Goudey had company in 1933. The DeLong Gum Company of Boston issued a baseball set of its own that year, its first and only one: 24 cards, after which the company, understaffed, left the market.
The DeLong design is unlike anything else of its time. Each player is a black-and-white action photograph cut out and set in the foreground of a small, brightly colored ballpark, so that he looks larger than the stadium behind him. The cards are taller than most gum cards of the 1930s, about 1 15/16 by 2 15/16 inches, and the backs carry a playing tip written by the Boston sportswriter Austen Lake.
Twenty-four cards, one season, and a ballplayer standing taller than the ballpark.
Gehrig is number 7, following through on a swing under a blue sky, red pennants flying over the stands behind him. It is the key card of the set, and far scarcer than his Goudey cards of the same year, especially in high grade.
It was the year of his record. On August 17, 1933, he played his 1,308th consecutive game and passed Everett Scott, and he went on playing every day for nearly six more years.
Narrow borders mean many copies are off-center, and the edges have often toned. The card is hard to find in any condition, and particularly so above the middle of the grading scale. A reprint set exists.
