1952 Berk Ross Set

PSAtan

I don't know too much about this set. From where I sit, it seems like a good bargain. This is the only set to include Dimaggio (Printed before he announced his retirement), Mantle, Mays, Williams, Musial, Campanella, Reese, Hodges, Berra, Rizzuto and Jackie Robinson. The Mantle card contains the same exact pose as his 1951 Bowman rookie card. From checking population reports, the set is relatively scarce too with high, high grades hard to find. Can somebody give me a run-down on Berk Ross, the reason it has never caught on and an estimate on the difficulty of putting together a set? I'd like to know more.

Thanks,

S.

mrc32

I didn't know you collected cards.....I thought you just dealt out grief

dbj77

Well, here's what little I know. The cards came in 2-card perforated panels that you tore apart like 1951 Redbacks. It's rare to find the panels intact and they command a premium over separated cards. I'm guessing part of their unpopularity has to do with the fact they weren't released strictly as a baseball set, rather there are other sports included in a "complete" set. They were also printed with lousy coloring on lousy cardboard stock so the pictures look like negatives rather than nice color pictures. Of course being an older, obscure regional set, they are found frequently with centering issues as well.

I actually like the set because of all the varioius sports it presents, much like the 1952 Wheaties set.

mikeschmidt

Cards are kind of ugly vis a vis their contemporaries (1952 Topps and 1952 Bowman are both very beautiful).

Lack of clarity

Hard to find in high grade.

Often very off-centered.

Very soft cuts -- corners are often not sharp.

Though the 1952 Berk Ross has the same picture as the 1951 Bowman, you would never confuse the two because of the different printing processes used.

Finally -- I don't even think they were sold in pack type form. I think you got the whole set in a box -- which is how many of these sets still come to market to this day.

goodriddance189

Taken from http://www.gridirongreats.net/autumn2002/article2.html (actually this refers to the 1951 set, but the distribution etc was similar)-

"If you were lucky enough to have 40 cents in your pocket back in 1951 in the New York area, you would have been able to purchase the complete set of the Berk Ross Cos. “Hit Parade of Champions” sport cards. Today, it would cost you $400.00 or more to buy the set.

Berk Ross, based out of New York, NY, tossed its hat in the sports card marketing field with this beautifully colored tinted set of 72 cards in 1951. The cards were issued in four separate series and sold in pairs housed in a neat little box that the revealed the top two cards. "

curmudgeon

Actually dbj77,

The 1951 BRs were issued in panels, but the '52s were not. You are right about the stock and photo quality- not very good. the 51s, IMHO, are undergraded and undervalued. Centering is certainly an issue, but where many get slapped by the graders are the corners, but for a different reason than you might expect. The panels' perforations oftentimes are found on at least one corner, which results in a small nub like extra bit of cardboard that almost by definition does not come to a point. Personally, I do not believe this detracts all that much if at any from the appearance, but the folks at SGC and PSA apparently disagree. There's a bunch of these cards ending in the next couple of hours-- look at the Spahn/Berra panel to see what I mean ( I have that same panel, and it "suffers" from the same type of corners).

goodriddance189

More info i found-

"In 1951, the Berk Ross Corp. of New York City issued a set of 72 cards featuring stars of several sports. While not meant to directly compete with Bowman (like the upstart Topps Chewing Gum Company did in the same year), the set, sometimes called the "Hit Parade of Champions" set, was issued in two-card panels on boxes.

The cards feature a color painting of the player on the front with a white border. Card backs feature the player's vitals (birth date, home town, height, weight, etc.) and a single line of his staistics from the 1950 season. At the top, above the player's name and team, is written "Hit Parade of Champions 1951". The card number and Berk Ross trademark are located at the bottom.

The set, which is complete at 72 cards, was issued in 4 series of 18 cards each (numbered 1-1 through 1-18, then 2-1 through 2-18, and so on). The first 10 cards in each series feature baseball players. Although they were issued as 2-card panels, they are seldom found intact and carry a nice premium if found that way."

Source http://www.geocities.com/chrisstufflestreet/1951br.html

PSAtan

Doesn't sound like there's much enthusiasm for Berk Ross. I'm going to go for a 1954 Dan Dee set in PSA 3 - 5. What am I in for?

thanks,

S.

mrc32

PSAtan-
Your post was funny...So you only collect what other people like??? I bet you bought a ton of Cisco stock in the 80s....

Why not collect what you like and not what others like? It might even be cheaper.

Cheers-
Michael

PS- Sorry to slam you twice in one thread, but I just had to point out my points. I hope I don't rot in hell.

PSAtan

MRC32,

I didn't think of that. You're right. Maybe I'll go after some Berk Ross.

Thanks,

S.

shouldabeena10

Hey Satan,

Shouldn't you really be putting together a graded set of those Mass Murderer cards that came out in the late 80's, or maybe a Horror's of War set? Gotta keep up the image....right?

purelyPSA

Does PSA grade the Most Wanted Iraqi playing card set? That's perfect for you. Although, I guess having a PSA 10 Qusay doesn't measure up to owning his soul for eternity.

PSAtan

Collecting souls gets boring. There's no set registry. I do have Himmler, Hitler, Eichmann, Spheer and Mengele. However, who is going to trade for them?

Smiles,

Satan

P.S. I'm looking for card #6 in the 1966 topps set in a PSA 6

PSAtan

I just watched a 1952 Berk Ross Mantle go for over a 1000 dollars in a GAI 7 holder on Ebay. That's a bit rich for my blood. It appears there are others out there betting on this set. I was hoping to pick it up for 400 dollars. It was over 400 dollars a minute after the auction started.

People, please don't get interested in sets I'm going after. It annoys me and drives the prices up. Stay with Topps and Bowman. I don't like huge hassles when building a set. I often work at a soup kitchen helping the less fortunate. Thus, I'm entitled to fair prices on Berk Ross. Even the devil can have good karma. No more 1000 dollar 1952 berk ross mantles. If someone has one in a lesser grade that he/she would like to sell, let me know. I'll purchase it without haggling if you're fair. I'm not a high grade collector. A card in the PSA/GAI 4 to 6 range would be perfect.

Thanks again for staying away from my desired cards,

Satan

NickM

You were thinking you could get a '52 Mantle card for $400?

You've been listening to Karl Marx's soul for too long.

Nick