The 1939 Play Ball baseball card set remains iconic, especially since it offers the debut card of Ted Williams and an early card of Joe DiMaggio.
Play Ball was the sole manufacturer of cards in baseball’s centennial season of 1939. Gum, Inc., based in Philadelphia, produced these black and white gems. On the bottom of each card’s back was an advertisement that noted there were 250 cards in the set. However, by the time Gum Inc. had finished production, there were only 161 players. 162 cards had been numbered, but card #126 was strangely never issued.
Along with the highly desired Williams and DiMaggio cards, there are other Hall of Famers including Leo Durocher, Bill Dickey, Lefty Gomez, Charlie Gehringer, Mel Ott, Hank Greenberg and the Waner brothers. Another unique card in the set is the rookie card of Moe Berg. A journeyman player, Berg gained notoriety for his work as a spy for the United States leading up to World War II. Berg was the subject of the 2018 film The Catcher Was a Spy.
Presented here is the complete set of 161 cards with Williams in a PSA EX MT 6, DiMaggio as a SGC EX+ 5.5 and (8) others SGC graded: Heinrich 7; L. Waner, Gomez 6; Whitehead 6.5; Ferrell, Hubbell, Ruffing 5; Ott 4.5.