More About Triptychs

I was told that the Triptych's began with Series 5.  They were then issued during every third set so the next ones were series 8, then 11, etc.  That makes sense based on the large number of these that I have acquired.  The highest numbers I have are 77 and 101.  

If that pattern is correct I am missing #68, #80, #83 and #86.  

Does anyone know why the series numbers go from 88 to 101?  What happened to 89 - 100? 

Sportscaster Promo Cards - Numbering System?

I've seen that the promotional cards have the numbering system 993-xx.  This has been found in a few of the different sets.  Has anyone seen anything else?

I found a few oddities with the set from Finland.  The cards below have no numbering at all.  I have more of these cards than others, so I am guessing they might have been promotional cards as well.

Does anyone know much about these cards?

Martti Vainio and Pekka Vasala were both Finnish athletes.  I imagine that this factors into the distribution of these cards. 

Sportscaster Triptych Anyone?

These three-fold pamphlets were included in some of the decks.  They are numbered with the same number as the deck/pack/series.  

I have the unopened pack above that doesn't contain a triptych.  Does that mean that there is not a #21 which would mean they are skip numbered.

Here is a pack with a triptych included.  It is deck #23 and the triptych is numbered 23.  Without getting all of the unopened packs, how do I know if I have all of the triptych pamphlets issued?

This is why I love Sportscaster cards.  They are a challenge since no one really seems to care about them. 

Belgian / Dutch Cards - What is the Difference?

I just finished sorting the cards from the Belgian set of Sportscaster cards.  Even though I don't have anywhere near the complete set, I did find a variation.  Two different cards are listed with the card number 33-773.

Both cards seem to be French athletes, so that doesn't help me at all.

Since Belgium has three official languages, which language is used on these cards?  It appears to be in Dutch.  So, what makes the Dutch cards different?  I haven't seen the country code on the back of any Dutch cards.  Can someone provide that number?

There are a few cards on ebay now, but I am guessing that their country code is the same as the one from Belgium.  I am inclined to believe that there is only one combined Dutch/Belgian set, but finding the two different cards with the same number makes me wonder if there are two different sets.

Graded Sportscaster Cards

I don't own any graded Sportscaster cards.  I own a few graded cards just from group purchases or good deals at card shows.

I checked SCG's population report and found that they haven't graded many Sportscaster cards.  I didn't check BGS because I don't have a login that I can remember. 

PSA had the following totals by country -

North American - 6080 graded cards
Finland - 728
France - 391
Sweden - 258
United Kingdom - 226
Germany - 190
Italy - 80
Belgium - 58
The Netherlands (Dutch set) - 47

With over 2,000 cards in the set the North American version has only an average of three of each card graded.  I was surprised to see that 13 cards had more than 50 graded versions.  That's over 14% of all of the graded cards.

11 of the 13 cards made sense - Orr, Ali, Nicklaus, Howe, 1969 Mets (Ryan), Dr. J., Rose Ryan, Bird, Gretzky, Magic.  I was surprised at the last two on the list - Pete Maravich and Jim Rice.  Great players, but not really on par with the first 11 names. 

I still don't know the numeric country code for the Dutch cards.  A few are for sale online, but when I zoom it becomes a bit too blurry.  Can anyone help with that? 

French Sportscaster Cards - I Know Less About Them Each Day

I read that there are sets up to 124 in the French set.  That makes sense since I've got one card from set 121 in my small sample of these cards.

I thought that the numbering system made sense until I sorted these cards today.  List most of the sets, this set is numbered with the series (deck) number and then a number from 01 to 24.  I found two cards that don't follow that pattern.

Below is a larger version of the backs.  They all have the code for French cards - 16 265.  Notice that these are labeled 04-75 and 04-87.  I have no other cards from this series to use as a comparison.

Only the set from Finland numbers this way.  I don't have these cards in the Finnish version. 

04-75 should be 04-03 if following the French pattern.  Menetrey is card 04-03 in the North American set.  04-87 should be 04-15.  04-15 in the North American set is Rick Barry. 

