Hot Dog!

(Note: this email was sent to me after an auction from one of the major houses...Perhaps Memory Lane, or even the now-defunct Mastro. The email was sent to me a few years back so the hammer price mentioned is likely high today. This was run in one of my old newsletters, but included today so I can show off one of my cards. Enjoy.)

Mark writes:

"I noticed that a 1954 Wilson Franks Ted Williams card sold for over $95,000. Who is Wilson Franks and what can you tell me about this set?"

A:

95 Grand?  That must have been a high-quality card, or else there was one intense bidding war.

The cards were issued with packages of hot dogs (Wilson franks) and are often found with grease stains, so I can see some high-end collectors fighting over the Ted Williams card if it wasn't damaged.  Here's a link to my page covering the set, and here's a card I own:

Well, most of it, in any case...

Yes, that's a really poor example, but it's mine. Wilsons aren't exactly cheap, so I'm grabbing anything that fits within my budget. One of my favorite things about this set is the way that every card has an image of a Wilsons package. There are two ways of looking at these cards: either the player pictured is thinking about lunch...or else he's blissfully unaware that he's about to be hit in the side of the head by a flying pack of hot dogs.

In addition to my beat-up card, here's a link to page showing all 20 of the set's cards.