When you can't run too far, you have to overplay every ball you can hit, so you make a lot of errors.
Jack Kramer, explaining why he lost a match to his grandson at the age of 72
The funny thing is, if you really love a sport - I mean really love it - you find a way to keep playing it. No matter what. Even at age 72. In the backyard. There is perhaps no one man in professional sports history who did as much for the sport he played as John Arnold Kramer has done for the sport of tennis. You see, Jack Kramer took a game he loved to play as a teenager and made it a professional sport. It's really that simple. Sure, there were many other great players before him and many great players after him but Jack Kramer took professional tennis to never before seen heights, proved professional tennis to be both a viable and profitable enterprise and helped to create the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in 1972, serving as it's first president. Born in Las Vegas in 1921, his childhood was an itinerant one as his daddy was a railroad man. When they settled down in California, Jack was a high school aged teen and very quickly found his way on to the tennis courts where he cultivated his skills and developed a major passion for the sport. He learned voraciously from all the local pros and became an advocate for playing 'percentage tennis', where certain points are valued more and you hold serve at all costs. By the age of eighteen Jack Kramer was on the Davis Cup team, the youngest man at the time to ever play on the US team. Alas, like baseball and golf, the second World War interrupted tennis as well and Jack dutifully served in the US Coast Guard. After the war, he continued his amateur career, albeit briefly. As a player of singles and doubles, he won virtually every major tournament in both capacities in which he was entered, though he never played the French or Australian Championships due mostly to financial considerations. However in two years of Wimbledon play, he never lost a doubles match and won 10 of 11 matches in men's singles. His legend would grow even larger as he abandoned the amateur game in his prime, along with the right to play in future Wimbledon, US Championships and the French and Aussie tourneys, to turn pro in 1947. However, Jack saw one window closing and another opening. After 7 more years headlining the tour and taking it to more than 100 cities across the country, Jack began to instead focus on the business of tennis. The tour became the sport, you see, and as back gave way his instinct kicked in. He began to leverage his tour and his players to create a better game. While playing with and against Bobby Riggs for a number of years was fun he knew the game needed an ambassador, an innovator and a spokesman. After leading a players boycott of Wimbledon in 1973 as head of the ATP, he lost his long held job as commentator for BBC Sports after 12 years along side Bud Haskell in the booth. Jack had made a fortune as a player, commentator and a steward of the sport and took this time away to pursue golf, where he also made another fortune. He was not finished with his true love, however, since in 1978 he published his book How to Play Your Best Tennis All the Time and the following year The Game: My 40 Years in Tennis. He continued to be a big-event spectator, and it was as "Mr Tennis" that he attended Ronald Reagan's 1981 gala dinner for "America's Finest Sportsmen." Perhaps the biggest one of his trademark smiles was reserved for his 1997 appearance in the Royal Box at Wimbledon, where he watch one of his favorites (and some say his closest comparison) Pete Sampras in action. He continued to follow the game until his death in 2009 and he always had time for young players right up until the end because...well, I think Jack would say you should never stop playing or giving back to the game you love. Jack Kramer was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1968.
I am still looking for you, Mr. Kramer. I hope to one day find you.
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
This is interesting for a few reasons. It's an ad for Wilson Sporting goods and it is from 1951. The age of the face, hairstyle and monogrammed outfit bear a striking resemblance. I'm still investigating this because it is new (to me) evidence at this point.
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
@JoeBanzai said:
How do your Wheaties Premiums compare to the 1960's "J" photos? I have all the Killebrew's and the highest I have is a 7.
The similarities are the black and white color scheme and the 5x7 size. But the Jay Publishing photos are on a virtual paper stock - that's the difference. The 1951 Wheaties are about the same thickness as a cereal box - they're a rigid cardboard stock.
Jay Photos were available to the general public and are also pretty widely available even to this day. The Wheaties Photos have murky origins and you don't see them all that often.
Your Killebrew collection is outrageous. Simply fantastic...
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
@JoeBanzai said:
How do your Wheaties Premiums compare to the 1960's "J" photos? I have all the Killebrew's and the highest I have is a 7.
The similarities are the black and white color scheme and the 5x7 size. But the Jay Publishing photos are on a virtual paper stock - that's the difference. The 1951 Wheaties are about the same thickness as a cereal box - they're a rigid cardboard stock.
Jay Photos were available to the general public and are also pretty widely available even to this day. The Wheaties Photos have murky origins and you don't see them all that often.
Your Killebrew collection is outrageous. Simply fantastic...
I assumed they were on thin paper like the "J"s when I saw the holder.
Thanks for the kind words. I was lucky to start the obsession er collection before the prices went through the roof.
Being OCD can be a good thing!
2013,14 and 15 Certificate Award Winner Harmon Killebrew Master Set and Master Topps Set
For this post, I thought I would share something fun.
Over the course of collecting these, I have come across many different collectors - all of whom were great to me. Thanks to everyone as there are too many to list (though some may be reading) who either sold me a card, provided information or quite simply took the time to answer my question and get back to me.
Anyhow, my usual methodology is to complete the purchase first and then ask for information after; this way, I figure I'm much more likely to get honesty. Granted, there's still a chance that what I get is not good info - acknowledged - but I came across one gentleman a while back who had a lot of knowledge on the set that I had not come across. He was the one who gave me the fullest checklist I had ever come across (the one that is now recognized by PSA, with Ben Hogan and Jack Kramer). He became someone I would occasionally touch base with - and still do - but perhaps what he gave me that I value most is corroboration. You see, this gentleman is actually proof that part of the long held origin story is true. He actually purchased his stash - and he had both graded and ungraded - directly from a General Mills executive's widow in the Pacific Northwest (as specific as I will get with respect to location). She came across them cleaning out her husbands office shortly after his passing and sold the final copies off to a few different buyers in the local area. As mentioned my friend was lucky enough to have landed a little stack for himself. After years of collecting (and trying to complete the set himself), he had acquired a few doubles that he sold me raw - his Ashburn is still the Ashburn in my #1 set. He also said that he never really put the story out there and was unsure how it got out there and said he assumed there was more than one executive.
