petered out.

The White Sox sourced photos from three different studios (I.F.S., U&U, FM), so who's to say what his credit should be. That uniform and environment looks close to teammate Everett Yaryan, so I'll pencil in U&U.

I added those "maybes" above to get 240 total card ©.

Summary

Card analysis showed us which borders match to teams, unmasked an unusual Ruth card, and found some Federal League history that remains relevant today. Next time, we ask the hard questions: where can a guy buy these sweet, sweet sweaters?

BONUS: Keith Olbermann pointed out this is the same Ralph "Babe" Pinelli who worked as home ump for Don Larsen's perfect World Series game.

You can spend days uncovering secrets from E120's 240 cards, thanks to its unconventional design and wide-ranging photo sources, and I look forward to finding even more in the future. Add any of your own questions or insights in the comments!