NHL Sets missing from my collection

I finally typed up the list of NHL sets missing from my collection. I had made notes when I was creating my paper listing a while back...I don't remember when I finished. Last summer maybe? I'm sure I wrote a post about it but I can't remember. I do know that nothing newer than 2016-17 was on the paper list. Ever since, though, I've been putting off typing up the list, for no real reason other than the (seemingly) million other things I'm always trying to do at the same time. Today, it was too cold and wet to work on models (actually snowing, on April 10th! Crazy year) and I decided I needed to make this a priority...so I did it, finally. And it wasn't as easy as just copying over what I wrote well over a year ago now. I had gotten some sets but forgot to cross them off, and I only started keeping notes with 1992-93 Bowman. NHL cards started being produced in the 1920s, so I had a bit of work ahead of me. I ended up with three windows open, cross checking off my typed list, with the Cardboard History Gallery, checking to see if the set had an album. If it did, that meant it was in my collection, and I removed it from the typed list and crossed it off the paper list. I also had a window open with the Database and was checking against my collection on there. I also used that to check the cards pre-1992-93. It's a good thing I did, too, because I missed one that I was sure I had, but I don't. By checking the albums to see what I had vs. what existed on the Database, I realized I was missing 1986-87 O-Pee-Chee from my collection.

Even though the NHL is now what most of my collecting is, there's still a massive amount of sets missing- 223 listed, although I did include two not released yet, and one that was released this week. I also included the three main sets issued before the NHL was founded. Although not technically NHL sets, they absolutely count towards the collection. Unfortunately for me, 50 of them are 1980s and older, and while it may not seem like 80s are hard to find, only one of the 80s is NOT a sticker set. the aforementioned 87-87 OPC set. Stickers are MUCH less common than cards, so they will be about as challenging as the vintage cards on the list- 37 of which are Original 6 era or older.

Honestly, I don't expect to ever have any cards from many of the earlier sets. They are just too costly; that's history I won't be able to document. However, there's still a bunch of modern sets to work on. And the work has already started, because if you remember the packs SumoMenkoMan sent me last summer, which I wrote about a few months ago, three of the missing sets were included! Not only will I be able to get these cards represented, I have an actual pack to open. I also have 3 of the sets waiting to ship from COMC, although I don't know when I will actually be able to do that with the virus situation going on. I've actually been holding off on opening the packs until I could type the chart up and double check it.

What I'm NOT going to do is go out and hunt down cards from each of these sets like I did when I made the NBA list several years ago. I nabbed almost all of them on COMC in one fell swoop, going in and just buying the cheapest card available just to have the set represented in my collection. It was a bit of a rush when I did it, but I find that it wasn't really all that fun, and now I don't have the enjoyment of getting a new set totally at random, other than newly issued sets. With the NHL cards, I'm going to take it as they come...and enjoy the thrill of the hunt. I still have some of the store-made repacks I have held since 2017 and boxes upon boxes of cards sent to me by other collectors...what treasures await me in them? Only time will tell.

The list, like my lists for NBA, NASCAR and some non-sport sets, is always available from the Sets Missing from my Collection page in the top of every post, but I've also copy & pasted it below. As I get the missing sets, I will remove them, so by C&Ping it here, it will be a record of the sets that were missing from my collection at the time I created the chart.

Please note that this is only major sets. It doesn't include promos, team sets, lower levels, International, etc...all of which I collect and want to have. This is just mainstream sets. Underlined sets are simply year breaks, and the sets struck through are those that I have coming to me already- the three packs from Ryan, and the cards waiting with COMC.