Here's the kicker: Fast forward to near present day, just a few months back, a Utah based eBay seller had a partial set pop up for sale and then auction (it had no Kramer, Rizzuto, Schalow and the Hogan never made it to eBay, instead selling to a client of this seller). Needless to say, I nabbed 4 of the ones that did make it to eBay (I know, I have a problem). After my first purchase, I asked my normal questions. The seller, who could not have been nicer, said he didn't know much about them but would ask the customer who brought them in. When he got back to me, what he told me was fascinating. His customer had recently moved to Utah after closing up an antique shop that he'd run for the second half of his life before his retiring to Utah. These copies were all that remained from a once larger stack that he had purchased years ago...
...from an elderly widow of a General Mills executive in the Pacific Northwest. And the location of the purchase my friend made and this other fellow's former store are close enough to one another to make me think this part of the story may indeed be true.
More to come...
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
Part of the trouble with this set - as previously mentioned - is that test issues or unreleased items can be difficult to date.
Many of the known images used in the set appeared in print earlier than 1951. For example, Bob Feller’s portrait was used in the 1940’s for an Indians Team Issue as was Phil Rizzuto for a Yankee issue.
The reason I mention it is that this Wilson Advisory Jack Kramer is from 1948. It is the same image used on the Wheaties Premium Photo of Mr. Kramer, though it has been cropped and zoomed a bit.
(I will update the Wilson Kramer with a scan when I have it in hand.)
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
Well, to further corroborate the above story, that Ben Hogan has been graded and earned a grade of 4. That trumps my 1.5, raises the population of Ben Hogan’s to 2 and the total graded cards from the set to 203.
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
Here are two scans of the 1948 Wilson Advisory Photos and a scan of the Wheaties Premium Photo. The first, an unaltered scan, and the second, a cropped version.
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
One more thing - I scooped the Wilson Advisory Kramer from Mike at Columbia City Collectibles (a real hobby gentleman). He supplied the date of 1948 and I know Wilson was into tennis racket production at that point already but to my knowledge, these Wilson/Spalding/MacGregor/Rawlings premiums can sometimes be difficult issues to date.
However, I would imagine it was shot prior to 1951 due to the similarity (in his age, equipment and his outfit, specifically) to the Wilson advertisement from the December 1951 issue of Racquet Magazine (above).
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
This is yet another example of why the date printed on the reverse is often related to the date of use and not the date taken. Consider the following (sticking with Mickey, of course):
This is a photo that was used in 1953 (according to date on back) also used for several early Mickey Mantle collectibles. Cropped properly, it’s maybe the inspiration for the 1951 Bowman but it’s also definitely used for the 1954 All Star Pack Photo and the 1956 Yankees Team Photo Pack (NOT the 1955-1957 Yankee Team Issue).
And since that is not a 7 but a 6 on his back, that photo is from quite obviously from 1951. So when you see a date stamped on the back of a photo, there’s a pretty good chance that the photo was used on that date and likely taken at some point earlier. There’s a reason they’re called ‘stock photos’ - you keep a photo (or photos) on file and in stock for use.
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
Interesting Mantle photos. The first one (if entire photo is shown) is cropped smaller than the 1956 photo pack.
First photo was obviously taken in 1951 (spring training?). Appears to be several different notations, both written and "typed" on it. Could be an "original" from 1951 that got used several times.
Great item!
2013,14 and 15 Certificate Award Winner Harmon Killebrew Master Set and Master Topps Set
@JoeBanzai said:
Interesting Mantle photos. The first one (if entire photo is shown) is cropped smaller than the 1956 photo pack.
First photo was obviously taken in 1951 (spring training?). Appears to be several different notations, both written and "typed" on it. Could be an "original" from 1951 that got used several times.
I LOVE that image of Mickey from his rookie year. Always have. So much promise, such a young face and to my knowledge, there’s just not a lot out there where he has a visible ‘6’ on his back.
I also love the clarity of that photo - i found it because it’s up for sale on eBay (not me).
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
@1951WheatiesPremium said:
Since I still look for new information all the time, I found a photo from this thread that was dated and published in the Newark Star Ledger so I'm posting it here:
I especially liked "Bosox whip Braves, 6-3"
The "scientific sanding" caught my eye under "any car sprayed for $20". Not really sure how you would scientifically sand a car, but I guess it was special then.
@1951WheatiesPremium said:
Since I still look for new information all the time, I found a photo from this thread that was dated and published in the Newark Star Ledger so I'm posting it here:
I especially liked "Bosox whip Braves, 6-3"
The "scientific sanding" caught my eye under "any car sprayed for $20". Not really sure how you would scientifically sand a car, but I guess it was special then.
Looking into the set and it’s origins is almost as fun as collecting the set!
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
As a result of looking into this set, I have formulated my own ideas about what these are, their manner of use and their place in the collecting world. I will share it as I think it could be helpful but I should mention a couple of things here and now. Yes, I do have the number one set on the registry. Yes, these cards cost some money. No, my set is not for sale nor will it be in the near future. Over my collecting career I have personally handled close to thirty of these - most raw. Some were submitted for grading others were purchased already graded - by BVG, PSA and SGC. I have no concrete proof of the theory (production slips, dated records, etc) that I will put forth but rather this is my best guess from the various sources I encountered while looking into the set. I have addressed many aspects of this set already so I won't revisit or explain them here; this is simply what I think they were based on my extensive research. I'll also state that most of this is not with an eye towards collectibles but rather an eye toward business.
