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More than just black & white photos


Recently, I hopped online and purchased a few key items with some of my magazine-writing money and they're starting to arrive at my home now.

I'll probably lump the other purchases in together, but I wanted to reserve this one for a post of its own because of how much it means to me.

The 1977 Renata Galasso 45-card set -- what would become a full 270-card set and issued all the way into the mid-1980s -- may not look like much on its face.

The cards aren't valuable. The design takes its inspiration from 1960 Leaf, a rather unpopular set. All of the photos are black and white. And it wasn't issued by Topps or any other major card company.

None of this mattered to me when I first saw them advertised in the pages of Baseball Digest in 1978 (a subscription to Baseball Digest first started coming to our home in 1977 but I don't believe the ads started appearing until 1978 Topps hit the streets).

My only thought was "my goodness, these are cool. I NEED THEM NOW."


This is basically the Renata Galasso ad that I saw for the first time. The company issued the same basic ad with some updates each year. This is from a 1981 Baseball Cards Magazine edition.

Galasso is one of the pioneering dealers of her time and her promotion abilities were top-notch. Not only did she draw in the kids with cartoons in her advertising but what a brilliant way to get people to buy that year's complete set of baseball cards: add a bunch of cards that no one can get anywhere else!!!


Here is an ad image that I stole off of The Shlabotnik Report's blog. This is the ad from 1978 that I remember the most. That '77 DiMaggio card always appeared on the front (although sometimes it was Mantle, and later Gehrig).

To understand how significant and amazing these '77 Renata Galasso cards were, you need to place yourself in the time period of the late 1970s. Don't complain now. You'll learn something.

OK:

There was no Heritage.

There was no internet.

There were no cards available anywhere else except for Topps cards wrapped in wax or cello down at your local grocery or drug store, and food-issue cards found in your cereal box or underneath your Twinkies.

Cards you could order through the mail -- cards you had never seen anywhere else -- were fascinating.

Yeah, they were cards of old former players. I had never seen cards of those players before except on really old Topps or Bowman cards that I couldn't afford.

Yeah, they were black & white. I wanted them BECAUSE they were black and white. Don't you understand? These players were so old! They SHOULD be in black and white. This is what made the set cool.

And I had never seen 1960 Leaf before. When I see this design now, I first think of the Galasso Greats. As far as I was concerned then, Galasso and TCMA, which manufactured the cards, created that design.

So I longed for that set. Issue after issue of Baseball Digest I wanted it.

But I couldn't afford it. My allowance, even if I saved up, wouldn't pay for it (I still had packs to buy at the local corner store). My brother actually ordered the entire 1978 Topps set, but he didn't order from Galasso, so he didn't get the Galasso Glossy Greats.

That's what they were called then "Galasso Glossy Greats". Everything was "glossy" then. That's what was hot. Glossy cards. They were also called "Stars of the '50s" because the set included nothing but notable '50s players. Later, as the set expanded, Galasso went into earlier eras. But, originally, it was just a 45-card set of '50s stars.

I never did get the set back then. Years and years later, after returning to collecting and starting this blog, I started to see the cards again, here and there. One blogger -- Max, from The Starting Nine -- sent me one of them, the Don Newcombe, and I practically strained a nostalgia muscle from the thrill of owning the card.

I ended up getting all the Dodgers from the set, but it didn't seem adequate.

So for years -- years and years and years -- I didn't have what I really wanted.

Until now.


I own the 1977 Renata Galasso Glossy Greats Stars of the '50s, you guys!

Oh my god, 12-year-old me is so jealous.

It still bothers me a little that I once would have been able to get this set for "free," and now I had to pay for it, but no matter, I can show you the greatness.


This is another one of the cards that used to appear on the ads. And it is the first card image of Stan Musial that I saw and think of today when I hear the name "Stan Musial".

These cards formed my first perceptions of players from the '50s. Many collectors saw some of these photos years and years -- decades -- later on retro sets of the last 20 years. And I'd think, "oh yeah, that's one of the shots that was in that Galasso-TCMA set."

