1928 W513 # 86 Earl Coombs (Earle Combs), NY Yankees MLB Hall of Fame -SGC 5
1928 W513 - # 86 Earl Coombs, NY Yankees - MLB Hall of Fame - SGC 5. Later, Combs coached for the St. Louis Browns in 1947, the Boston Red Sox from 1948 to 1952, and the Philadelphia Phillies in 1954. Known for his good manners and quiet dignity, Combs earned the nickname Kentucky Colonel. He was a devout Christian who neither smoked nor swore. In 1934, while chasing a fly ball, Combs crashed into a wall, fracturing his skull and sustaining shoulder and knee injuries. He spent two months in the hospital, much of it on the critical list, as doctors feared for his life.
Despite returning in 1935 and playing 89 games, another injury-a broken collarbone-ended his season and led to his retirement at 36. In 1927, the same year Lindbergh flew solo across the Atlantic, the Yankees fielded one of the greatest baseball teams in history.
Combs batted leadoff and played center field for the "Murderers' Row, " flanked in the outfield by Bob Meusel and Babe Ruth. As a player and coach, Combs was part of nine World Series championship teams. Combs led the league in triples three times and was frequently among the top ten in that category. Over his career, he posted a slash line of. 462, averaging nearly 200 hits, 75 walks, and only 31 strikeouts per season.Combs was selected for induction into the MLB Hall of Fame in 1970. On the W513 Famous People Strip Set - One hundred years ago, retailers such as grocery or candy stores offered cards of famous people and athletes, either for sale in strips or as giveaways to loyal customers. These "strip" cards were typically provided in long strips or sheets, allowing merchants to cut or tear off a certain number for customers.
Consequently, rough or uneven edges and inconsistent card sizes were common. Jefferson Burdick, in his classic baseball card guide, "The American Card Catalog, " classified these sets as W cards. The poor quality paper used in producing strip cards, combined with the ripping or cutting process, means that card grades above "Authentic" are uncommon, and high grade cards rare.
The precursor to Burdick's 1928 W513 Famous People Strip Set is his designated 1925-27 W512 Baseball-Athletes-Boxers-Movie Drawings set. The W512 set comprises 50 color strip cards, including ten baseball players, with each card measuring around 1-3/8" by 2-1/4". Burdick believed that the 1928 W513 Famous People Strip Set likely continued the themes of the W512 set. Regarding baseball, the W513 set has a larger presence than the W512 set, featuring 26 baseball players compared to 10 in the latter. In terms of rarity, W513 strip cards are generally considered tougher to acquire than W512 cards, with the exception of Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth from the W512 set. This is due to the fact that the W512 set was produced over three years (1925-27), while the W513 was available for only one year, 1928. The W513 set features colored images of the player surrounded by a black line, with the player's name, position, and team identified at the card bottom. The player's position was not included in the W512 set. Additionally, the card number is printed in large type in the lower left corner. Card backs are usually blank, and the card size is around 1-7/16" by 2-1/4".