1910-11 Imperial Tobacco

1911-12 Imperial Tobacco

1912-13 Imperial Tobacco  (Although the three Imperial tobacco sets predate the NHL, they were for the league the NHL spun out of and I would count them just the same)

1923-24 William Paterson

1924-25 Champ's Cigarettes

1924-25 William Paterson

1925-26 Unknown producer

1926-27 Unknown producer

1933-34 Unknown producer (Labeled as Anonymous V129 by Burdick)

1933-34 Canadian Gum

1933-34 Hamilton Gum

1933-34 O-Pee-Chee

1933-34 World Wide Gum Ice Kings

1934-35 O-Pee-Che

1935-36 O-Pee-Chee

1936-37 O-Pee-Chee

1937-38 O-Pee-Chee

1937-38 World Wide Gum

1939-40 O-Pee-Chee

1940-41 O-Pee-Chee

1952-53 Parkhurst

1953-54 Parkhurst

1955-56 Parkhurst

1957-58 Parkhurst

1958-59 Parkhurst

1958-59 Topps

1959-60 Parkhurst

1960-61 Parkhurst

1961-62 Parkhurst

1961-62 Topps Pending

1962-63 Parkhurst

1963-64 Parkhurst

1965-66 Topps

1968-69 O-Pee-Chee

1974-75 O-Pee-Chee WHA

1975-76 O-Pee-Chee WHA

1976-77 O-Pee-Chee WHA

1981-82 O-Pee-Chee Stickers

1982-83 O-Pee-Chee Stickers

1983-84 O-Pee-Chee Stickers

1983-84 Topps Stickers

1984-85 O-Pee-Chee Stickers

1985-86 O-Pee-Chee Stickers

1986-87 O-Pee-Chee

1986-87 O-Pee-Chee Stickers

1987-88 O-Pee-Chee Stickers

1987-88 Panini Stickers

1988-89 O-Pee-Chee Stickers

1988-89 Panini Stickers

1989-90 O-Pee-Chee Stickers

1990-91 Panini Stickers

1991-92 Panini Stickers

1992-93 Bowman

1992-93 Panini Stickers

1994-95 Panini Stickers

1996-97 Donruss Canadian Ice

1996-97 Fleer Picks

1996-97 Panini Stickers

1997-98 Leaf International Stars

1997-98 Pacific Paramount Pending

1997-98 Pacific Revolution

1997-98 Panini Stickers

1997-98 Pinnacle Bee Hive

1997-98 SP Authentic

1997-98 SPx

1997-98 Upper Deck Diamond Vision

1998-99 Pacific Revolution

1998-99 Panini Stickers

1999-00 O-Pee-Chee

1999-00 Aurora

1999-00 Panini Stickers

1999-00 Revolution

1999-00 Ultimate Victory

1999-00 Victory

2000-01 O-Pee-Chee Pending

2000-01 Pacific Private Stock Draft Day

2000-01 Pacific Private Stock Titanium

2000-01 Panini Stickers

2000-01 SP Game Used

2000-01 Topps Gold Label

2001-02 Fleer Legacy

2001-02 Pacific Private Stock Titanium Draft Day

2001-02 SP Game Used

2001-02 NHL Legends

2001-02 UD Playmakers Limited Pending

2001-02 UD Premier

2001-02 Upper Deck Stanley Cup Champs

2001-02 Top Shelf

2002-03 Between the Pipes

2002-03 In the Game Used

2002-03 MVP

2002-03 SP Game Used

2002-03 Upper Deck Classic Portraits

2002-03 Premier Collection

2003-04 Be A Player Memorabilia

2003-04 Be A Player Ultimate Memorabilia

2003-04 In the Game Used Signature Series

2003-04 In the Game VIP

2003-04 Pacific Complete

2003-04 Invincible

2003-04 Private Stock Reserve

2003-04 Private Stock Reserve Titanium

2003-04 Panini Stickers

2003-04 Parkhurst Original Six Boston Bruins

2003-04 Parkhurst Original Six Chicago Blackhawks

2003-04 Parkhurst Original Six Montreal Canadiens

2003-04 Parkhurst Original Six Toronto Maple Leafs

2003-04 Parkhurst Rookie

2003-04 Topps Pristene

2003-04 Honor Roll

2003-04 Trilogy

2003-04 Premier

2004-05 In the Game Franchises Canadian

2004-05 In the Game Franchises US West

2004-05 In the Game Franchises Update

2004-05 UD Legendary Signatures

2004-05 Upper Deck

2004-05 Legends Classics

2004-05 Ultimate Collection

2005-06 Artifacts