The set features many of those '50s "posed action" or "posed candid" shots that were so common from the 1950s through the 1970s. These are among my favorite baseball photos. I don't understand why we don't see these anymore with current players. Are we so obsessed with action that our brains can't even comprehend something like this?:


I think it would do so much for current players' PR if a photographer would simply show them carrying six bats at the same time.



Stuff like this -- is this supposed to be corny now? It still looks great. It's memorable. It looks grand. It's a wonderful baseball card. Even if it's staged.


I'm sure I gained my appreciation for multi-bat photos from this set.



Love the old-style wind-ups, too. That said "pitcher" to me as a youngster. We were much less about "efficiency" then.



A few more of the great old poses in the set.

Most of the '50s stars are here although there are a few folks missing. I noticed no card of Ted Kluszewski (he would show up in a later TCMA '50s set in 1979). There's no Yogi Berra. No Bob Lemon or Lew Burdette or Minnie Minoso.


Some of the players are shown on a team that wouldn't be your first association for the player.

Ralph Kiner ended his career with the Cubs, his final three years. Don Larsen went 3-21 -- 3-21! -- in his only season with the Orioles in 1954 (until a relief stint with the O's at the end of his career in 1965). George Kell's time with the Red Sox was brief and rather unnotable. Same with Enos Slaughter and the Yankees.

But the superstars are all here in this set, which makes it a very, very worthy representation of the '50s.


My plan is to eventually obtain the entire 270-card set. There are places online where you can buy the full 270-card set easily enough.

But I wanted to make sure I got the first 45 -- the Stars of the '50s -- first because that's what was advertised when I first saw those Baseball Digest ads. The later cards, although they still use the same design, stray from the consistency of the '50s Stars set. The fonts are off -- and that is just the thing to make my brain annoyed. Some of the cards are horizontal, which just doesn't look right on a set focusing on the olden days.

But to stay with what I like: I am so happy that this set is finally mine.

Forty-two years. It took me 42 YEARS to get this set.

Fulfilling my cardboard wishes as a child is what this hobby is all about for me. It's not about getting the most value. It's not about flipping. It's not about autographs or rookies or one-of-ones or exclusivity.

None of the above cards that I showed go for more than a few bucks, and they probably shouldn't even go for that much. But they are all I ever wanted when I was 12.

Someone sees "a bunch of black and white photos." I see a 12-year-old kid.

That is why I collect. For him.

Comments

Jason said…
The set had the same effect on me! Just got my own, 45 cards at a time over the past year. You are exactly right that this was about the only way we could get cards of all-time greats back then, and in some cases even learn what the players looked like. In my small collecting ecosystem of the late 70s it was all on the Renata Galasso cards and Dover Reprint books to put these legends into our collections.
Base Card Hero said…
I had no idea those even existed, but they are awesome. Even better is the fact it is a 270 card set all together!
RunForeKelloggs said…
I always saw those ads. It didn't matter how long I looked at it because my parents were never going to let me buy one of those sets. I couldn't even get the Snake and Mongoose cars that required me to send some really small amount of money.
Brett Alan said…
Yeah, collecting in the 1970s was a completely different world!

The photography in that set is outstanding, and I completely agree that Topps should include some posed photos in its flagship set, just to provide some variety. It doesn't have to be a big portion of the set, maybe 10 or 15%. As I think I mentioned on another blog, this year would be a great time to start, as it's the first year that Heritage ought to include some action pictures, so why not at the same time mix some posed photos and portraits into flagship?