The 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos were salesman promos - based on my research, this part is a fact . Plain and simple. The concept isn't all that far fetched; throw a few of these in the windows, on the cereal aisles or near the register to promote the return of pro athletes to the Wheaties cereal box in 1951, meaning these were probably likenesses of the originally planned 12 boxes in the series. The steady increase in popularity of baseball in the 1940's lead to the first real baseball card boom of issuance. General Mills wanted a piece of the pie like anyone else. I think the plan was for each of the Premium Photos to have a likeness on the back of the box like the ultimately released Stan Musial (EXACT MATCH), Bob Feller (Near Match), Sam Snead, George Mikan, Ted Williams and Johnny Lujack. However, my best guess is that Wheaties underestimated (somewhat) the cost of doing business with athletes in 1951. The landscape of licensing and endorsements had changed a bit more dramatically than they had expected since the early 1940's when they had last produced sports cards. The 1951 cards, like the premiums, are a bit oversized like their Wheaties predecessors when compared to the popular and contemporary 1951 Bowman cards. So rather than continue with the 1951 project, it was scrapped and the idea was to produce cards closer to the size of the popular Bowman cards in 1952 and put more on the box at one time to produce a larger set, also a nod to Bowman. Clearly, as with any business, part of the plan would have been driven by economics and I think that change is reflected in two major ways. First, look at the makeup of the set - the 'stars' that remained were people already working to endorse the Wheaties brand and many of the athletes added to the set would have been significantly 'lower cost' athletes when compared with those left out (tennis players, golfers, skiers, swimmers, college athletes, etc). Second, while the 1952 Wheaties On Box cards were somewhat popular and the 8 athletes common to both sets feature the exact same poses as the 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos, Wheaties stopped producing these cards altogether and left sports cards (again) instead focusing on celebrities and pro athletes in their ads, transitioning towards other amateur and 'low cost' athletes to help sell the Wheaties brand for a while. Whether it was market pressure from Topps and Bowman or, more likely, the cost of paying the athletes not translating to sales that were higher enough, General Mills scrapped it all at the end of 1952. I believe it simply came down to money - the campaign wasn't generating sales. The promos that were given out prior to 1951 and then again in 1952 were out there but the leftovers remained with the marketing man behind the project until he left General Mills for retirement (maybe 23 in 1950 and 63 in 1990) to the Pacific Northwest in the early 1990s. This is when many copies began to surface and people started to learn more about their origins. This also explains why copies seem to be in either well worn or pristine condition with almost no middle ground; they're either pinholed, smokestained and/or taped or bright white (I don't mean the PSA 1-10 scale grade distribution). That is why when people ask me when they were released I say, 'Which time?' Since I bought my Richie Ashburn from a collector who bought directly from the General Mills executives wife, I bought my highest graded Stan Musial and Bob Lemon (most likely indirectly from that same executive's family) and I bought my Ben Hogan from a collector who had it since at least 1978 himself (from someone who had had it for 10-15 years) at a golf memorabilia show, this seems to be the only way to explain both the timeline of issuance and the quality of the cards. The well worn copies have that smell that comes with old cardboard that was not protected from the elements over the last 67 years. The others smell old, as well, but not quite as distinctive; it's as if they were kept out of harms way and better protected in some way - which also seems to jive with everything I have put forth.
My sincere hope is that anyone who can confirm or deny any aspect of this will come forward and do so; but as of September 28, 2018, these are the conclusions I have drawn about the manner of release and intended purpose of the 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos.
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
As I was checking my set out I realized that I never posted a new group shot; I have a new phone and it takes better pictures. For anyone checking this out, enjoy!
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
@AnkurJ said:
Great set! I bought this Mantle last month. Love the image.
Me too! A really nice one - my Musial 6.5 and Lemon 7 came from the exact same batch as your Mantle. Aside from that minor blemish, that card is in fantastic condition. Maybe a qualifier 5 or 6.
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
I came across this thread looking for new info as I am want to do.
What I found most interesting is that these photo premiums (c1941 Joe DiMaggio and the corresponding set described) came as a set of 12 in a 5x7 size with a glossy finish and were available via mail in offer to listeners of the Jack Armstrong, the All American Boy radio program.
The show began in 1933 and followed the adventures of Jack, a high schooler who would go on globe trotting adventures with the Fairfield family. Over the course of the show, all sorts of premiums were offered, including decoder rings, maps, cyphers, compasses, photos, toy airplanes, models and many others. In its last year, the radio program adopted a new name - Armstrong in the SBI - as Jack has graduated from high school and took a job as a spy. The character had actually been created by Sam Gale, the same man who created Betty Crocker, as a way to market the cereal Wheaties who sponsored the originally 15 minute radio serial (later a 30 minute program) for the General Mills corporation. The last year the program aired?
1951
Now, I’m not exactly certain if this is related - at all - to the 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos. However, I’m always in the hunt for new information and for me (and apparently new for a hobby veteran like the one posting about the Joe D.) this is new information. Since I know I have the occasional reader pop by, maybe this will be of interest.
I’ll just have to keep digging.
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
Does the fact that there are 3 Mantles in 9/10 grades and none for any of the others reflect a lack of desire to submit high grade copies of others? Or are there high grades for Mantle only for some other reason?
@PaulMaul said:
Does the fact that there are 3 Mantles in 9/10 grades and none for any of the others reflect a lack of desire to submit high grade copies of others? Or are there high grades for Mantle only for some other reason?
