Celebrating Jackie Robinson day with the card that captures his significance better than any other!
1948_Swell_Robinson
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Celebrating Jackie Robinson day...This is the first baseball card to highlight Jackie being the “first of his race” to play in Major League Baseball, and the ONLY baseball card of that era to venture into any sort of adjective explanation of what he endured: "Few players ever started a season under more tense or dramatic conditions than Jackie Robinson." This is the only baseball card of that era to dare touch upon the duress in his tale. This card captures why Jackie Robinson has such a lofty status in the history of baseball better than ANY of his cards ever have.
Very rare card with less than 200 examples in existence! In fact, these were considered rare back in the 1960's when in the December 1963 issue of The Card Collector, it was stated in regard to the Sport Thrills set as "another one of those cards that the average collector will never be able to obtain." "The set contains only 20 cards and when available they sell from 15-25 cents each. Extremely hard to find."
By far his most significant and compelling card, and issued one year prior to his 1949 Leaf card.
Comments
Nice, never seen that one before
For decades it flew under the radar. Less than 200 graded and considered difficult to obtain even by the 1960's...it isn't surprising it escaped a lot of collectors.
The Jackie Robinson festivities this past weekend reminded everyone the magnitude of Jackie Robinson's journey and this card captures Jackie's importance in a most striking and succinct way.
People are starting to notice....an SGC 1 just closed at $3,350 on Ebay in straight auction.
This once hidden gem is beginning its rightful ascent to the upper echelon of baseball cards...and still has plenty of room to climb.
Pump that card brother!
In early 1986 we had a very large inventory of cards and I used to "pump" these ugly looking cards to people that would buy from us. Typically it was regular customers and mostly friends I would steer them towards. I would tell them, "these are their rookie cards, etc!" Some of them would actually laugh. Some would say, "Hey, thanks. I never looked at it like that," and then they bought them.
I could have sold them anything and made money either way...but I valued them as customers I was grateful for, and friends I had a bond with....so I wanted to see them happy.
The Swell Robinson card is something that many collectors have never even seen and it has some tremendous unique historic attributes. It is a card that many collectors might be interested in if they knew of its existence. Some might not care one bit. Either way, everyone has free will to do as they choose....just like those ugly "rookie cards" that I was "pumping" to my customers and my friends.
The Swell Robinson has become my favorite card for some of the reasons I have laid out. The community on here is a community to share thoughts, ideas, or to ask questions and this is one of my contributions. My thoughts can be ignored, scoffed at, or appreciated, because everyone has the free will to make their own decisions....and I will still talk about the card, its attributes, and that it is STILL flying under the radar for many collectors.
I do know that some of my friends still have their 1980 Topps Larry Bird/Magic Johnson rookies that I flat out told them to buy instead of all the other stuff I was selling in 1986. It cost them $1.50 each. I don't even have any of those left myself, but I am glad some of them still do. That is just one card example....I don't even want to get into the 1984 Star Jordan's(and the rest of the rookies in that set)
.
Some of those same friends I told to buy EXXON (XOM) stock when covid hit and the price plummeted, and to buy it again when the variants caused drops in price. I told them to buy Cedar Fair(FUN) at the same times as well. Those I flat out told them to buy. They still had the choice to do what they wanted after hearing my rationale though.
I'm not telling anyone to do anything in this thread. People have their own free will to exercise what to do. This is a glorious card that I am happy exists....and it is an awesome card that I will continue to talk about.
If that is "pumping', then so be it....but then that means my 'pumping' track record is pretty darn good in the long run
Have a good evening
I've owned one for awhile. Very cool, and still underrated, card.
Exactly, and in today's market where everything has gone through the roof....this one can still be reasonable. No such thing as a bargain anymore, so reasonable will have to do.
It's attributes, both in terms of historical significance and in its low pop and condition sensitive status, certainly should equate to being more than the reasonable price it is now commanding.
There aren't ANY high grades of this card. Straight 7 is the highest grade and there are only four of those. Then a handful of 6's. It is definitely a condition sensitive card, especially when it comes to centering. This one most definitely belongs in the class of the toughest cards of all time to find centered or high grade.
It is a very early, low pop, condition sensitive, historic card; that just happens to be of Jackie Robinson(one of the few athletes that are guaranteed to endure for as long as our society functions as is).
That is a heckuva basket of attributes to have in one card.
Early, low pop, etc are great but if we are discussing this card….
The BW image isn’t great, the design is weak - doesn’t have the players name on the front - and the brand is unknown, relative to Topps or Leaf. The 48 Leaf is a much better looking card.
@80sOPC said:
All good points, however, the Swell card hits the mark on exactly what you would like Jackie Robinson RC to highlight = the Dramatic Debut.
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Fair enough but the card just looks low quality with the grainy BW image. Looks more like a newspaper clipping then a trading card.
Aesthetics are in the eye of the beholder.
However, this card in hand is quite a sturdy piece of cardboard and the registration is pretty strong(with some examples not as good as typical in cards).