2005-06 Be A Player

2005-06 Panini Stickers

2005-06 Upper Deck The Cup

2005-06 Ultimate Collection

2006-07 Artifacts

2006-07 Panini Stickers

2006-07 SP Game Used

2006-07 Upper Deck Mini Jersey

2006-07 Upper Deck Sweet Shot

2006-07 Upper Deck The Cup

2006-07 Ultimate Collection

2007-08 Hot Prospects

2007-08 O-Pee-Chee Premier

2007-08 Trilogy

2007-08 Upper Deck Mini Jersey

2007-08 Upper Deck Sweet Shot

2007-08 Upper Deck The Cup

2007-08 Ultimate Collection Pending

2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Premier

2008-09 Ovation

2008-09 Panini Stickers

2008-09 SP Game Used

2008-09 Trilogy

2008-09 UD Black

2008-09 Upper Deck The Cup

2008-09 Ultimate Collection

2009-10 Be A Player

2009-10 Ice

2009-10 O-Pee-Chee Premier

2009-10 Ovation

2009-10 Panini Stickers

2009-10 UD Black

2009-10 Upper Deck The Cup

2009-10 Ultimate Collection

2010-11 Adrenalyn XL

2010-11 Crown Royale

2010-11 Ice

2010-11 Panini Dominion

2010-11 Limited

2010-11 Upper Deck The Cup

2010-11 Ultimate Collection

2011-12 Ice

2011-12 Panini Dominion

2011-12 Panini Prime

2011-12 Panini Titanium

2011-12 Ultimate Collection

2012-13 Classics Signatures

2012-13 Panini Dominion

2012-13 SP Authentic

2012-13 SP Game Used

2012-13 Upper Deck The Cup

2013-14 Crown Royale

2013-14 Ice

2013-14 National Treasures

2013-14 Panini Dominion

2013-14 Playbook

2013-14 Panini Prime

2013-14 Panini Stickers

2013-14 Totally Certified

2013-14 SP Game Used

2013-14 Upper Deck The Cup

2014-15 Ice

2014-15 Panini Stickers

2014-15 SP Game Used

2014-15 SPx

2014-15 Trilogy

2014-15 UD Premier

2014-15 Upper Deck The Cup

2014-15 Ultimate Collection

2015-16 Black Diamond

2015-16 Panini Stickers

2015-16 UD Black

2015-16 UD Premier

2015-16 Upper Deck The Cup

2016-17 Black Diamond

2016-17 UD Premier

2016-17 Upper Deck The Cup

2016-17 Ultimate Collection

2017-18 Black Diamond

2017-18 SP Game Used

2017-18 UD Premier

2017-18 Ultimate Collection

2018-19 Black Diamond

2018-19 Chronology

2018-19 Clear Cut

2018-19 Compendium

2018-19 Engrained

2018-19 Ice

2018-19 SP Authentic

2018-19 UD Premier

2018-19 Upper Deck The Cup

2019-20 Black Diamond

2019-20 Chronology

2019-20 Credentials (pending release)

2019-20 Engrained

2019-20 Ice

2019-20 O-Pee-Chee Platinum

2019-20 Stature (pending release)

2019-20 Synergy

2019-20 Trilogy

2019-20 UD Premier

2019-20 Upper Deck Buybacks

2019-20 Ultimate Collection

Sets in my Collection #35: 1969 Topps Man on the Moon

50 years ago today- right this very minute, thanks to the Blogger scheduling function- man landed on the Moon for the very first time. To me, this is probably THE crowning achievement in human history. It's just so amazing to contemplate, and I really hope to see more moon missions occur during my lifetime. I was promised a moon base by 1999, and I'm highly disappointed that didn't come to pass. But with all the advances in modern technology, I figure it's only a matter of time. Consider, when  I was a kid, getting an answering machine was a huge technology event. Now, I have a handheld computer that I can see and talk with people around the world at any time. Basically, the Jetsons without a flying car...and even that has been invented, it's just too cost prohibitive to actually produce and operate.

