This is my favorite set. This multisport set contains 200 subjects (199 humans and two horses), all sporting champions of their day. It is a significant set because it not only contains rookie cards of several prominent hall of famers (e.g., Paul Waner, Walter Hagen, Al Simmons, Mickey Cochrane, Fidel LaBarba, Jack Delaney, etc.) but also the only cards issued of many star athletes (e.g., Ernie Nevers, Tiger Flowers, Benny Friedman, Earl Cooper) during their playing days. These cards were produced by the Sports Company of America, a San Francisco publishing firm, for the A.G. Spalding Bros. Sporting Goods Company. They were given away as promotions along with a serial-numbered card that could be entered into a raffled or redeemed for ten cents off sporting equipment. Sports depicted in this set include baseball, football (some of the earliest fb cards), boxing, tennis, golf, auto racing, horse racing, billiards, Olympians, track, bowling, cowboys (winners of competitions), rowing, boating, polo and diving.
Album by Mark M. 1 - 64 of 64 Total. 4754 Visits.
Sports Co. of America Letter Letter from Spalding to George Kelly, requesting inclusion in set (I don't own the letter)