I like the Swell photo myself as it is a true depiction of Robinson, compared to the Leaf where the photo just looks off(and the Leaf color is awful. If the Leaf color and photography looked like a 1953 Bowman then that may be a different story).
Cards from that era vary in regard to having their names on front. The 1948 Bowman don't have names on the front. Neither does 1950 Bowman.
Beauty is in the beholder in regards to baseball cards, but age, rarity and condition sensitivity are hard drivers....its just that many people never knew of its existence to get demand to catch up...but it is.
PS: I like the Leaf card and have one. A Jackie Robinson and high level card collector should have both the Leaf and Swell cards in their collections, IMO.
Yes, agreed!
Its almost ghostly that there is a card that exists from1948 that proclaims Jackie Robinson's debut right on the front...and yet most collectors have never even known of its existence.
Considering the circumstances and historical importance, I can't think of a more appropriate card set up than that!
Early Jackie Robinson cards are still rising even in a hot market!
It was always thought that the Leaf Robinson was the rarest of all and made in 1948, which I believe gave it an early boost in the demand of his cards.
Ironically, the Leaf Robinson was actually made in 1949, not 1948...the same year as the Bowman.
What seems to be happening now is the 1949 Bowman has been gaining a lot of steam. Some recent sales, and some current auctions are showing this, though I won't list any auctions that have not finished yet.
Looking at the PSA pop reports:
1949 Bowman Robinson 1,569.....180 sixes, 136 sevens, 114 eights, 10 nines.
1949 Leaf Robinson 1,583.....134 sixes, 74 sevens, 40 eights, and 7 nines.
1948 Swell Robinson 184.....25 sixes, 4 sevens. No 8's or 9's.
That pop report is actually showing the Bowman and Leaf as near equals in examples in existence, which is a little surprising considering how the Leaf was thought to have been much more rare than the Bowman.
It does show the Leaf is tougher in mid to high grade and is a more condition sensitive card than the Bowman.
What strikes me most, and prompted me to write this post to begin with, was because of Jackie Robinson day and how Robinson is the best candidate in all of baseball to maintain popularity and demand above all other players going forward, including Ruth. Ruth is concrete locked in as well....but nobody is highlighted like Jackie Robinson is every year on TV, at the ballparks, and in schools too.
All of Robinson's pre 1950 cards are locked in!!
And I'm not knocking the Leaf. That card is entrenched. It is odd though how things start out and perceptions formed that aren't exactly accurate.
I know this doesn't include SGC or other grader examples in the pop report.
Pump it up my man!
Pumped? Lets examine that.
You know what is pumped? The 1949 Leaf Jackie Robinson is pumped. Pumped as rare, which it is not. Pumped as his RC, which it is not. Pumped as made in 1948, which it is not. The Leaf brand was actually forced to stop being printed due to illegal licensing...so it is actually closer to a 1990 Broders card than anything else.
Do you wonder why that card and others are pumped? Maybe so it can be sold more often...and all with an extra premium from the pumping you fell for.
Beckett price guide was not a bible. It was just one man's pumping of certain cards and you fell for it. Then that baton was picked up and still in use.
THERE is your pumping and you eat it up and are spoon fed and told what to think and you don't even realize it.
So I shine some light on a fantastic historic card and I get that response? Laughable.
I add some original thoughts in addition to compelling factual information on a key Jackie Robinson card and it is pumping?
Maybe I should add a picture of a Gerber jar since spoon feeding is the norm.
In the meantime:
Celebrating Jackie Robinson day...This is the first baseball card to highlight Jackie being the “first of his race” to play in Major League Baseball, and the ONLY baseball card of that era to venture into any sort of adjective explanation of what he endured: "Few players ever started a season under more tense or dramatic conditions than Jackie Robinson." This is the only baseball card of that era to dare touch upon the duress in his tale. This card captures why Jackie Robinson has such a lofty status in the history of baseball better than ANY of his cards ever have.
Very rare card with less than 200 examples in existence! In fact, these were considered rare back in the 1960's when in the December 1963 issue of The Card Collector, it was stated in regard to the Sport Thrills set as "another one of those cards that the average collector will never be able to obtain." "The set contains only 20 cards and when available they sell from 15-25 cents each. Extremely hard to find."
While not the caliber of the 1948 Swell, here’s some other fun period Jackie’s:
1947-66 Exhibits
1953 Topps
1947 American Legion Brooklyn Dodgers Premium
1954 All Star Photo Pack
1949 All Star Photo Pack
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/987963/1951-wheaties-premium-photos-set-registry#latest
Look superb!
Recognize them all?
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/987963/1951-wheaties-premium-photos-set-registry#latest
Yes, the photos eventually used for 1950 Bowman and 1952 Berk Ross cards.
I went back and labeled them; I know you love Jackie and so that can help you look.
Good luck in the hunt…
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/987963/1951-wheaties-premium-photos-set-registry#latest