22. 1936 Goudey World Wide Gum Hank Greenberg (HOF) – SGC EX+ 5.5
Outstanding midgrade example for Hall of Fame slugger Hank Greenberg, a key star from this hard- to-find Canadian set. Its wonderful framing, strong image, and perfect English/French bio provide what every fan from that Great Lakes region wanted to find inside their package of Big League Gum: a sharp card of the defending 1935 AL MVP and World Champion Tigers slugger! The SGC EX+ 5.5 shows great detail, near-perfect centering, and excellent registration. Light corner touches appear to be all that holds it back from even higher scores! Its population report contains 20 across all grades, with just three scoring better (all Greenberg cards share that slight bleed below “No. 41,” implying an issue on its printing plate). Quebec-based World Wide Gum (WWG) broke new ground for 1936-37 by releasing their own black- and-white set of 135 cards, spread across two seasons. Its checklist went beyond sets printed by their American partner Goudey Gum during these years, offering unique cards and poses for many stars. This auction by Love of the Game also offers a Type 1 news service photo used for this Greenberg card!
Several WWG card biographies refer to events from the 1936-37 off-season, confirming its release across at least two years. Players include a number of International League stars and research suggests the company created this set to capitalize on an outstanding 1935 campaign by the nearby Montreal Royals, whose own manager and team president, Shag Shaughnessy, took over the International League in mid-1936. A special and tough star card from this classic era. MINIMUM BID: $1,000 Powerful Type I portrait photo of 23-year-old first baseman Hank Greenberg of the Detroit Tigers. Shot in 1934, Greenberg’s second major league season, this image served as the source material for the slugger’s 1936 “Canadian Goudey” V355 Wide World Gum #41 card. The Hebrew Hammer enjoyed a tremendous 1934 season that was not without controversy, famously opting not to play on Yom Kippur that September 19 despite his Tigers inching closer to their first National League pennant since 1909. Greenberg would hit .339 for the year, leading the league in doubles (63), and base hits (96), with 139 RBI’s before the Tigers ultimately succumbed to the Gashouse Gang Cardinals in the 1934 World Se- ries. 5” x 7” black and white photo exhibits varying degrees of wear at the corners, with a few pinholes around the perimeter. Credit stamping from Wide World has been applied to verso where a date stamp reading “ October 2 – 1934 ” also appears. Authenticated and encapsulated as a Type I photo by PSA/ DNA. MINIMUM BID: $500 23. 1934 Hank Greenberg (HOF) Original Type I Photo (PSA/DNA) – As Seen On His 1936 V355 World Wide Gum Card
28
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator