1941 Double Play

Card #149/150 - Debs Garms/Elbert Fletcher

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One of three national baseball card sets issued during 1941, before World War II halted most baseball card production for several years, the 1941 Double Play set was unusual in that its cards featured two players instead of one. The cards were produced by Gum Products, Inc.of Massachusetts, which was a different company than Philadelphia-based Gum, Inc; however, the similarity in names has caused confusion in the hobby. 150 player pictures (but only 110 different players) are represented on 75 cards, as shown in the checklist below.

Card #93/94 - Babe Young/Cliff Melton

The full cards measure 2 1/2" by 3 1/8". Fronts feature sepia-toned black and white photos of two different players from the same team, against a white background that also serves as the border. Below each picture is a short biography and statistical information, as well as the card number (each player has his own individual number). The cards are blank-backed.

Most cards are arranged horizontally, like the example card featured above. Cards numbered 81 through 100 feature action shots of the players and are vertically oriented, appearing tall and thin. All players featured in action photos are also found with portrait cards.

Most of the stars of the era can be found in this set, but there are quite a few lesser-known players featured as well. Since production of baseball cards was essentially halted through the Second World War, a large number of major leaguers never had the chance to appear on a baseball card; some who played just before the war managed to get on one card, which can be found in this set. A lot of team collectors focus on this issue as a result. Also noteworthy here is a rookie-year card of Pee Wee Reese.

One of the most important things to point out to potential collectors of these cards: although these cards are designed to look like there are two separate cards, there was no perforation provided to separate them. If the two cards are cut apart, their value is greatly diminished. Several cut specimens are auctioned and sold with a note that it was "common" for the cards to be cut apart. Whether or not that is true, no card in this set is considered complete unless intact. That said, for many collectors, cards that have been clipped offer a great way to collect the set inexpensively until entire cards can be found.

1/2. Larry French/Vance Page
3/4. Billy Herman/Stanley Hack
5/6. Linus Frey/John Vander Meer
7/8. Paul Derringer/Bucky Walters
9/10. Frank McCormick/Bill Werber
11/12. Jimmy Ripple/Ernie Lombardi
13/14. Alex Kampouris/John Wyatt
15/16. Mickey Owen/Paul Waner
17/18. Harry Lavagetto/Harold Reiser
19/20. Jimmy Wasdell/Dolph Camilli
21/22. Dixie Walker/Ducky Medwick
23/24. Harold Reese/Kirby Higbe
25/26. Harry Danning/Cliff Melton
27/28. Harry Gumbert/Burgess Whitehead
29/30. Joe Orengo/Joe Moore
31/32. Mel Ott/Babe Young
33/34. Lee Handley/Arky Vaughan
35/36. Bob Klinger/Stanley Brown
37/38. Terry Moore/Gus Mancuso
39/40. Johnny Mize/Enos Slaughter
41/42. John Cooney/Sibby Sisti
43/44. Max West/Carvel Rowell
45/46. Dan Litwhiler/Merrill May
47/48. Frank Hayes/Al Brancato
49/50. Bob Johnson/Bill Nagel
51/52. Buck Newsom/Hank Greenberg
53/54. Barney McCosky/Charley Gehringer
55/56. Pinky Higgins/Dick Bartell
57/58. Ted Williams/Jim Tabor
59/60. Joe Cronin/Jimmy Foxx
61/62. Lefty Gomez/Phil Rizzuto
63/64. Joe DiMaggio/Charley Keller
65/66. Red Rolfe/Bill Dickey
67/68. Joe Gordon/Red Ruffing
69/70. Mike Tresh/Luke Appling
71/72. Moose Solters/John Rigney
73/74. Buddy Meyer/Ben Chapman
75/76. Cecil Travis/George Case
77/78. Joe Krakauskas/Bob Feller
79/80. Ken Keltner/Hal Trotsky
81/82. Ted Williams/Joe Cronin
83/84. Joe Gordon/Charley Keller
85/86. Hank Greenberg/Red Ruffing
87/88. Hal Trotsky/George Case
89/90. Mel Ott/Burgess Whitehead
91/92. Harry Danning/Harry Gumbert
93/94. Babe Young/Cliff Melton
95/96. Jimmy Ripple/Bucky Walters
97/98. Stanley Hack/Bob Klinger
99/100. Johnny Mize/Dan Litwhiler
101/102. Dominic Dallessandro/Augie Galan
103/104. Bill Lee/Phil Cavaretta
105/106. Lefty Grove/Bobby Doerr
107/108. Frank Pytlak/Dom DiMaggio
109/110. Gerald Priddy/John Murphy
111/112. Tommy Henrich/Marius Russo
113/114. Frank Crosetti/John Sturm
115/116. Ival Goodman/Myron McCormick
117/118. Eddie Joost/Ernest Joy
119/120. Lloyd Waner/Henry Majeski
121/122. Buddy Hassett/Eugene Moore
123/124. Nick Etten/John Rizzo
125/126. Sam Chapman/Wally Moses
127/128. John Babich/Richard Siebert
129/130. Nelson Potter/Benny McCoy
131/132. Clarence Campbell/Louis Boudreau
133/134. Rolly Hemsley/Mel Harder
135/136. Gerald Walker/Joe Heving
137/138. John Rucker/Ace Adams
139/140. Morris Arnovich/Carl Hubbell
141/142. Lew Riggs/Leo Durocher
143/144. Fred Fitzsimmons/Joe Vosmik
145/146. Frank Crespi/Jim Brown
147/148. Don Heffner/Harland Clifft
149/150. Debs Garms/Elbert Fletcher