Once again, we peek into Scott Veatch’s Vault. This time we come up with a APBA card notice for the immensely popular 1930 baseball season. Initially published in 1975, this season set was popular for a good many reasons.
It had the best… For replayers who like offense, 1930 was the year of superlatives. It had the most, the best, the highest and the the gaudiest. The whole National League hit .300. Every St. Louis Cardinal starter hit .300. Records set in 1930 still hold today.
From an APBA perspective, the cards are the most fun to look at. I know personally, 1930 is my go to season to get a Monster Card on Monday. If you haven’t already, see George Puccinelli’s 1930 card. He’s a part of APBA lore.
It contained names players we still know… The Hall of Fame had not been established in 1930. Rest assured, by the time the first class was inducted, there were plenty of players from the 1930 season sitting in that iconic photo. Altogether, an amazing 55 Hall of Famers players played in the 1930 season alone. That is not including managers, executives or umpires either.
So APBA knew after their release of the 1949 season, the 1930 would be a hit. In fact, their brochure claims that the 1930 season was the “one most requested by APBA fans”.
APBA’s take on the NL Champ St Louis Cardinals.
While St. Louis did have a .300 hitter at every position, the Cubs and Giants were both legitimate contenders. Had the last place Phillies any pitching at all, they probably could have contended as well.
As good as the Cardinals were, it was the Philadelphia A’s who had a good balance of hitting, power, defense and pitching. They went on to win the World Series that year.
Interesting note here… when the set came out in 1975, APBA claimed that “the 1930 card set will not be reprinted when supplies are exhausted”.
I’m happy that APBA has changed their tune on this and eventually issued a reprint. You can order this season via the website.
You can see the entire 1930 APBA card notice here. Thanks again to Scott Veatch who says it was –9 degrees when he woke up this morning in Casper, Wyoming. Keep those dice warm, Scott!
I used to have this set and my mother tossed it when I joined the service. I never pass on a chance to see the count’s card.
I remember once when waiting for my next set of cards I gave him 600 random at bats manually while ramdomly choosing base running situations and pitchers grades.
(Note this is in the pre computer age and I was just curious to see what would happen)
If I remember right he hit .380 or so with 78 homers and 160 or so RBI. While not a true measure of the card, and admittedly I am never going to be invited to join MENSA it was a fun experiment.
I hope you and your mother patched things up after that. :)