I am jumping ahead in the Sets in My Collection project for this very special anniversary. In 1969, after we had actually put a man onto the Moon, Topps released a set called, appropriately, Man on the Moon. The front design- and possibly some of the images themselves- come from the 1963 Topps Astronaut Pictures set, which chronicles the early days of NASA. Unfortunately, I don't have of them in my collection. The 1969 set has new photos- a mixture of actual photos and drawings- and the backs are puzzles. In the 1963 set, they were 3D drawings. The Man on the Moon set is 55 cards, and surprisingly enough, has no actual photos from the moon. It was created after the landing happened, because it talks about it in the captions, but no photos taken on the Moon. I do not know if the photos were classified or if they just tried to get it out as quickly as possible- it was 15 years before I was born- but it is a little disappointing.

Of the 55 cards, all of which carry either an A (#1-35) or B (36-55) suffix, for reasons I do not know, I have 30 of them, or 54.5%.

Here are some highlights:

#30A

#42B

#51B

#52B

#23A

Here is the back of #23A. All but two of my back scans were lost when my first remote hard drive died.

You can see all the scans I do have- and I have not scanned all of the cards in my collection yet- on my Cardboard History Gallery listing for it. 1969 Topps Man on the Moon

There's a lot of idiots who think this whole thing was fake...if you are one of them. please don't say anything, because I'll never be able to take you seriously again. Nor will I ever send you any cards again.

Sets in my Collection #34: 1951 Berk Ross Hit Parade of Champions

Another set that's not in chronological order due to my missing it when I created my overall set collection Excel chart. This is a multi-sport set, and for some unknown reason, it mixes professional sports with college images of players who were by then pros. My only card, of the 72 card set, is of Bob Cousy, who in 1951 was already a member of the Boston Celtics, joining the team in 1950. He would go on to revolutionize the point guard position, so much so that players today are still compared to his legendary exploits. The majority of the set is of baseball, but it also includes basketball, hockey, football, track & field and boxing.

The cards are smaller than standard size, and were originally two card panels, most of which have since been separated. I got this one as a single in a toploader sometime in the 1990s, but I no longer know exactly when or where. You can barely see the perforations on the left side of the front scan.

Note: my computer died. Trying to get to ten posts for the month, I'm pulling from my drafts.

Sets in my Collection #33: 1954 Topps Scoop

Here is another one of my all-time favorite non-sports sets. I just discovered it existed in 2014, and it's become a major favorite of mine.

As I've mentioned numerous times, I love history. My favorite time being ancient history, which is almost never on cards. This set includes ancient history and all kinds of other topics. Each card is done up as a newspaper clipping, with a drawing on front, a newspaper themed back and either a drawing or a black and white photo on the back to accompany the text.

Originally these cards came with some sort of black covering that you had to scratch off with a coin or some other similar object, I've read. None that I have seen have retained the covering.

Like the Wings and World on Wheels set, I cannot show only one card front.

As of this writing, (11/20/2015) I have 60 of the 156 cards in the set, or 38.5%, but I have a local source of these and I hope to get some more soon, perhaps before this post comes up in the queue- the last Sets in my Collection post I've published as of this writing is #9, and this is #33, so it may not see the light of day for some time. This is a set that I have posted about before, and the tag for it already exists.

The cards are smaller than standard size, no other cards in my collection utilize the same size.

