What’s Wrong With This Card – Bill Terry
This is one of my favorite cards from a 108-card set issued by the National Chicle Company between 1934 and 1936. These cards, called Diamond Stars, featured vibrant colors and a variety of backgrounds that included other players in action, cityscapes, banners flapping in the wind, as well as the stadiums themselves. The images of the players were paintings made from photographs. These cards were well received by the public, however, the company’s 1937 bankruptcy ended its foray into the baseball card domain. If you want to buy some of these cards today, a common player’s card in excellent condition will cost at least $100, and sometimes more. A star’s card would cost considerably more, easily fetching $300 to $500. If you want the whole set and found a card dealer who had one for you, you might get change back from your $20,000.
Card # 14 of the set featured Bill Terry, 1st Baseman and later Manager of the New York Giants. He was a very gifted athlete whose dexterity with both the bat and glove culminated in his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1954. I have been told by some exceedingly knowledgeable, long in the tooth baseball fans that he compares favorably with George Brett and Paul Molitor, both of whom are Hall of Famers who played in the 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s. That’s pretty good. My Dad spoke highly of him, too, and that’s even better. Anyone who hits .341 over fourteen major league seasons, including .401 in 1930, has to be among the very best.
So what’s wrong with the card? Have you figured it out? If so, please let me know.
**********************************************************************************************************
In each installment of this ongoing series, I will present a baseball card for your review. If you study the card carefully you will find something about it that is not quite right. Once you’ve determined what it is, please identify it in a comment. I will identify the readers who correctly identified the incorrect aspect of the card in an upcoming post. Thank you, and have fun.
My guess: Since he was 1st Baseman, the scoreboard behind him looks a little out of place. Instead, I’d expect to see a row of ‘K’ cards there.
Also, shouldn’t there be a NY logo (which the Mets now have) on his hat?–or was that introduced later?
Both comments are right on target. The scoreboard would be in center field in the Polo Grounds, where the NY Giants played. The NY on the hat thought is also correct… it should be there. You, sir, are a star.
However, I was thinking of a third item, Daniel. Go back to the scoreboard, and take another look. Remember who hits in the top of the inning, and who hits in the bottom of the inning?
That was the first thing I noticed: Visitors are on the bottom of the scoreboard.
That (the home team on the top row of the board) also caught my eye, but I couldn’t quite place what it was that didn’t seem right. OTOH, how are we certain that the Giants are the home team? That skyline doesn’t exactly call out NYC to me. The “Giants” on the uniform might be the giveaway that the game was at the Polo Grounds, but I can’t see in my minds eye what they might have worn on the road.
Artistic license