Here’s a couple of things I want to mention before I attempt to answer:
Mickey Mantle’s cards from the set have by far the most submissions and carry by far the highest value. I guess that coupling makes some sense.
In so far as I can tell, there are not a ton of people out there collecting the set, per se. Most of the appeal seems to be for people working on a player’s Master Set.
The highest graded copies of Stan Musial, Phil Rizzuto, Mickey Mantle, Betty Schalow, Bob Lemon and Ben Hogan have all surfaced within the last two years.
Personally, I think it is a combination of factors. First, I think there are too few copies graded to really draw any significant conclusions but when taken as a whole the grade distribution seems to be a fairly normal bell curve when compared to other sets from 1951 (Bowman and Topps). Second, if I am right about the manner of release posted earlier, people would have had a chance to buy a virtually brand new copy that had been in storage almost since creation - which is why the cards seem to be either brand new or well worn. Point being, the person would have known what they were buying and handling and would used the proverbial kid gloves. Third, if I am correct about why they’re collected, it would make sense that you’re not going to see many submissions of some of the lesser players who themselves are less collectible. Fourth, the cards themselves are not wildly valuable - aside from Mickey Mantle. Sure, they carry a decent price but obviously nowhere near the same players in high grade from the Topps or Bowman sets of the same year.
While I’ve been collecting the set a long time, I would imagine that some of the reason for a growing population report has to do with the one of the PSA 9s selling for a shade over $9,000 and the PSA 10 selling for a shade under $34,000 - both publicly.
I’ve also been doing my best to raise the sets profile as much as possible - though mainly for the selfish purpose of finding the cards that I didn’t have. I can say that CU and the PSA Registry is directly responsible for my landing the copy I have of Phil Rizzuto already.
So thanks again to everyone reading along - I really appreciate it even if it’s only a handful of you.
And again, anyone with any questions or comments feel free to post!
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
@JoeBanzai said:
I don't collect these, but have enjoyed reading about them.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge about a terrific set!!!!!
Of course!
Just recognize that actual credible evidence on these is scant. I’ve tried to be upfront about that fact and it bears repeating. I just figure since I love the set I’ll keep tossing whatever may relate to it at this point. Hopefully, we get a thread visitor with even more pieces of the puzzle...
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
As I considered the thread in its entirety, it dawned on me that there could be a connection between the Jack Armstrong shows and the 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos. If they were available as a mail in offer from the show, it would make some sense that while some would have gone out in the mail, many copies/sets would have been left over as the show was cancelled in 1951 due to lack of an audience.
It is a plausible fit into the classic narrative of ‘limited release/test issue’ and my own anyway, which is just that - a theory.
And I suppose salesman’s promo and radio promo could have been lost in translation of oral tradition.
I intend to hop on YouTube over the coming weeks as I know there’s a few ‘complete’ episodes (with commercials) on there to see if any mention pops up.
Out of my way, rabbits! Geronimo!
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
While the Bob Cousy card presented earlier seems like it could belong (despite my belief that it doesn’t), I have also heard rumors of a George Mikan card from the set. In the net54 thread, these were among the listed cards from the set. Well, this is the card that some claim is from the 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos...
...and I’m not going to waste much time explaining why it is not a Wheaties Premium Photo. However, the image does seem to have been the inspiration for his Wheaties On Box card so I can see why some would try to make that connection. That said, PSA clearly disagreed, as well. Without the captioned name or alphanumeric identifier, it’s just a random photo.
A very nice one, though, to be sure.
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
The Mikan doesn't look like it's anywhere near the same size as the others and borders are huge compared to the actual set. That's definitely the photo used as inspiration for the 51 Wheaties box, but I concur it's not a part of the 51 Premium Photos set. Perhaps it was a proof before the lineup was settled?
@LarkinCollector said:
The Mikan doesn't look like it's anywhere near the same size as the others and borders are huge compared to the actual set. That's definitely the photo used as inspiration for the 51 Wheaties box, but I concur it's not a part of the 51 Premium Photos set. Perhaps it was a proof before the lineup was settled?
Anything is possible but just about every photo in the set appears on some other card, photo or premium in another set. There are so many items for each player that appear on issues that date, legitimately, to both earlier and later than 1951.
When I was still on the hunt for Phil Rizzuto, I stumbled upon one of his team issue photo packs (1946) that has the exact same pose as the WPP. I did a double take. It’s also the same image on the 1954 DanDee Rizzuto, if memory serves but this one was larger, white border and black and white full pose. I still remember the excitement and ensuing wave of disappointment.
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
@perkdog said:
WOW! What an awesome thread, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Outstanding stuff Tim, really impressive
Thanks, Paul.
This is one of my favorite sets of all time. I wish there was more ironclad info about it - but if there was I probably wouldn’t like the set nearly as much.
Also, the net54 thread (linked to earlier) is a great read about the set, as well. Some really knowledgeable collectors there, too. I don’t agree with everything posted but there’s definitely some interesting stuff in that thread.
Fun stuff...
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
Thanks. I’m both happy and sad. It’s kinda funny. I think there’s a decent chance for a bump on my Feller of .5-1 full point as it is one the strongest looking ones in the set behind Berra, which is one of the more brilliant pieces you’d ever want to hold, and my Bob Lemon. (And by brilliant, I mean reflective of light- the gloss on the high grade examples is thick and catches the light really, really well.)
But even with a bump of Bullet Bob (or anywhere else I would try for), I can’t afford to upgrade Mickey (another very good .5 candidate), I’d be shocked if either of the 2 new Hogan’s surfaces and I’ve seen only two Jack Kramer’s sell in the last ten years and I was in on neither! Just outright missed them on eBay.
