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Ask Babe: More questions for the Babe

Submitted by SHNS on Fri, 08/22/2008 - 16:42

Dear Babe: I have a set of cards 1991 Sporting News Conlon collection. It includes 11 members of the 1927 Yankees, Paul and Lloyd Waner, Kiki Cuyler, Red Ruffing, Hank Greenberg, Joe Medwick, Lefty O'Doul, Ernie Lombardi and Hack Wilson among others. -- Tim Skophammer, San Bernardino, Calif.Charles Conlon is considered by many to be the greatest photographer ever. He captured images of all of the stars and other players for decades from the early 1900s until the early 1940s. While he worked for New York newspapers at the start, it was not as a photographer. Photography was his hobby.The Sporting News ended up with thousands of negatives (actually glass plates) of Conlon's historic artwork. They worked with Megacards to produce five black and white sets in the early 1990s. The first four had 330 cards each with the final set consisting of 110 cards for a total of 1430. Your set was the first. There are 26 cards of 1927 Yankees. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig are easily the stars, but many are players no one but a diehard fan would recognize.Beckett's Almanac of Baseball Cards lists it at $18, while The Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards from the editors of Sports Collectors Digest has it at $13.50. The Standard Catalog indicates that factory set included an autographed Bob Feller card, but its presence only raises the set's value by $3.50. Dear Babe: I have a game ticket that was given to me by my great-grandmother after she attended the April 8, 1974 game when Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run. It also came with a certificate in a frame with the place and date that it had taken place. -- Heather Gleim, Lebanon, Pa.The going rate for stubs from that historic game is $200-$400. Certificates are worth around $40, but the value jumps to $150 if Aaron signs one. That's for the items. The framing adds a whole other dimension that is too hard to compute. If it's an inexpensive frame, then it doesn't mean much. However, if it's a fancy frame with special glass, the value could easily double, assuming a buyer wanted your frame. Dear Babe: My Son has a stub from a Sat. Dec.12,1964, New York Giants game at Yankee Stadium. The game in question was between the Cleveland Browns and the N.Y Giants. The final score was Cleveland 52, New York 20. The stub does not list the teams that played. It just says Game No. 7. He also has two stubs from a Boston University vs. Rutgers game in 1963 and a stub from Columbia vs. Rutgers dated Nov.24,1962. All of them are in excellent condition. -- Paul Kania, Marietta Ga."The college games are only worth a couple bucks and the Giants is worth a little more -- maybe $20,'' said Chris Nerat, a Sports Collectors Digest columnist. "The Browns were in the championship game that year (and won it), so Cleveland fans may like it."Dear Babe: I have two Atlanta Braves banners that I bought in 1991. They say "World Champions,'' but the Braves didn't win that year. -- Cindy Bell, Kennesaw, Ga. Even though, it is usually not a good idea, we'll assume that by "banners'' you mean pennants. You have what are referred to as "phantoms'' -- items such made up in advance for both teams in the playoffs or World Series, so that no matter who wins, souvenirs are ready to be sold. "Phantoms are funny as they seem to increase and decrease in value for no particular reason,'' said Dave Stark of www.pennantking.com in San Diego. "Some have more value than others, but for the most part I would estimate value in a general sense $10-$20.''Some Cubs World Series Champs/league champs phantom pennants from a few years ago sold in excess of $100. Of course, that was an auction setting and close to the playoffs.BABE NOTE: Relic and autographed cards should be found (on average) in every hobby pack of 2008 Topps Stadium Club Football. Topps says there are five autographs (at least four of rookies) and five relic cards in each 10-pack box. The set has 100 base cards of veterans and another 100 rookie cards numbered to 1,499 or less. For more information, visit www.topps.com(Send card questions to Babe Waxpak, PO Box 492397, Redding, CA 96049-2397 or e-mail babewaxpak(at)charter.net. If possible, include card number, year and brand or a photocopy. Please do not send cards. For Babe Waxpak's blog, see www.scrippsnews.com/waxpak. Babe Waxpak is a feature of The Record Searchlight in Redding, Calif.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)