1906 WG2 Fan Craze Baseball Cards
1906 WG2 Fan Craze Baseball Cards
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1906 WG2 Fan Craze Baseball Cards
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The above card is owned by John Elberfeld.
Kid Elberfeld 1906 WG2 Fan Craze
These cards were produced by the Fan Craze Company of Cincinnati during the first decade of the 20th Century and could be purchased from Sears for 48 cents postpaid. These cards were designed to be a deck of playing cards and measure 2-1/2 x 3-1/2 (inches). Separate packs of cards were issued for the National League, which featured a RED back and the American League, which featured a BLUE Back. These cards were unnumbered and the fronts feature a black and white player portrait. The players name and team can be found under the player portrait. Baseball players are noted at the top of the cards like "Single", "Strike Out", "Stolen Base", etc. There are 51 cards in the American League set and 54 in the National League set.
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The ad is from a 1904 Sears catalog. The web site source is no longer available.
1906 (WG2 & WG3) Fan Craze
Year(s) Published: 1906
ACC Designation: WG2/3
Set Name: Fan Craze (2 sets)
Card Size (inches): 2-1/2 x 3-1/2
Number of Cards in Set: var.
Est. Value (common; VG): $45
Set Summary
Produced by the Fan Craze Company of Cincinatti
Black and white image of player displayed in an oval format
Name printed at lower edge of player image; team at bottom
A baseball play (out, hit, HR) is printed at card top
WG2 cards (blue backs) feature American League players
WG3 cards (red backs) feature National League players
Year(s) Published: 1906
ACC Designation: WG2/3
Set Name: Fan Craze (2 sets)
Card Size (inches): 2-1/2 x 3-1/2
Number of Cards in Set: var.
Est. Value (common; VG): $45
Set Summary
Produced by the Fan Craze Company of Cincinatti
Black and white image of player displayed in an oval format
Name printed at lower edge of player image; team at bottom
A baseball play (out, hit, HR) is printed at card top
WG2 cards (blue backs) feature American League players
WG3 cards (red backs) feature National League players
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1904 WG2 Fan Craze Card Game
Between the mammoth 1887 N172 Old Judge set and the seminal 1909 T206 issue, there was a lack of significant baseball card sets produced. The 1904 WG2 Fan Craze set helps bridge this gap and features some of the earliest examples known for many of its subjects. As a note, most hobby reference materials refer to this as a 1904 issue even though the players' team affiliations seem to indictate a 1906 date of issue. All of the stars of the American League are featured in the set including 15 Hall of Famers. The cards feature extremely attractive black-and-white portraits set against a stark white background. These Carl Horner portraits are immediately recognizable to collectors as they would be the basis for other sets of the era.
A curious aspect of the otherwise sumptuously produced game is the manufacturer's inattention to detail in verifying the names of the featured players.
Documented errors in the AL set include the cards of " Norman Elberfeld (labelled "Norman Elberfield"),
The WG2 AL set, long deemed a 1904 production, is -- based on the career debuts and team affiliations of certain players in the set -- far more likely to have been a 1906 release, almost certainly no older than 1905.
Between the mammoth 1887 N172 Old Judge set and the seminal 1909 T206 issue, there was a lack of significant baseball card sets produced. The 1904 WG2 Fan Craze set helps bridge this gap and features some of the earliest examples known for many of its subjects. As a note, most hobby reference materials refer to this as a 1904 issue even though the players' team affiliations seem to indictate a 1906 date of issue. All of the stars of the American League are featured in the set including 15 Hall of Famers. The cards feature extremely attractive black-and-white portraits set against a stark white background. These Carl Horner portraits are immediately recognizable to collectors as they would be the basis for other sets of the era.
A curious aspect of the otherwise sumptuously produced game is the manufacturer's inattention to detail in verifying the names of the featured players.
Documented errors in the AL set include the cards of " Norman Elberfeld (labelled "Norman Elberfield"),
The WG2 AL set, long deemed a 1904 production, is -- based on the career debuts and team affiliations of certain players in the set -- far more likely to have been a 1906 release, almost certainly no older than 1905.