Nowhere else really to go with it right now, you know?
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
Comments
Latest group shot (w/PSA 8 Berra)
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/987963/1951-wheaties-premium-photos-set-registry#latest
When you can't run too far, you have to overplay every ball you can hit, so you make a lot of errors.
Jack Kramer, explaining why he lost a match to his grandson at the age of 72
The funny thing is, if you really love a sport - I mean really love it - you find a way to keep playing it. No matter what. Even at age 72. In the backyard. There is perhaps no one man in professional sports history who did as much for the sport he played as John Arnold Kramer has done for the sport of tennis. You see, Jack Kramer took a game he loved to play as a teenager and made it a professional sport. It's really that simple. Sure, there were many other great players before him and many great players after him but Jack Kramer took professional tennis to never before seen heights, proved professional tennis to be both a viable and profitable enterprise and helped to create the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in 1972, serving as it's first president. Born in Las Vegas in 1921, his childhood was an itinerant one as his daddy was a railroad man. When they settled down in California, Jack was a high school aged teen and very quickly found his way on to the tennis courts where he cultivated his skills and developed a major passion for the sport. He learned voraciously from all the local pros and became an advocate for playing 'percentage tennis', where certain points are valued more and you hold serve at all costs. By the age of eighteen Jack Kramer was on the Davis Cup team, the youngest man at the time to ever play on the US team. Alas, like baseball and golf, the second World War interrupted tennis as well and Jack dutifully served in the US Coast Guard. After the war, he continued his amateur career, albeit briefly. As a player of singles and doubles, he won virtually every major tournament in both capacities in which he was entered, though he never played the French or Australian Championships due mostly to financial considerations. However in two years of Wimbledon play, he never lost a doubles match and won 10 of 11 matches in men's singles. His legend would grow even larger as he abandoned the amateur game in his prime, along with the right to play in future Wimbledon, US Championships and the French and Aussie tourneys, to turn pro in 1947. However, Jack saw one window closing and another opening. After 7 more years headlining the tour and taking it to more than 100 cities across the country, Jack began to instead focus on the business of tennis. The tour became the sport, you see, and as back gave way his instinct kicked in. He began to leverage his tour and his players to create a better game. While playing with and against Bobby Riggs for a number of years was fun he knew the game needed an ambassador, an innovator and a spokesman. After leading a players boycott of Wimbledon in 1973 as head of the ATP, he lost his long held job as commentator for BBC Sports after 12 years along side Bud Haskell in the booth. Jack had made a fortune as a player, commentator and a steward of the sport and took this time away to pursue golf, where he also made another fortune. He was not finished with his true love, however, since in 1978 he published his book How to Play Your Best Tennis All the Time and the following year The Game: My 40 Years in Tennis. He continued to be a big-event spectator, and it was as "Mr Tennis" that he attended Ronald Reagan's 1981 gala dinner for "America's Finest Sportsmen." Perhaps the biggest one of his trademark smiles was reserved for his 1997 appearance in the Royal Box at Wimbledon, where he watch one of his favorites (and some say his closest comparison) Pete Sampras in action. He continued to follow the game until his death in 2009 and he always had time for young players right up until the end because...well, I think Jack would say you should never stop playing or giving back to the game you love. Jack Kramer was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1968.
I am still looking for you, Mr. Kramer. I hope to one day find you.
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/987963/1951-wheaties-premium-photos-set-registry#latest
This is interesting for a few reasons. It's an ad for Wilson Sporting goods and it is from 1951. The age of the face, hairstyle and monogrammed outfit bear a striking resemblance. I'm still investigating this because it is new (to me) evidence at this point.
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/987963/1951-wheaties-premium-photos-set-registry#latest
UPDATE: The above advertisement is confirmed to be from the December 1951 issue of Racquet Magazine.
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/987963/1951-wheaties-premium-photos-set-registry#latest
Total cards graded in the set is now up to 201.
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/987963/1951-wheaties-premium-photos-set-registry#latest
How do your Wheaties Premiums compare to the 1960's "J" photos? I have all the Killebrew's and the highest I have is a 7.
The similarities are the black and white color scheme and the 5x7 size. But the Jay Publishing photos are on a virtual paper stock - that's the difference. The 1951 Wheaties are about the same thickness as a cereal box - they're a rigid cardboard stock.
Jay Photos were available to the general public and are also pretty widely available even to this day. The Wheaties Photos have murky origins and you don't see them all that often.
Your Killebrew collection is outrageous. Simply fantastic...
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Cards 199, 200 and 201...
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A PSA 6 Mickey Mantle sold by a reputable dealer in July 2018 for 2500.
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I assumed they were on thin paper like the "J"s when I saw the holder.
Thanks for the kind words. I was lucky to start the obsession er collection before the prices went through the roof.
Being OCD can be a good thing!
For this post, I thought I would share something fun.
Over the course of collecting these, I have come across many different collectors - all of whom were great to me. Thanks to everyone as there are too many to list (though some may be reading) who either sold me a card, provided information or quite simply took the time to answer my question and get back to me.
Anyhow, my usual methodology is to complete the purchase first and then ask for information after; this way, I figure I'm much more likely to get honesty. Granted, there's still a chance that what I get is not good info - acknowledged - but I came across one gentleman a while back who had a lot of knowledge on the set that I had not come across. He was the one who gave me the fullest checklist I had ever come across (the one that is now recognized by PSA, with Ben Hogan and Jack Kramer). He became someone I would occasionally touch base with - and still do - but perhaps what he gave me that I value most is corroboration. You see, this gentleman is actually proof that part of the long held origin story is true. He actually purchased his stash - and he had both graded and ungraded - directly from a General Mills executive's widow in the Pacific Northwest (as specific as I will get with respect to location). She came across them cleaning out her husbands office shortly after his passing and sold the final copies off to a few different buyers in the local area. As mentioned my friend was lucky enough to have landed a little stack for himself. After years of collecting (and trying to complete the set himself), he had acquired a few doubles that he sold me raw - his Ashburn is still the Ashburn in my #1 set. He also said that he never really put the story out there and was unsure how it got out there and said he assumed there was more than one executive.