#20

#52

#88

#89

#91

#118

#128

The cards that involve athletes are the rarest and most expensive cards in the set, with the baseball themed cards being the most expensive, of course. I don't have any of them. I had to post all the ancient subjects I have, and I think that I have all of those.

Updates for 2018- I now have 126 of the cards, or 80.8% of the set! I also have other cards using this size- It appears Topps was experimenting with this smaller scale as a standard card size as there were several mid-50s sets using it, before deciding on the current standard size in 1957.

I also recently ranked it #1 on my list of all-time favorite Non-Sports sets.

Sets in my Collection #32: 1954 Bowman US Navy Victories

This is a set that I only have one card of, and it was free! Gotta love free- even though one of the corners is literally missing and the card is so severely bent that it's nowhere near flat anymore. It's still good enough for me! It's a 48 card set, and the larger than current standard size that was Bowman's usual at this time frame.

I have an interest in military history and ships so I am a fan of this set. The set covers the entire breadth of American Naval history, from the Revolution of 1776 up all the way through the Korean War. This card is a WWI subject, which is pretty rare to see on card form (or any other form, for that matter) It is another set I would like to complete...although that is a something that I say about almost every set. What can I say, I'm a collector?

Sets in My Collection #31: 1944 Card-O US Navy

Oops! As you may notice, I am stepping back a decade with a set I missed doing chronologically. When I went in to get the scans for the set that was originally going to be the topic for set #31, I realized I missed this one- both posting about it and typing it into the excel chart I am using as my guideline for posting order.

This is yet another set I had no idea existed until I got my copy, and then I was surprised to find in researching it that it was actually from 1944, right in the middle of WWII. Size and consistency of the card actually matches a playing card, rather than a standard card. I suspect it may have been made on playing card stock.

The set is only 22 cards, which makes it one of the smaller sets out there. I have only this one card.

The cards were not numbered and as is clearly visible, my copy is not in the greatest shape.

The design seems kind of poorly layed out, the blue border on the left should really have been discarded, instead of cutting the back of the ship off. It's possible I may have a mis-cut card, but based on the back I don't think I do.

Editor's note: I am dealing with some health problems right now- something that I have to deal with the rest of my life, but not a lot of fun...so not a lot of new writing coming from me for a little bit. I'm going to post some stuff from my Queue that I have written up for just the times when my health acts up. I'll get back to writing new material as soon as I am able. 

Sets in my Collection #30: 1953-54 Topps World on Wheels

This is, by far, one of my favorite sets of all-time. I have been a car guy my entire life, I love cars. My family (both sides!) have been involved in every aspect of the automotive world since 1932, so I suppose it was destiny that I would get into cars. I've been collecting scale replicas of cars since I was roughly two years old, and I've only stopped in the last year because I had to- the money to pay for the medicine that keeps me alive had to come from somewhere.

My lifelong dream is to be a classic car owner, but I don't think it will ever happen.

This set was the second of Topps's first trifecta of vehicular sets, following 1952's Wings, and followed by 1955's Rails & Sails, which has proven to be the hardest of the three for me to locate.

This set is 180 cards, and it was issued over two years, with the second year being MUCH scarcer than the first year. The second year was issued in (apparently) late 1954 as it includes 1955 models, but as is well known, cars are labeled for the coming year, not the year they are actually produced.

I was once again lucky to be in the right place at the right time, and I now have 125 of the 180 cards in my collection, all from the first series. My highest numbered card is #159. I wasn't kidding when I said several posts ago that being in the right place at the right time is my best skill!

The set featured a wide variety of automotive subjects. Many of the cards depict cars from the pre-World War I era, which today is the rarest era of automobiles to see, and many people can go their entire lives without seeing anything from this era moving under it's own power. They were mixed in with new cars, concept cars, work vehicles, even some tanks! They really covered the entire world of the automobile, and of the many, many automotive sets that were produced up to around 1996, this one is by far the most all-inclusive. Probably why it's my favorite!

