1938 Goudey

Card #245 - Frank Pytlak	Card #276 - Zeke Bonura

---

Before "retro" was even a cool concept, Goudey went retro in 1938. Following a couple of lesser-quality sets and a year without producing a major baseball card set in favor of promoting premium cards, Goudey came up with another classic in 1938. Because of its design, this issue is sometimes referred to by collectors as the "Heads Up" set. Possibly trying to re-establish some of its lost glory, Goudey even began numbering the cards in this set at #241, right where its 1933 set left off.

1938 Goudey is basically two parallel sets. The first 24 cards feature an artist-colored "head" of a player, but the rest of his body is drawn as a cartoon and set against a solid background. A color strip runs along the card bottom and shows the player's name and team. A thin line the same color as the strip forms a box around the player and a whitish border (the same color as the background) surrounds the entire card. The last 24 cards in the set are the same as the first 24 (including the player photo) and in the same order, but cartoons and comments have been added to the background behind the player's caricature.

Another clue that Goudey was trying to link this set with its first and most sought-after set is that the card backs of the 1938 set are almost identical to the ones found on 1933 Goudeys. The only differences are that the player's 1937 performance is shown as statistics listed below the short written summary. Another change is the number of cards claimed in the ad for Goudey's Big League chewing gum. The first 24 cards mention 288 cards in the set, while the cartoon-added cards state that it is part of a 312 card set. An important thing to know about the backs: they are printed in green ink, not black or blue.

An interesting thing appears on Ernie Lombardi's non-"cartoon" card (#246). The card has a black baseball added beside hie team name (Reds). The baseball doesn't appear on his second series card (#270). A partial printing sheet that found its way into the hobby shed some light on Lombardi's baseball; when the cards were first printed, they stated he was playing for the Red Sox and the baseballs were strategically placed to correct the error.

The set has proven to be somewhat scarce, holding the highest value attached to any Goudey commons. Cards featuring the extra drawings and comments on the front are considered slightly harder to find than the ones showing a solid background, though some set collectors dispute that. The key cards are of Joe DiMaggio and Bob Feller. Though sometimes called "rookie" cards for these legends, they really aren't because both appeared on cards issued before this set.

For such a small set, there are some issues that may complicate putting together a complete set from scratch. First -- like 1933 and '34 Goudey -- there are a lot of reprints and fakes floating around. What complicates matters is that some of the reprinted cards are more than 30 years old themselves and exhibit signs of honest aging. Fortunately, collectors who've handled a few authentic '38 Goudeys can spot fakes quickly. By looking at the border (which should be the same color as the packground behind the player) and the ink on the back of the card (green), most phony cards can be identified. The second issue is alteration: many high-grade 1938 Goudeys have been bleached or trimmed. The third problem is its limited supply in the face of its popularity. This tends to be a set where cards often sell above "book value."

Card #282 - Bobby Doerr (Back)

241. Charlie Gehringer
242. Ervin Fox
243. Joe Kuhel
244. Frank Demaree
245. Frank Pytlak
246. Ernie Lombardi
247. Joe Vosmick
248. Dick Bartell
249. Jimmy Foxx
250. Joe DiMaggio
251. Bump Hadley
252. Zeke Bonura
253. Hank Greenberg
254. Van Lingle Mungo
255. Julius Solters
256. Vernon Kennedy
257. Al Lopez
258. Bobby Doerr
259. Bill Werber
260. Rudy York
261. Rip Radcliff
262. Joe Ducky Medwick
263. Marvin Owen
264. Bob Feller
265. Charlie Gehringer
266. Ervin Fox
267. Joe Kuhel
268. Frank Demaree
269. Frank Pytlak
270. Ernie Lombardi
271. Joe Vosmick
272. Dick Bartell
273. Jimmy Foxx
274. Joe DiMaggio
275. Bump Hadley
276. Zeke Bonura
277. Hank Greenberg
278. Van Lingle Mungo
279. Julius Solters
280. Vernon Kennedy
281. Al Lopez
282. Bobby Doerr
283. Bill Werber
284. Rudy York
285. Rip Radcliff
286. Joe Ducky Medwick
287. Marvin Owen
288. Bob Feller