Here's the kicker: Fast forward to near present day, just a few months back, a Utah based eBay seller had a partial set pop up for sale and then auction (it had no Kramer, Rizzuto, Schalow and the Hogan never made it to eBay, instead selling to a client of this seller). Needless to say, I nabbed 4 of the ones that did make it to eBay (I know, I have a problem). After my first purchase, I asked my normal questions. The seller, who could not have been nicer, said he didn't know much about them but would ask the customer who brought them in. When he got back to me, what he told me was fascinating. His customer had recently moved to Utah after closing up an antique shop that he'd run for the second half of his life before his retiring to Utah. These copies were all that remained from a once larger stack that he had purchased years ago...
...from an elderly widow of a General Mills executive in the Pacific Northwest. And the location of the purchase my friend made and this other fellow's former store are close enough to one another to make me think this part of the story may indeed be true.
More to come...
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Here's an actual, intact Wheaties box from the late 1940s and my Mickey Mantle:
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A new 1951 WPP Mantle 6 was recently added to the pop report, making for 202 card total from the set that have been graded by PSA.
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Part of the trouble with this set - as previously mentioned - is that test issues or unreleased items can be difficult to date.
Many of the known images used in the set appeared in print earlier than 1951. For example, Bob Feller’s portrait was used in the 1940’s for an Indians Team Issue as was Phil Rizzuto for a Yankee issue.
The reason I mention it is that this Wilson Advisory Jack Kramer is from 1948. It is the same image used on the Wheaties Premium Photo of Mr. Kramer, though it has been cropped and zoomed a bit.
(I will update the Wilson Kramer with a scan when I have it in hand.)
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Well, to further corroborate the above story, that Ben Hogan has been graded and earned a grade of 4. That trumps my 1.5, raises the population of Ben Hogan’s to 2 and the total graded cards from the set to 203.
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Here are two scans of the 1948 Wilson Advisory Photos and a scan of the Wheaties Premium Photo. The first, an unaltered scan, and the second, a cropped version.
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One more thing - I scooped the Wilson Advisory Kramer from Mike at Columbia City Collectibles (a real hobby gentleman). He supplied the date of 1948 and I know Wilson was into tennis racket production at that point already but to my knowledge, these Wilson/Spalding/MacGregor/Rawlings premiums can sometimes be difficult issues to date.
However, I would imagine it was shot prior to 1951 due to the similarity (in his age, equipment and his outfit, specifically) to the Wilson advertisement from the December 1951 issue of Racquet Magazine (above).
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A Note on Photo Dating
This is yet another example of why the date printed on the reverse is often related to the date of use and not the date taken. Consider the following (sticking with Mickey, of course):
This is a photo that was used in 1953 (according to date on back) also used for several early Mickey Mantle collectibles. Cropped properly, it’s maybe the inspiration for the 1951 Bowman but it’s also definitely used for the 1954 All Star Pack Photo and the 1956 Yankees Team Photo Pack (NOT the 1955-1957 Yankee Team Issue).
And since that is not a 7 but a 6 on his back, that photo is from quite obviously from 1951. So when you see a date stamped on the back of a photo, there’s a pretty good chance that the photo was used on that date and likely taken at some point earlier. There’s a reason they’re called ‘stock photos’ - you keep a photo (or photos) on file and in stock for use.
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1956 NY Yankees Photo Pack Mickey Mantle
Posted this copy (mine) for comparison purposes to the image above.
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Interesting Mantle photos. The first one (if entire photo is shown) is cropped smaller than the 1956 photo pack.
First photo was obviously taken in 1951 (spring training?). Appears to be several different notations, both written and "typed" on it. Could be an "original" from 1951 that got used several times.
Great item!
@JoeBanzai
I LOVE that image of Mickey from his rookie year. Always have. So much promise, such a young face and to my knowledge, there’s just not a lot out there where he has a visible ‘6’ on his back.
I also love the clarity of that photo - i found it because it’s up for sale on eBay (not me).
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I especially liked "Bosox whip Braves, 6-3"
The "scientific sanding" caught my eye under "any car sprayed for $20". Not really sure how you would scientifically sand a car, but I guess it was special then.
Looking into the set and it’s origins is almost as fun as collecting the set!
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My Personal Findings
As a result of looking into this set, I have formulated my own ideas about what these are, their manner of use and their place in the collecting world. I will share it as I think it could be helpful but I should mention a couple of things here and now. Yes, I do have the number one set on the registry. Yes, these cards cost some money. No, my set is not for sale nor will it be in the near future. Over my collecting career I have personally handled close to thirty of these - most raw. Some were submitted for grading others were purchased already graded - by BVG, PSA and SGC. I have no concrete proof of the theory (production slips, dated records, etc) that I will put forth but rather this is my best guess from the various sources I encountered while looking into the set. I have addressed many aspects of this set already so I won't revisit or explain them here; this is simply what I think they were based on my extensive research. I'll also state that most of this is not with an eye towards collectibles but rather an eye toward business.
