There are 48 cards in the 1933 Sport Kings set, but only three of them feature baseball players. As a showcase of athletes from several different arenas, there are 18 different sports represented in the set. Many of the athletes included are legends, so the issue has remained quite popular over the years. The first individual cards of basketball players are featured, as well as a father/son combo and a woman athlete.
Issued by Goudey, the cards feature a color painting of the athlete against a solid background. A red Sport King Gum banner appears above the picture, and a black strip with the player's name appears below it. There is also a silhouette that shows the sport that athlete plays. There is also a circular 1933 copyright that Goudey baseball collectors will recognize. The backs are also familiar, as they look almost the same as 1933 Goudey's layout. Most of the back is a biographical write-up, with a card number and player info above and an advertisement for Goudey Sport Kings gum below it.
Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Carl Hubbell are the only three baseball players in the set. Jim Thorpe, who also played major league baseball, is featured as a football player. Some collectors choose to simply collect those three cards, while others opt to collect the full set.
Among the non-baseball subjects are some very significant cards. Four Boston Celtics are included, which make them the first individual cards of basketball players. There are also four hockey players including Howie Morenz and Ace Bailey. Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne joins Thorpe and Red Grange as football subjects. Babe Didrickson was one of the best-know women athletes in history. She's featured as a track star, but played a wide range of sports including baseball. Gene Tunney, Max Baer and Jack Dempsey were all high-rated boxing champions. Predating the Griffeys and Howes, Bicyclists Bobby Walthour Sr. and Jr. make up what may be the first father/son tandem in a card set. Golfers Gene Sarazen and Bobby Jones are legendary, as is Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku. Two men in the set went on to achieve fame beyond the sports world: aviator Jimmy Doolittle led an air raid on Tokyo soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and swimmer Johnny Weissmuller would become better known as Tarzan in a series of films.
Key 1933 Sport Kings Baseball Cards:
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1933 Sport Kings Baseball Card Checklist
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