By 1934 Lou Gehrig was Goudey's man. The company made him the spokesman for its second baseball set, put him on its wrappers, advertisements and posters, and printed a small photograph of him with the words “Lou Gehrig says…” in a blue band across the front of 84 of the set's 96 cards. The other twelve, all National Leaguers, carry Chuck Klein instead. Collectors have called it the Lou Gehrig set ever since.
On 84 of the 96 fronts, a small photograph of Gehrig and the words “Lou Gehrig says…”
The backs are written in the player's own voice, a first-person note in green ink under the year 1934. Gehrig is also the only player in the set with two cards: number 37, a smiling portrait from the shoulders up on bright yellow, and number 61, a full batting pose in a New York cap against sea-foam green. Both carry the banner too, so his face appears twice on each.
Number 37 is the one most often singled out, and it has been called perhaps the finest likeness of him on any card.
It was the year of his Triple Crown: .363, 49 home runs, and the league lead in runs batted in. He finished fifth in the voting for Most Valuable Player.
The 1934 cards are the same size as the 1933 issue, 2 3/8 by 2 7/8 inches, with color artwork, and many of the fronts reuse 1933 pictures. The high numbers, 73 through 96, are noticeably harder to find; Gehrig's two cards are not among them.