The 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos were salesman promos - based on my research, this part is a fact . Plain and simple. The concept isn't all that far fetched; throw a few of these in the windows, on the cereal aisles or near the register to promote the return of pro athletes to the Wheaties cereal box in 1951, meaning these were probably likenesses of the originally planned 12 boxes in the series. The steady increase in popularity of baseball in the 1940's lead to the first real baseball card boom of issuance. General Mills wanted a piece of the pie like anyone else. I think the plan was for each of the Premium Photos to have a likeness on the back of the box like the ultimately released Stan Musial (EXACT MATCH), Bob Feller (Near Match), Sam Snead, George Mikan, Ted Williams and Johnny Lujack. However, my best guess is that Wheaties underestimated (somewhat) the cost of doing business with athletes in 1951. The landscape of licensing and endorsements had changed a bit more dramatically than they had expected since the early 1940's when they had last produced sports cards. The 1951 cards, like the premiums, are a bit oversized like their Wheaties predecessors when compared to the popular and contemporary 1951 Bowman cards. So rather than continue with the 1951 project, it was scrapped and the idea was to produce cards closer to the size of the popular Bowman cards in 1952 and put more on the box at one time to produce a larger set, also a nod to Bowman. Clearly, as with any business, part of the plan would have been driven by economics and I think that change is reflected in two major ways. First, look at the makeup of the set - the 'stars' that remained were people already working to endorse the Wheaties brand and many of the athletes added to the set would have been significantly 'lower cost' athletes when compared with those left out (tennis players, golfers, skiers, swimmers, college athletes, etc). Second, while the 1952 Wheaties On Box cards were somewhat popular and the 8 athletes common to both sets feature the exact same poses as the 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos, Wheaties stopped producing these cards altogether and left sports cards (again) instead focusing on celebrities and pro athletes in their ads, transitioning towards other amateur and 'low cost' athletes to help sell the Wheaties brand for a while. Whether it was market pressure from Topps and Bowman or, more likely, the cost of paying the athletes not translating to sales that were higher enough, General Mills scrapped it all at the end of 1952. I believe it simply came down to money - the campaign wasn't generating sales. The promos that were given out prior to 1951 and then again in 1952 were out there but the leftovers remained with the marketing man behind the project until he left General Mills for retirement (maybe 23 in 1950 and 63 in 1990) to the Pacific Northwest in the early 1990s. This is when many copies began to surface and people started to learn more about their origins. This also explains why copies seem to be in either well worn or pristine condition with almost no middle ground; they're either pinholed, smokestained and/or taped or bright white (I don't mean the PSA 1-10 scale grade distribution). That is why when people ask me when they were released I say, 'Which time?' Since I bought my Richie Ashburn from a collector who bought directly from the General Mills executives wife, I bought my highest graded Stan Musial and Bob Lemon (most likely indirectly from that same executive's family) and I bought my Ben Hogan from a collector who had it since at least 1978 himself (from someone who had had it for 10-15 years) at a golf memorabilia show, this seems to be the only way to explain both the timeline of issuance and the quality of the cards. The well worn copies have that smell that comes with old cardboard that was not protected from the elements over the last 67 years. The others smell old, as well, but not quite as distinctive; it's as if they were kept out of harms way and better protected in some way - which also seems to jive with everything I have put forth.
My sincere hope is that anyone who can confirm or deny any aspect of this will come forward and do so; but as of September 28, 2018, these are the conclusions I have drawn about the manner of release and intended purpose of the 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos.
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I'm just waiting on some more Hogan's to surface
@LarkinCollector
There’s been one added to the pop report within the last month or so...
...it’s a PSA 4 and it was sold in Utah (I think). I believe that makes for just the 3 total graded copies.
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This one:
Really nice example.
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As I was checking my set out I realized that I never posted a new group shot; I have a new phone and it takes better pictures. For anyone checking this out, enjoy!
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Great set! I bought this Mantle last month. Love the image.
PCGS Registries
Box of 20
SeaEagleCoins: 11/14/54-4/5/12. Miss you Larry!
Me too! A really nice one - my Musial 6.5 and Lemon 7 came from the exact same batch as your Mantle. Aside from that minor blemish, that card is in fantastic condition. Maybe a qualifier 5 or 6.
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http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=245836
I came across this thread looking for new info as I am want to do.
What I found most interesting is that these photo premiums (c1941 Joe DiMaggio and the corresponding set described) came as a set of 12 in a 5x7 size with a glossy finish and were available via mail in offer to listeners of the Jack Armstrong, the All American Boy radio program.
The show began in 1933 and followed the adventures of Jack, a high schooler who would go on globe trotting adventures with the Fairfield family. Over the course of the show, all sorts of premiums were offered, including decoder rings, maps, cyphers, compasses, photos, toy airplanes, models and many others. In its last year, the radio program adopted a new name - Armstrong in the SBI - as Jack has graduated from high school and took a job as a spy. The character had actually been created by Sam Gale, the same man who created Betty Crocker, as a way to market the cereal Wheaties who sponsored the originally 15 minute radio serial (later a 30 minute program) for the General Mills corporation. The last year the program aired?
1951
Now, I’m not exactly certain if this is related - at all - to the 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos. However, I’m always in the hunt for new information and for me (and apparently new for a hobby veteran like the one posting about the Joe D.) this is new information. Since I know I have the occasional reader pop by, maybe this will be of interest.
I’ll just have to keep digging.
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Updated Population Data:
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Does the fact that there are 3 Mantles in 9/10 grades and none for any of the others reflect a lack of desire to submit high grade copies of others? Or are there high grades for Mantle only for some other reason?
Here’s a couple of things I want to mention before I attempt to answer:
Mickey Mantle’s cards from the set have by far the most submissions and carry by far the highest value. I guess that coupling makes some sense.
