1934 Goudey Baseball (R320) - #54 Wesley Schulmerich, Cincinnati - PSA 5 (MK)

On the Player - Edward Wesley “Wes” Schulmerich (1901-1985):  Wes Schulmerich was an outfielder for the Boston Braves (1931–1933), Philadelphia Phillies (1933–1934), and Cincinnati Reds (1934).  During his 1442 career MLB at-bats, Schulmerich produced a slash line of .289/.347/.424, while accumulating 4.0 WAR.  Prior to professional baseball, Schulmerich played baseball and football at what is now Oregon State University, where he participated in three sports.  He was inducted into the inaugural class of the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, 1980.

On the Set - 1934 Goudey Baseball Cards – R320

In 1919, the Goudey Gum Company, founded by Enos Gordon Goudey, opened its first factory in Boston, Massachusetts.  In 1933, Goudey pioneered a new advertising vehicle for selling gum, including baseball cards with each stick of gum.  Cards had earlier been available with cigarettes and tobacco products, and with certain lines of candy.  But baseball cards had not been available with gum, and not for an affordable price to all children, one penny for a stick of gum and a card.  The inaugural 1933 Goudey “Big League Chewing Gum” set includes 240 cards (or 239, depending on your treatment of the Lajoie card, #106).  The 1934 set includes only 96 cards, measuring the same 2 3/8” by 2 7/8” dimensions as the 1933 set.  The card fronts feature a color reproduction photo.  Unlike the 1933 set, the 1934 cards carry either a blue “Lou Gehrig Says” design at the bottom of the card (84/96 cards), or a red “Chuck Klein Says” design (12/96 cards).  The card backs have a short player biography, supposedly written by Lou Gehrig or Chuck Klein, thus the “Lou Gehrig Says” or “Chuck Klein Says” designs.