I post #BucketCards from time-to-time on my @number5typecard Bluesky account as distinctive or meaningful poses from a wide range of sets. This article gathers five cards of Babe Ruth along similar lines, reflecting his unparalleled career as hurler and slugger from 1914-35. The Bambino first appeared on tobacco-esque sets as a svelte International League pitcher and hung around long enough to still appear on cards for Boston's 1935 Braves, a legendarily terrible club.
Let's start at the beginning!
1914 Baltimore News (as Orioles pitcher)
Baltimore's International League team found an unpolished jewel in Ruth, not far removed from a rough younger life. First scouted for his pitching arm, this sweater-clad card appears in red or blue. Its value is sky high, given how hard it proves to find anything from this set, let alone the Bambino.
Baltimore hosted its own Federal League team, the Terrapins, in 1914, and competed for fans with the existing International League team, an earlier iteration of the "Orioles." Ruth spent just two months there before the Boston Red Sox acquired him in July.
1920-21 Universal Toy & Novelty Company strip cards
These two cards reflect the Babe's transformation from ace pitcher to slugging outfielder, as Universal's card artist adapted a Boston warmup photo into two cards (1920 left, 1921 right). Artistic work on that pastel card turned his normal lefty follow-through into a righty hitting pose, saving the cost of licensing a new photo.
The second card added soft pinstripes to reflect his Yankees affiliation, closer to what fans expected of Ruth by 1921, even when hitting from the "wrong side."
1925-31 W590 "King of the Bat" strip card
Surely this is how we'd all want to be known! "I am royalty and my lineage has mastered...The Bat."
These W590 cards date to the 1925-31 window, based on players and teams shown. It was common for strip card printers of that era to reprint the same images, year after year, only updating spots on each strip when players changed teams or retired. Note how this strip proves current for a single season, 1925, thanks to its bolded players.
- Ike Caveney, SS Cincinnati: 1925 was Ike's last in the majors.
- George Burns, OF Philadelphia: 1925 was as George's only year in Philly and last year in the majors.