In so far as I can tell, there are not a ton of people out there collecting the set, per se. Most of the appeal seems to be for people working on a player’s Master Set.
The highest graded copies of Stan Musial, Phil Rizzuto, Mickey Mantle, Betty Schalow, Bob Lemon and Ben Hogan have all surfaced within the last two years.
Personally, I think it is a combination of factors. First, I think there are too few copies graded to really draw any significant conclusions but when taken as a whole the grade distribution seems to be a fairly normal bell curve when compared to other sets from 1951 (Bowman and Topps). Second, if I am right about the manner of release posted earlier, people would have had a chance to buy a virtually brand new copy that had been in storage almost since creation - which is why the cards seem to be either brand new or well worn. Point being, the person would have known what they were buying and handling and would used the proverbial kid gloves. Third, if I am correct about why they’re collected, it would make sense that you’re not going to see many submissions of some of the lesser players who themselves are less collectible. Fourth, the cards themselves are not wildly valuable - aside from Mickey Mantle. Sure, they carry a decent price but obviously nowhere near the same players in high grade from the Topps or Bowman sets of the same year.
While I’ve been collecting the set a long time, I would imagine that some of the reason for a growing population report has to do with the one of the PSA 9s selling for a shade over $9,000 and the PSA 10 selling for a shade under $34,000 - both publicly.
I’ve also been doing my best to raise the sets profile as much as possible - though mainly for the selfish purpose of finding the cards that I didn’t have. I can say that CU and the PSA Registry is directly responsible for my landing the copy I have of Phil Rizzuto already.
So thanks again to everyone reading along - I really appreciate it even if it’s only a handful of you.
And again, anyone with any questions or comments feel free to post!
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I don't collect these, but have enjoyed reading about them.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge about a terrific set!!!!!
Of course!
Just recognize that actual credible evidence on these is scant. I’ve tried to be upfront about that fact and it bears repeating. I just figure since I love the set I’ll keep tossing whatever may relate to it at this point. Hopefully, we get a thread visitor with even more pieces of the puzzle...
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As I considered the thread in its entirety, it dawned on me that there could be a connection between the Jack Armstrong shows and the 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos. If they were available as a mail in offer from the show, it would make some sense that while some would have gone out in the mail, many copies/sets would have been left over as the show was cancelled in 1951 due to lack of an audience.
It is a plausible fit into the classic narrative of ‘limited release/test issue’ and my own anyway, which is just that - a theory.
And I suppose salesman’s promo and radio promo could have been lost in translation of oral tradition.
I intend to hop on YouTube over the coming weeks as I know there’s a few ‘complete’ episodes (with commercials) on there to see if any mention pops up.
Out of my way, rabbits! Geronimo!
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The ‘George Mikan’ Card
While the Bob Cousy card presented earlier seems like it could belong (despite my belief that it doesn’t), I have also heard rumors of a George Mikan card from the set. In the net54 thread, these were among the listed cards from the set. Well, this is the card that some claim is from the 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos...
...and I’m not going to waste much time explaining why it is not a Wheaties Premium Photo. However, the image does seem to have been the inspiration for his Wheaties On Box card so I can see why some would try to make that connection. That said, PSA clearly disagreed, as well. Without the captioned name or alphanumeric identifier, it’s just a random photo.
A very nice one, though, to be sure.
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Figure it would be helpful to show the Wheaties Mikan box:
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The Mikan doesn't look like it's anywhere near the same size as the others and borders are huge compared to the actual set. That's definitely the photo used as inspiration for the 51 Wheaties box, but I concur it's not a part of the 51 Premium Photos set. Perhaps it was a proof before the lineup was settled?
Anything is possible but just about every photo in the set appears on some other card, photo or premium in another set. There are so many items for each player that appear on issues that date, legitimately, to both earlier and later than 1951.
When I was still on the hunt for Phil Rizzuto, I stumbled upon one of his team issue photo packs (1946) that has the exact same pose as the WPP. I did a double take. It’s also the same image on the 1954 DanDee Rizzuto, if memory serves but this one was larger, white border and black and white full pose. I still remember the excitement and ensuing wave of disappointment.
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WOW! What an awesome thread, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Outstanding stuff Tim, really impressive
Thanks, Paul.
This is one of my favorite sets of all time. I wish there was more ironclad info about it - but if there was I probably wouldn’t like the set nearly as much.
Also, the net54 thread (linked to earlier) is a great read about the set, as well. Some really knowledgeable collectors there, too. I don’t agree with everything posted but there’s definitely some interesting stuff in that thread.
Fun stuff...
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With 6 new additions yesterday!
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A new Ben Hogan ‘5’ has been added making for a total set pop of 211.
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Overkill? Yes, please!!!!! Two more TOP OF THE POP CARDS FOR THE SET?. Yes. Please?
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Two great looking additions. Congrats.
@JBrules
Thanks. I’m both happy and sad. It’s kinda funny. I think there’s a decent chance for a bump on my Feller of .5-1 full point as it is one the strongest looking ones in the set behind Berra, which is one of the more brilliant pieces you’d ever want to hold, and my Bob Lemon. (And by brilliant, I mean reflective of light- the gloss on the high grade examples is thick and catches the light really, really well.)
But even with a bump of Bullet Bob (or anywhere else I would try for), I can’t afford to upgrade Mickey (another very good .5 candidate), I’d be shocked if either of the 2 new Hogan’s surfaces and I’ve seen only two Jack Kramer’s sell in the last ten years and I was in on neither! Just outright missed them on eBay.
Nowhere else really to go with it right now, you know?
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@JBrules
At the same time, quite pumped to be blinded with YELLOW when I pull up my set!
It’s like...
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
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Fun stuff...
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
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