The cards are the same slightly larger than modern standard that was the Topps standard pre-1957.

Since I have so many, and since I love them so much, I am again going to post more than one front scan.

#16

#17

#37. It was either this card or the card I mentioned in the Wings post that was my first vintage card of any sort. I added both of them to my collection at card shows held in the local mall in the mid-1990s. Both of them were added to my collection before I began collecting the NBA, which was February 1996, but I don't remember which came first or exactly when I got either of the two cards. I do have a better example of this card in my collection but being the first this one has not been relegated to my duplicate stash.

#89

#101

#107

#132

The second series cards are, at least in part, available with either red or blue backs. Both are rare. The trip from NYC to Albany, at least by car, now takes about 5 hours.

Completing this series is less likely a prospect than the Wings set, as the second series cards are significantly rare, and can be pricey if they can be found. Overall, this set is not as easy to find as Wings is overall either, adding to the difficulty of completing the set.

Sets in my Collection #29: 1952 Topps Wings

Been a while since I've posted in this series. I wrote this post in 2015, though I did have to modify some of it to reflect posts I wrote and published long after I originally wrote this one.

Now we have a run of some of my all-time favorite sets. Topps really hit their stride in the early-mid 50s, and the next three Topps sets (Including this one) all ranked highly in my countdown of favorite Non-Sports sets, that I published in January.

Topps did an entire series of sets, over several years, on vehicles. I don't have all of them in my collection yet, but the three I do have are favorites.

The earliest was 1952's Topps Wings, sometimes known as Wings: Friend or Foe. This was a 200 card set, in the slightly larger than current standard size that was standard at the time.

I have an amazing 179 of 200 cards in the set, or 89.5% completion! Once again, I happened to be in the right place at the right time to get these. With 21 cards missing from my collection, and none of them particularly rarer than any others, completing this set is an attainable goal of mine. Someday. Unlike sports cards, with more popular players being harder to find, and none of the cards short-printed like in the next set, it makes none of the cards impossible. Non-Sports cards also don't have the burden of "Rookie Cards" to make them unobtainable.

Since I love the set, and since I have so many of them, I am going to post more than one front scan.

#5

#7. The very first plane I was ever inside- parked!- was one of these at an airshow in 1993.

#14

#19. The set also included helicopters.

#32. I believe this was the first vintage card of any sort I ever added to my collection, circa 1994 or 1995. It was either this or a card from the next set in the series.

#71

#120

And finishing up with a card back. The cards had the standard light brown cardboard for the backs.

This set is commonly referred to as "Wings : Friend or Foe" but that is not actually the name- the name is just Wings, although Friend or Foe appears on every card.

Sets in my Collection #28: 1952 Bowman US Presidents

A 36 card set, notably larger than the current standard size, I have 19 of them- but none of them are in particularly good shape. They took quite a beating before I got them in late 2014. Although I loathe politics, I love history, and that gives them a place in my collection. Some of the cards in the set were not of presidents but of presidential related things, like the Declaration of Independence, and the White House itself, George Washington got two cards. I don't have either of the two Washington, or Lincoln. Those three are the keys to completing the set.

While I normally like to get cards in better shape than these are, I also couldn't pass them up!

Each card features a drawing of the President with a background relating to something that happened in their term- or, in the case of then-current Dwight Eisenhower, before he became President.

As you can see from the scans, the condition is poor...but like I have said repeatedly, I'd rather have a low condition card than none at all.

This post was written on November 19th, 2015. Time to get through some of these long-in-the-queue posts!

Sets in my Collection #27: 1951 Topps Animals of the World

Remember when I documented the 1938 Frank Buck set, and mentioned that Topps reissued it in 1950, and then issued a totally separate series in 1951 using the same numbering system? Well, I think you can figure out my next sentence! Yes, this is that set.

Carrying cards number 101-200, this set highlights various animals from around the world.