The card with Bouttier and Monzon is listed on ebay at being card 04-15, but there is no photo of the back of the card to confirm the numbering.  Does anyone have this card?

Does anyone know more about issues like this in the French set, or specifically in series 04?

Variations and/or Different Print Runs in Foreign Sportscaster Sets

Are there different print runs in with the Sportscaster cards from Finland?  I am sorting my small collection and I came across what seem to be two cards with the same number.  There is no note of a different print run on the backs.

Does anyone know more about this?  Are there more variations like this? 

German Sportscaster Promo Cards

It was great to get a comment from someone who is working on the German Sportscaster checklist.  That motivated me to look through the stack of German cards that I purchased a while back.  I did find two of the promo cards with the 993 numbering.

Just like the North American set, they are not numbered 1 and 2.  Does anyone have a list of the promo cards used for each set?

Sportscaster Card Backs - Series #01 Highlights

I really like the text on the back of the Sportscaster cards.  I plan to read all of them that I have, which is most.  Will I retain most of it?  Not likely.  I will mention some of the more interesting things that I find on the backs.

Here are some of the comments on the backs of cards in Series 01. My comments are in bold.

Despite eye injuries, mononucleosis and a variety of arm and leg pains he the NBA All-Rookie Team.

...a basketball player and a Johny-come-lately runner

...allows sudden increases in his naturally long stride, and makes him look as if he's wearing seven-league boots.

What are seven-league boots?

Rumors circulated that the Finns were using secret training methods, including blood transfusion,

There is even a Sportscaster card dedicated to blood transfusions.

...toiling on the mound for New York Mets teams that produced more bone-head plays than runs per game.

A hip injury hampered Tom's 1974 efforts, lowering his usual effectiveness and lowering the Mets out of sight.

It's great to hear that Mets being dissed.  It reminded me of a chant in the bleachers at Wrigley Field.  Late in the season the Cubs played the Cardinals and both teams were out of the playoff race.  A Mets score was posted and the entire bleacher crowd, Cubs and Cardinals fans alike, started chanting - "we all hate the Mets".

The Colts, in turn, had vowed that their roek-hard defense would make Joe eat his words - and the football.

Two-Fisted Champion - that is a sub-title

The 5'10" American with the Prince Valiant haircut...

Whatever that is.

...he outdid himself, directing a dazzling ballet on the field.

That is for a soccer player.

...the debonaire giant...

...leading the boys from Baltimore to 3 championships.

...kept his track shoes eating up thousands of miles a year.

He was a very skinny teenager, ashamed of his 132-pound body.

I think they mention stuff like this on lots of these cards.

It took a mother of two from the Netherlands to match Jessie Owens' amazing exploits at the 1936 Olympics.

Unlike most champions, he chafed at hard and regular training.

Sport fans who resented his outspoken manner were happy to see the unpopular champion get his comeuppance, and Mark received little sympathy when he returned to the USA.

Blonde hair flying, eyes glittering...

That is how the text begins on one card.

Storing Sportscaster Cards

I am almost finished sorting all of these cards.  I plan to do so when I am on break from teaching soon.

I have been storing these cards in shoe boxes.  I don't like it.  Does anyone have any good ways to securely store these cards?  Cheaply?  I'd like the boxes to be sturdy enough to travel.  The shoe boxes are not secure and they are not easy to move around.

UPDATE - I finished sorting all of my North American Sportscaster cards.  Now I need to confirm the variations and finish the checklist.  After that I can work on some of the foreign Sportscaster cards.

Print Runs and Decks - What is Possible?

I've heard that only decks 1 - 7 are available from Japan with North American Sportscaster cards.  As I mentioned in the last post, I wonder about the Nadia Comaneci from series 10 since it is labeled as printed in Japan.

What about print runs 'C' and 'D'.  I can confirm that some of these were printed based on my collection, not what I've seen online.

Here is what I have -

'C' print run - decks, 05, 06, 07, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 53, 54, 55

'D' print run - decks - I thought I had a few but I didn't see them on my checklist

Can anyone add to this list?