ShareThisDear Babe: I have two older Mecca Cigarettes cards. Someone told me they were the 1912 Olympics. -- Rich Gladue, Conyers, Ga.
Your cards are part a set of what are referred to as T-218 "Champion Athletes and Prize Fighters'' cigarette cards. Most references have them being produced in 1910 or '11. Wilson was a silver-medal winner in the 1908 Olympics running for England. Jack Johnson is the real prize in the T-218. Most of the other cards are worth $5-$20, depending on their condition. Robert Edward Auctions sold what was billed as a complete 153-card set for $928 in 2006. It looks like those cards were generally in good to excellent condition. That works out to just about $6 for low-grade cards. Based on the photocopies you sent, I'd say your cards are probably worth $5-$10 each.
Dear Babe: I have a Dwight Gooden Donruss Diamond Kings card No. 26. -- Sandra Bastien, Hudson, N.H.
Gooden burst onto the scene as a 19-year-old in 1984 going 17-9, earning National League Rookie of the Year honors for the New York Mets. He was even better the next season, compiling a 24-4 record with a miniscule 1.53 ERA. In 1986 he was a key player in the Mets World Championship team. However by that time he didn't seem to be the overpowering pitcher he had been and by 1987, he was already in a drug rehabilitation program. Despite increasing off-field problems and injuries, he compiled a 132-53 record in his first eight seasons. After that he went just 64-59 over the final eight years of his big league career. His late career highlight was tossing a no-hitter for the Yankees against the Mariners on May 14, 1996. The card is probably worth a quarter.
Dear Babe: I recently found a 3-D Roberto Clemente MLB promo card that ends with the 1969 season. Clemente appears to be standing in front of the stands with two or three rows of seats behind him. On the back it says : "xograph 1968 MLBP Ass'n.'' It is No. 27 of 75. -- Blaine P, Muskegon, Mich.
You have a 1970 Kellogg's 3-D card -- the first year that Kellogg's produced the sets. The Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards from the editors of Sports Collectors Digest lists your Clemente at $35, while Beckett's Almanac of Baseball Cards has it at $12.50. It is the most valuable in the set. Based on the scans, it looks like your card is far from being mint, so it is probably worth less than those top values.
Dear Babe: When my husband went to a game between Philadelphia and St. Louis in 1954 he got his scorecard signed. The signatures include Wally Moon, Red Schoendienst, Stan Musial and the rest of the team. There are 17 signatures in all. The scorecard is in good condition with a fold in the middle, as though the card was tucked in the inside pocket of his suit jacket. -- Phyllis Allen, Atlanta
"The 1954 signed Cardinals program/scorecard would be worth $200-$300,'' said David Kohler, president of www.SCPauctions.com in Mission Viejo, Calif.
BABE NOTE: Once again Donruss produced promotional packs handed out to fans that attended Thanksgiving Day NFL games in Dallas and Philadelphia. The Dallas pack features Marion Barber donning a Salvation Army red apron, while the Eagles packs have a Brian Dawkins card that highlights the team's charitable entity, the Youth Partnership. For the complete checklist, visit my blog at www.scrippsnews.com/waxpak.
(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)
