1954 New York Journal
This set is among the few issued by newspapers, and the year of issue makes these cards highly-sought after by specialty collectors. For baseball fans, the 1950s were a "Golden Age" of sorts for the New York City area. The Yankees, Dodgers and Giants were in contention for their leagues' pennants season after season, and in 1954 the Giants won the World Championship. There were more than a dozen daily newspapers in the city to cover the three hometown teams, and one of them -- the Journal-American, one of the Hearst empire's papers -- used these cards as a way to entice fans to buy their paper instead of the Times, the Daily News, the Post or any of their other
competitors.
Newsstands were given boxes of these cards to give away with the purchase of a paper. As an added incentive, each card had a serial number that might have matched one of five "winning numbers" printed inside the paper. Each card was potentially worth up to $200, but many of the cards that didn't match a number were simply tossed away, making these cards tough but not impossible because a lot of the cards that weren't given away to readers were taken home by newsstand owners and given to neighborhood kids. The baseball series of 1954 wasn't the
first time the paper used cards
competitors.
Newsstands were given boxes of these cards to give away with the purchase of a paper. As an added incentive, each card had a serial number that might have matched one of five "winning numbers" printed inside the paper. Each card was potentially worth up to $200, but many of the cards that didn't match a number were simply tossed away, making these cards tough but not impossible because a lot of the cards that weren't given away to readers were taken home by newsstand owners and given to neighborhood kids. The baseball series of 1954 wasn't the
first time the paper used cards