DEXTER PRESS HOF - INTRODUCTION
I'd like to present a brief guide of the Dexter Hall of Fame Postcards that were sold at the Baseball Museum in Cooperstown in the late 70's and early 80's. Like the B&W and Gold/Yellow Hall of Fame Postcards, this issue
depicts players/managers/executives/umpires with a picture of their HOF plaque in front of a Blue, Red, Orange or Green background. This set is not to be confused with earlier Dexter Press sets that were based on (then) current
players and released in the late 1960's.
depicts players/managers/executives/umpires with a picture of their HOF plaque in front of a Blue, Red, Orange or Green background. This set is not to be confused with earlier Dexter Press sets that were based on (then) current
players and released in the late 1960's.
THE BASICS - DEXTER PRESS
The Dexter Press Hall of Fame Plaques were apparently issued for sale in the Baseball Hall of Fame Museum gift shop in 1979. The plaque's format was not as popular as its predecessors as the color and arrangement left little room for the player to sign. There were only 54 different players issued (vs. ~169 possible inductees at that time). They are of standard postcard size and stock with backgrounds of Red, Orange, Green and Blue. As far as I am aware, each player was only printed in one color (so all Frank Chance cards are Red). There is one reported variation (Dazzy Vance - see below), bringing a complete
set to 55 different postcards.
set to 55 different postcards.
Dazzy Vance Variation
There are 54 Dexter Hall of Fame Plaques. There is one minor variation for this set and involves it the Dazzy Vance card - bringing a complete set to 55 different cards. If you look at the bottom left corner of the reverse side of the Vance card, you will see one of two sequence numbers: 67557-D or DT-59551-D.
Although the set is limited to 54 postcards (Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards lists 53 - omitting the Frank Chance - see picture above), and many - if not most - are relatively easy to obtain, it is a surprisingly difficult set to
complete. Personally, I worked on this set for two years trying to obtain the Babe Ruth postcard. Other plaques that were difficult to obtain included Koufax, DiMaggio, Musial, Mays, Clemente, Mantle and Gehrig.
Generally, in other HOF Postcard issues, players like Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle etc. though the most desirable are also the most circulated postcards. Remember that these were apparently sold individually in the HOF Gift Shop, so
who are you more likely to buy: Babe Ruth or Amos Rusie? Despite that, the Babe Ruth is definitely the most difficult in my estimation. I have two guesses - and they are mere speculation - as to the difficulty of some and the
ease of obtaining others:
Speculation #1. The issue was so unpopular that they were pulled from the shelf after a limited print run(s). The remaining stock was purchased and eventually found its way to the collecting market. Therefore, if all players were printed in the same number, those purchased at the Hall of Fame (the most popular) could have been mailed or briefly cherished and then tossed by non-collectors. This would dilute the poplular players' numbers in
relation to the others that didn't sell at the HOF.
Speculation #2. The Orange Plaques may have had a lower print run. When creating this guide, I noticed that the more difficult players were, in most cases, on the Orange Plaques. Perhaps they weren't printed in
the same numbers as the other colors? Two definite exceptions to this rule is the Clemente (Blue) and Koufax (Red) plaques; therefore, I lean toward the first speculation. Please contact me if you have hard information regarding this set (or further speculation).
complete. Personally, I worked on this set for two years trying to obtain the Babe Ruth postcard. Other plaques that were difficult to obtain included Koufax, DiMaggio, Musial, Mays, Clemente, Mantle and Gehrig.
Generally, in other HOF Postcard issues, players like Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle etc. though the most desirable are also the most circulated postcards. Remember that these were apparently sold individually in the HOF Gift Shop, so
who are you more likely to buy: Babe Ruth or Amos Rusie? Despite that, the Babe Ruth is definitely the most difficult in my estimation. I have two guesses - and they are mere speculation - as to the difficulty of some and the
ease of obtaining others:
Speculation #1. The issue was so unpopular that they were pulled from the shelf after a limited print run(s). The remaining stock was purchased and eventually found its way to the collecting market. Therefore, if all players were printed in the same number, those purchased at the Hall of Fame (the most popular) could have been mailed or briefly cherished and then tossed by non-collectors. This would dilute the poplular players' numbers in
relation to the others that didn't sell at the HOF.
Speculation #2. The Orange Plaques may have had a lower print run. When creating this guide, I noticed that the more difficult players were, in most cases, on the Orange Plaques. Perhaps they weren't printed in
the same numbers as the other colors? Two definite exceptions to this rule is the Clemente (Blue) and Koufax (Red) plaques; therefore, I lean toward the first speculation. Please contact me if you have hard information regarding this set (or further speculation).