Each card, which is smaller than standard size, features a full-color drawing of various animals. I presume the backgrounds were once white, but all 5 of the cards I  have were poorly treated before I got them and they no longer are. I don't care, I am still happy to have them!

I chose this time to show two different cards.

I have not felt much like writing lately, and I somehow managed to get sick again, so time to crank out another one from this series that has been waiting in my queue since 2015. 

Sets in my Collection #26: 1950 Topps Automotive License Plates

This is the earliest Topps set in my collection, and it's not really all that impressive, to be honest. The cards are small and thick, and feature an image of a then-current license plate on the front, on a black field, with a trivia question on the back, with the answer to the trivia question making up the image on the card back. Counting all variations, this is a 100 card set, which most states having more than one card. Several Canadian provinces are also in the set.

For Topps, the best was yet to come.

Neither of my two cards are in good shape, in fact, this is the better of the two.

License plates were a very popular topic for card sets back in the day. There are at least 6 that I am aware of, dating back to the 1930s. While I would love to have more of them, as of right now, this is the only one in my collection. (If I had the space, and the money, I would collect vintage license plates as well. I have a few in my collection already)

Sets in my Collection #25: 1949 Bowman Wild West Picture Card Gum

Another vintage non-sports set with only one card in my collection, this is a small card, as Bowman was using small cards at that time. This was a huge set, at 180 cards. It's the largest set I'm aware of from the 1940s. It is broken down into various subsets (each numbered differently, but part of a whole) which covered several different topics related to the Old West- which, at that time, wasn't all that old- topics in the set range in age from the 1700s to the early 1900s! Early cards in the set don't cover the Old West at all, and, not having seen the cards, I'm not sure exactly how they tied the War of 1812 to the narrative.

There was a subset of history, a subset for daily life at the time, a subset honoring famous Indians, non-Indians, and even outlaws.

The D-series cards, of which my only example is from, documents the wars with the Indians. At the time, popular media portrayed the Indians as the bad guys, but as we now know, that isn't entirely the case.

I believe, from the research I did when I got the card, that this version may have been a mail-away variation based on the red badge on the bottom left of the card back. I do not know for sure.

Sets in my Collection #24: 1948 Bowman

We finally have come to the sports section of my collection. Not surprisingly, sports cards take up the majority of my collection. Even though I have been an avid collector of non-sports cards, there are simply far more sports cards to choose from, with 3 to 4 times as many sports sets produced...every single year...compared to non-sports sets.

My favorite sport is basketball (It was NASCAR for many years, but no longer) and I have more basketball cards than any other topic - and far more sets than any other topic as well.

One thing I was very much proud of in my first time around with the NBA was that I had at least one of every set issued, or at least, I thought I did. (I discovered when I joined the Database that I had missed two!). I began the project of getting at least one of every set in 1996, and completed it in 1999. Surprisingly, 1948 Bowman was not the last set I found! It was next to last, but I thought it would be the hardest to get. I am currently working on getting that back, but it's going to be more difficult than it was the first time around. Now, there are sets that are ridiculously priced ($1200 for 5 cards) that will be tough to track down. My goal still remains to have at least every set represented in my collection, but I digress.

1948 Bowman is still a rare set, and I have only 7 of the 72 cards, or 9.7%. There is no way I'll ever be able to complete the set, unless I win the lottery. The George Mikan Rookie card literally sells for more than we paid for our car. Percentage wise, I believe this is the least I have of any set from 2004-05 and earlier. (2004-05 was the last year I did a box of every set) Of the 7 cards I have, three of them have been added to my collection since I started collecting the NBA full-time again in 2012. Having access to Ebay, something I did not have the first time around, has changed the accessibility of vintage cards for me. (As an aside, I now consider the break I took between 2006 and 2012 to be one of the bigger mistakes I've ever made)

This was the only set ever issued for the BAA- Basketball Association of America- and the first basketball release of any sort. The BAA was the basis of the NBA just two seasons later; the NBA counts 1946 as it's first season because they use the BAA stats. There would not be another basketball set of any sort issued until 1957-58, 9 seasons later.

