CGC Cards Certifies Large Collection of Vintage 1934 Goudey Baseball Cards
Posted on 7/11/2024
By
Christopher Haney
CGC Cards™ recently had the pleasure of authenticating and grading a large collection of vintage cards from the popular 1934 Goudey Baseball card set. One of the most popular pre-World War II sets, the colorful Goudey’s Big League Gum series from 1934 is still highly coveted to this day.
The set is best known for its vibrant colors, artistic renderings of players and its "Lou Gehrig says..." accompanying quotes. Out of the 96-card series, 84 contain a quotation from the legendary New York Yankees first baseman. The 1934 Goudey set became synonymous with the "Iron Horse," especially since Gehrig won the American League batting title that season, hitting 49 home runs and earning 166 RBIs. Additionally, Gehrig is the only player to be showcased on more than one card in the set — and the submitter had both in his collection.
Coming off the success of the 1933 Goudey set that featured four different Babe Ruth cards, the new 1934 series carried over many of the same characteristics. The cards stayed at the 2-3/8" by 2-7/8" size and utilized painted player images once again. In contrast, the new set displayed a silhouetted baseball game in progress in the background. It also featured a bottom banner in either blue or red.
Another glaring difference is the omission of the Great Bambino. After featuring heavily in the previous set, Ruth is not found in the 1934 Goudey series. While there is no concrete evidence as to why the iconic player was left out, some suspect Ruth and Gehrig's rocky relationship to be a factor in the omission.
Although Ruth isn't included in the set, several other Hall of Famers are represented. Gehrig, Dizzy Dean, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Cochrane, Leo Durocher, Chuck Klein, Lefty Grove, Hank Greenberg and more are featured in the 96-card series. Among the 19 Hall of Famers that are in the 1934 Goudey set, Greenberg's card is another standout because it is his rookie card from his earliest seasons with the Detroit Tigers.
The backs of each card are similar, with basic player information listed, such as their name and team name, along with the card number and a Big League Chewing Gum advertisement. In place of a player bio on the back, Goudey instead inserted a full quotation about the featured player. As mentioned, 84 of the cards contained quotes from Gehrig, but the other 12 featured a quote from Chicago Cubs star Chuck Klein.
Gehrig's quotes and blue strip at the bottom of most cards dominated the set, but a dozen of the high-numbered cards contained Klein's quotes and a red strip at the bottom. These high-numbered cards can be harder to track down when attempting to complete the set.
Many cards from this era suffer from centering issues, but the 1934 Goudey cards often have solid centering. Due to their age and being almost a century old, the set is known for having corner issues. Soft, rounded corners are frequently seen in cards from the set, which makes high grades hard to come by. The submitter received a wide range of grades within his collection of 1934 Goudey cards, with several in excellent condition.
This can be a difficult set to complete in top condition because of the age, scarcity and condition issues. However, tracking down the 96-card 1934 Goudey set is far easier and less expensive than the almost overwhelming 240-card 1933 Goudey set. For pre-war baseball card sets, the 1934 Goudey series is one of the most attractive and vibrant sets created and one of the more realistic vintage sets that collectors can chase to completion.
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