Two "new" 1937 Wheaties reported

Most of the checklists for the Wheaties box-back cards of the late-1930s and early 1940s have remained static for many years.

A notable exception was the addition of a previous uncataloged set of 1936 single-serving box cards that was added to the Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards in the 2011 eidtion.

We now have a pair of checklist additions to the other single-serving box set. For decades, the checklist for the 1937 Wheaties - Series 14 had been fixed at 16 players (plus a variation of the Arky Vaughan card).

Now two previously unreported players can be added to that checklist, courtesy of collector and catalog contributor John Esch.

Esch sent scans of Series 14 cards of Bob Feller and Earl Averill. The discovery cards share the basic Series 14 format of 2-5/8" x 3-7/8" size. Player photos are outlined in white on an orange background. Player information and a facsimile autograph are printed in dark blue.

An endorsement by the player for Wheaties was printed in a white panel below the photo. Esch's card of Feller has had that advertising portion cut off, but the Averill card retains the ad.

Esch points out that pose for Averill is the same as that seen on the 1937 - Series 8, while Feller’s is the same as 1937 - Series 9. Both of those series are in the more familiar 6" x 8-1/2" format.

As a card cataloger, the discovery of "new" cards in 75-year-old sets is one of the fun parts of the job. As card hobbyists, we should all be thankful to veteran collectors like John Esch who are willing to share their finds.