1948 Bowman is issued for the 1948-49 season, not 1947-48. When talking about sets for professional basketball and hockey one year as a descriptor is wrong.

The 1948 Bowman cards are smaller than current standard size, and are square- not the traditional rectangular. A standard size was not yet determined in the late 1940s, that would not come until the late 1950s, and even then there are still variations.

I believe that the images used in 1948 Bowman were black and white images that were colored later, not actual color images. I could be wrong on that though.



Many of the players missing from my collection got their only card issued in 1948 Bowman. With the length of time between early sets, and the later companies ignoring most everyone pre-Magic & Bird in their sets with retired players, the only card they ever got was the 1948 Bowman card. Gilmur, shown above, is one of the people who got only one card. (this could double as a One-Hit Wonder post!). He played only 5 seasons, between 1946-47 and 1950-51. He passed away at age 88 in 2011.

While the next several sets will again be non-sports cards, now that sports have made an appearance they will soon take up most of the posts.

Sets in my collection #23: 1942 Gum Inc. War Gum

Nearing the end of a HUGE project. Details hopefully tomorrow, by the weekend for sure. Since I don't have the time to look at the boxes of cards I've gotten, or to type up another post in my NBA encyclopedia, here is a post in my Sets in my collection series that I wrote up back in 2015 and has been sitting in my queue ever since.

This is a pretty spectacular set. It's 132 cards and it was issued right in the midst of World War II. Remember my comments on the 1939 World in Arms set? Well, Gum Inc. has changed it's tune, now going all-out for the war effort...the USA was now at war with Germany, Japan and Italy. While still mostly objective, current slang terms now appeared on the cards, especially in regards to the Japanese.

It's also a large set for that time period, at 132 cards. I have 9 of them. (6.8% according to the Database) This is another set I want to complete some day. As a history buff and a card nut, this set is a clear favorite of mine.

Here are two card fronts, and one back. I couldn't post just one!

#66

#70

Note also the "Buy War Bonds and Stamps for VICTORY" on the bottom of the card.

Cards are slightly smaller than current standard size, but that appears to have been Gum, Inc's standard at the time as all three sets I have from the company are the same size. Gum, Inc, of course, later became known as Bowman; but the card size in the Bowman era was different.

I actually didn't know this set existed until I added it to my collection. I had mistakenly believed I was purchasing Horrors of War- known as the king of non-sports sets (also produced by Gum, Inc, in 1937) and not realizing the truth until I got home and started researching it online. While Horrors of War is still high on my wantlist (I don't have any yet) it actually turns out that had I known this set existed, it would have actually ranked higher on my list of sets wanted for my collection! (Between writing this in November 2015 and now I've added three Horrors of War to my collection)

Sets in my Collection #20-21-22: Wings Cigarettes series

 I wrote up to #34 in this series back in 2015, time to start getting some posted!

A Three-for-one post, as these sets, while different, are also the same. Huh?

In 1940, 1941 and 1942, Wings Cigarettes issued four sets of trading cards that all used the same designs, and, I believe, some of the same illustrations with different card numbers.

In 1940, the original set was issued. Later in 1940, it was reissued as Series A. (I have none of the Series A cards). In 1941, a different checklist, but with the same design, was issued as Series B. In 1942. Series C was issued. All used the same design and featured a mixture of military and civilian aircraft.

Here are scans of each of the three series I have.

Notice that certain details of the fighting planes have been left off, and also, interestingly, the images are clearly drawings but are labeled as photographs.

I have about a dozen combined cards from the sets, with the majority of cards in my collection being from the original 1940 release. They are small, slightly above half the size of a modern standard sized card, but wider than the tobacco standard.

There are other sets using the same design but different names. They do not yet appear in my collection.