BTW, Larsen's one season as an Oriole was their first season of existence--he had a season with the Browns before that, and fared a bit better. He really wasn't awful in that 3-21 season...he wasn't GOOD, but on a better team he wouldn't have lost 20 games. Hey, I just realized that the 54 Bowman Larsen I have is his rookie card! How did I not figure that out before?
Nick Vossbrink said…
80s kid here. Never heard of these or saw them until I pulled the DiMaggio (of all cards) out of a repack a couple years ago. Those advertisements are great.
GTT said…
I've never seen any of those pictures on cards before, which is a little surprising. Great photos too. Glad you got all those.
Pretty sure those cards will have you gidy for a long long time.
Nick said…
This is one of my all-time favorite oddball sets. As you mentioned, I often forget it borrowed the look from 1960 Leaf -- I think of Galasso before Leaf when I see the design. So many great, simple shots of pretty much all the big names of the '50s. (That's also one of just two cards I own of Ralph Kiner as a Cub.)
Fuji said…
I only discovered this set a few years ago when someone posted the Jackie Robinson (maybe it was you) on their blog. It's one of my favorite cards of Robinson in my collection.
I've only got a couple of these... Kiner and Larsen, at the very least... but I think I'm going to have to track down more, especially the Robin Roberts and Carl Furillo. Maybe we can all pool our money and bribe some Getty Images photographer to pose players like this for some Topps set.
acrackedbat said…
THIS! I've been a Galasso fan for years, always wondering what inspired her business line. Photo selections included those I've yet to see elsewhere.
POISON75 said…
Today's "collectors" are all about the shiny upcoming rookie phenomenal rare 1/1's that can take your breath away after pulling it out of a pack not understanding the true meaning of a player of a game that history shows them because they are a "collector" in their eyes. Old school guys appreciate the value & the desire to make sets do the research that goes into making the hobby what it is not wanting a shiny new product that can't be easily completed. The old school guys are always those who bring paperwork CHECKLISTS to the show sometimes they go paperless to save a tree like myself & I use my phone if necessary for shows as well if to do some researching for either me or any other person who might need the information. Back to when they came out w/this set I like Mr. Owl saw the ads growing up in baseball digest & other baseball magazines never owning them but as luck would happen much like Mr. Owl I found myself owning the 1st set by accident rummaging through a box at shop that was featured in The Collective Mind Blog & soon I finished my researching to see what I truly had found was that of the set I had to have it. So I purchased it for a great price addition to other items that I had found I would complete the rest of missing sets of updates of the initial 45 cards as the today's "collector" calls a starter lot through the years. The thing is these sets are history of a game that can show us when it truly was a game look closely at Mr. Owl's picture of the card of that of Stan Musial picking up a piece of lumber decide to if its the 1 that will give him 3,160 hits or not look at Robin Roberts as the tall building above is that a factory building that some workers would spend the day watching the Whiz Kids take on Mr. Owl's beloved Bums through some binoculars & not use it to steal signals. In conclusion Mr. Owl sir you definitely need to get the rest when you can let the history of old school guys like me & a few others truly appreciate the game that it is not a shiny new product that a "collector" would understand.
Bo said…
Those are some fantastic photos. Note the sign behind Jackie Robinson - "More for your money in 1946". Perhaps taken in the 1946-1947 offseason?

Those two ads are interesting too. I noticed in the list of stars in the copy that the only change between 1978 and 1981 was to substitute Parker for Munson.

Also, the pile of both "1978" and "1981" cards in each image is actually a pile of 1975s. But I imagine you must have noticed that :)
Bo said…
Replying to Poison75 comment on the Roberts card - I think that's the Polo Grounds, so it would be apartments in the background, not a factory.
GCA said…
And besides this awesomeness, 1977 Topps baseball for $14! football for ten bucks! Hockey for 6.50! One series of '77 Star Wars for 4.50!
'76 Topps Traded for a dollar seventy-five.

All the effort to put those together now is fun, but to go back to that time and get 'em that cheap is just mind blowing.
friend11 said…
I just acquired the first 4 issues of Collectors Quarterly, Keith Olberman- Editor. In the Spring 76 issue, Renata has an ad that offers a set of 1976 Topps for $9.99 includes shipping and a bonus Yankees or Mets Yearbook. Her ads ran in 3 different issues.
Commishbob said…
Really fun cards. At one point I had the whole sets and some dupes but through the years I've doled some out to team collectors. Seeing them all together makes me want to pick them back up.

I was going to name my favorite but I just can't. So many of them are really cool. Nice way to spend your writing $$.
Old Cards said…
Players in a posed position with batting cages and dugouts in the background. No pictures of 3 players in the distance with one player's name on the card. No cards with a player's name on the card where that player is in the background obscured by other players in the forefront. Yeah, great cards and a great post.
Bru said…
I freaking love this set - and 1960 Leaf! I've even made customs using this format. Excellent pickup.