Untapped Gold of 1961 Golden Press Baseball Hall of Fame
In 1961, while baseball fans were captivated by the battle between New York Yankees sluggers Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris for the single-season home run record, Golden Press opted to look back.
For their first foray into baseball cards, they produced a set comprised entirely of Hall of Famers. Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig, Honus Wagner and Joe DiMaggio were among the 33 legends featured in color images on the Golden Press cards in 1961.
“Those are beautiful color pictures,” said Bob D’Angelo, a veteran collector, about the 1961 Golden Press cards. “The images have nice bright colors and they aren’t cliché shots.”
So why then does the 1961 Golden Press Hall of Fame set remain affordable?
D’Angelo say some consider it a “novelty set.” It should also be noted that the cards were distributed unconventionally. The 33 Golden Press cards came in a booklet that sold for 25 cents. Marketed as “Golden Funtime Trading Cards,” each single had perforated edges, so the card could be punched out.
The booklets were widely distributed by Golden Press, a thriving children’s book publisher. A year earlier, the company had dipped its toes into the trading card market with a booklet focusing on U.S. presidents.
Golden Press books were available across the United States and the company utilized their vast distribution channels for their baseball cards. Collectors have reported seeing them in a supermarket in Illinois, magazine stores in California, Washington state and Idaho, and in a sundries shop in West Palm Beach, Fla. That’s where D’Angelo purchased his in 1968, seven years after the booklet’s initial release.
“It was with the magazines,” said D’Angelo. “I managed to convince my father to buy it.”
Lauren Scrafford, a veteran collector who owned a hobby shop in Albuquerque, N.M., from 1979 to 1995, also recalls the booklets being available in stores well after their initial release.
“When I lived in San Francisco from 1969 to 1972, I remember the booklets for sale at Woolworth’s and also a couple of magazine and book-type shops,” recalled Scrafford.
This mass distribution helps explain why these cards remain affordable. Many of the booklets have survived.
“The cards are not hard to get,” said D’Angelo.
The booklet was not designed with condition conscious collectors in mind. The first three cards of the set – Mel Ott (#1), Grover Cleveland Alexander (#2) and Babe Ruth (#3) – are on the cover, while the final six – Eddie Collins (#28), Walter Johnson (#29), Tris Speaker (#30), Nap Lajoie (#31), Honus Wagner (#32) and Cy Young (#33) – are on the back.
“The key cards for me are Ruth, Johnson, Wagner and Young,” noted Doug Koztoski, who owns a high grade 1961 Golden Press set on the PSA Set Registry. “Ruth would be a key in virtually any set, of course, but in my experience since that quartet also appears on either the front or back cover of the original card album . . . the cards would naturally be more susceptible to wear.”
When punched out, each card measures 2-1/2” by 3-1/2” and offers a colorized image of the player with their name and position at the bottom.
The backs showcase the card number in the top left, as well as the player’s name, their team(s) and biographical information. The player’s “Lifetime Record” and the year they were elected to the Hall of Fame are indicated at the bottom.
The card backs were written in 1961 so some of the information is out of date. For example, the Mel Ott card deems him the “greatest slugger in the history of the National League.” At the time, his 511 home runs were an NL record.
Not surprisingly, the Ruth card (#3) is the set’s most coveted. It presents a color image of the Bambino after a swing. Largely due to the fact that it was on the front cover, this card is elusive in high grade.
This set also houses what was likely the last card of Cobb before his death on July 17, 1961.
The U.S. Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries, Third Series:1961: January-June indicates that the copyright registration for the Golden Press set was not secured until April 19, 1961. This means that the cards would not have been produced until after this date, but they surely would’ve been manufactured and marketed quickly after the baseball season began.
Cobb also has cards in the 1961 Fleer and 1961 Nu-Card Scoops sets, but it’s safe to say these were released earlier in the year.
How can we conclude this? The 1961 Fleer set features a card of Dazzy Vance that indicates that Vance “Lives in Homassasa Springs, Florida.” Vance died on February 16, 1961. So the Fleer set was in production before that date.
The 1961 Nu-Card Scoops cards have newspaper stories on their backs that are dated. The Dick Groat card (#413), dated November 17, 1960, which highlights him winning the 1960 National League MVP, is the latest date. So it’s safe to say these cards were produced prior the 1961 season.
Despite it being Cobb’s last card while he was living, it remains inexpensive.
If you read the cards closely, you’ll also notice some errors. For example, the Gehrig card says the Iron Horse belted 494 home runs. He actually hit 493. Also, the Walter Johnson card states he struck out 3,497 batters, shortchanging him by 12.
In recent years, demand for this set has grown.
“I think the 1961 Golden Press set has increased in popularity over the past few years, some of that is due to a smaller set size, but I think solid availability of the cards in nicer condition, the fact they are in color, generally look good and affordable prices have helped, too,” said Koztoski.
And appreciation for this set is likely to continue to grow.
“To me, it’s one of those classic early ’60s sets that just gets better with age,” said D’Angelo.
1961 Golden Press Baseball Hall of Fame Checklist
33 cards.
Buy on:
Check 1961 Golden Press Baseball Hall of Fame values in the Beckett Price Guide.
1 Mel Ott
2 Grover C. Alexander
3 Babe Ruth
4 Hank Greenberg
5 Bill Terry
6 Carl Hubbell
7 Rogers Hornsby
8 Dizzy Dean
9 Joe DiMaggio
10 Charlie Gehringer
11 Gabby Hartnett
12 Mickey Cochrane
13 George Sisler
14 Joe Cronin
15 Pie Traynor
16 Lou Gehrig
17 Lefty Grove
18 Chief Bender
19 Frankie Frisch
20 Al Simmons
21 Home Run Baker
22 Jimmie (Jimmy) Foxx
23 John McGraw
24 Christy Mathewson
25 Ty Cobb
26 Dazzy Vance
27 Bill Dickey
28 Eddie Collins
29 Walter Johnson
30 Tris Speaker
31 Nap Lajoie
32 Honus Wagner
33 Cy Young
