APBA Blog mailbag: Identifying old APBA cards

I received an email from Robby W who posed a frequently asked question:

My mother in law gave me 2 packs of old baseball cards.  They are Kansas City Royals and New York Mets.  How can I find out what year they are from and could you tell me a little more about them and the game they are used for.  Thank you

Robby, I’m sure some of us are envious of your relationship with your mother-in-law.  :)

This is how I responded to his email. 

Hi Robby,

Doug Burg’s APBA Baseball Card 12 List is very helpful in identifying APBA Baseball cards.  Here is the list. 

http://www.apbablog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/APBA12list.pdf

Look at which result number the ’12’ is at for each card.  It should be the same for each card in each season set.  If it is a modern card set, it might have a copyright year at the bottom of each card.  You could use that to cross-reference it. 

Between those two (and perhaps some sleuthing on the web), you should be able to determine what seasons you have. 

I’ve pointed out Doug’s 12 List in the past but it definitely bears repeating.  For those wanting to identify old APBA baseball cards or just to get a snapshot history of when APBA baseball card sets were published and when certain ratings and card changes (i.e 42, ZZ etc.) were implemented, it’s a valuable resource.