Checklist
Bold* = The player depicted could have signed a
Dexter HOF Postcard.
(Color) = The color, (Red, Orange, Green or Blue) of the plaque background.
Variation**
RED = Ones in my set
Alexander, Pete (Blue)
Boudreau, Lou* (Green)
Campanella, Roy* (Green)
Chance, Frank (not listed in the SDC Catalog) (Red)
Clemente, Roberto (Blue)
Cobb, Ty (Red)
Coveleski, Stan* (Red)
Crawford, Sam (Orange)
Dihigo, Martin (Blue)
DiMaggio, Joe* (Orange)
Evans, Billy (Blue)
Evers, Johnny (Red)
Faber, Red (Orange)
Flick, Elmer (Red)
Frick, Ford (Blue)
Frisch, Frankie (Blue)
Galvin, Pud (Red)
Gehrig, Lou (Orange)
Giles, Warren (Green)
Harridge, Will (Green)
Heilmann, Harry (Orange)
Hooper, Harry (Red)
Hoyt, Waite* (Blue)
Huggins, Miller (Green)
Johnson, Judy* (Green)
Joss, Addie (Red)
Keefe, Tim (Green)
Keeler, Willie (Blue)
Kelly, George* (Orange)
Koufax, Sandy*(Red)
Lajoie, Nap (Red)
Lloyd, Pop (Orange)
Mack, Connie (Green)
MacPhail, Larry (Blue)
Mantle, Mickey* (Orange)
Manush, Heinie (Green)
Mathews, Eddie* (Red)
Mays, Willie* (Orange)
Medwick, Joe (Green)
Musial, Stan* (Orange)
Pennock, Herb (Red)
Roush, Edd* (Red)
Rusie, Amos (Red)
Ruth, Babe (Orange)
Schalk, Ray (Green)
Simmons, Al (Orange)
Spalding, Al (Red)
Tinker, Joe (Green)
Traynor, Pie (Green)
Vance, Dazzy** (Orange) Two serial numbers: 67557-D or DT-59551-D.
Waner, Lloyd* (Blue)
Williams, Ted* (Orange)
Wilson, Hack (Green)
Youngs, Ross (Blue)
(Color) = The color, (Red, Orange, Green or Blue) of the plaque background.
Variation**
RED = Ones in my set
Alexander, Pete (Blue)
Boudreau, Lou* (Green)
Campanella, Roy* (Green)
Chance, Frank (not listed in the SDC Catalog) (Red)
Clemente, Roberto (Blue)
Cobb, Ty (Red)
Coveleski, Stan* (Red)
Crawford, Sam (Orange)
Dihigo, Martin (Blue)
DiMaggio, Joe* (Orange)
Evans, Billy (Blue)
Evers, Johnny (Red)
Faber, Red (Orange)
Flick, Elmer (Red)
Frick, Ford (Blue)
Frisch, Frankie (Blue)
Galvin, Pud (Red)
Gehrig, Lou (Orange)
Giles, Warren (Green)
Harridge, Will (Green)
Heilmann, Harry (Orange)
Hooper, Harry (Red)
Hoyt, Waite* (Blue)
Huggins, Miller (Green)
Johnson, Judy* (Green)
Joss, Addie (Red)
Keefe, Tim (Green)
Keeler, Willie (Blue)
Kelly, George* (Orange)
Koufax, Sandy*(Red)
Lajoie, Nap (Red)
Lloyd, Pop (Orange)
Mack, Connie (Green)
MacPhail, Larry (Blue)
Mantle, Mickey* (Orange)
Manush, Heinie (Green)
Mathews, Eddie* (Red)
Mays, Willie* (Orange)
Medwick, Joe (Green)
Musial, Stan* (Orange)
Pennock, Herb (Red)
Roush, Edd* (Red)
Rusie, Amos (Red)
Ruth, Babe (Orange)
Schalk, Ray (Green)
Simmons, Al (Orange)
Spalding, Al (Red)
Tinker, Joe (Green)
Traynor, Pie (Green)
Vance, Dazzy** (Orange) Two serial numbers: 67557-D or DT-59551-D.
Waner, Lloyd* (Blue)
Williams, Ted* (Orange)
Wilson, Hack (Green)
Youngs, Ross (Blue)