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Baseball stamps tell story of game’s history and stars, and they’re fun to collect
One of the most enjoyable aspects of going to a sports memorabilia show is knowing you’ll probably see something new to you. That happened to me years ago when I saw two baseball-related stamps.
The first was a 1939 violet and white 3-cent Baseball Centennial stamp. It was issued on June 12, 1939 to commemorate America’s pastime, which dates to 1839. The 1939 date also marked the opening of the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in the picturesque village of Cooperstown.
The next stamp that caught my eye was a 6-cent 1869–1969 Professional Baseball issue. The player on the stamp is hitting and wearing a red hat without a logo. The Cincinnati Red Stockings were the first professional baseball team, so it may have been designed to acknowledge that aspect of baseball history.
It was only two stamps, but the die had been cast. I was going to keep looking for baseball stamps. Like everything else related to collecting, it’s fun.
As plans for the Hall of Fame were being formulated, the first five players chosen for the inaugural class were Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson. All five, and others, are on the “Legends of Baseball” sheet issued by the United States Postal Service in 2000. The sheet features 20 Hall of Fame players on the 33-cent stamps. I’m confident it is the best $6.60 I have spent on my collection.
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The stamps, I believe, were created by the same artist. Although they represent a different era, they have a very tobacco card look. As is the case with other sheets, the information on the back provides fun facts about the player. The Roberto Clemente stamp, for example, mentions his “rifle-like” arm. No doubt.
Mickey Cochrane sparked the Philadelphia Athletics to championships in 1929, 1930 and 1931. Fun fact: Mickey Mantle was named after Mickey Cochrane. Cy (short for Cyclone) Young won 511 games. Of the games he pitched, 749 were complete games.
Twenty of the greatest players of all time on one sheet is a nice display piece.
2000 was a great year for baseball stamps. “Baseball’s Legendary Playing Fields” was released and has three ballparks I went to when I was a kid: Yankee Stadium, the Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field. The 20-stamp sheet has postcard-like images (as a postcard collector I know “linens” were used) of Tiger Stadium, Crosley Field, Forbes Field, Fenway Park, Comisky Park, Shibe Park and Sportsman’s Park.
A banner at the top of the sheet (not a stamp) is an interior view of Sportsman’s Park. I never went there but when I have seen postcards or a stamp of Shibe Park, it has always struck me as a place that must have been a great ballpark. The circular tower at the entrance immediately separates it from every other park. The cars shown on the stamp are from the park’s earliest days. By way of comparison, the Ebbets Field stamp, which also has an exterior/front entrance view, doesn’t have any cars and shows people in the street.
The Polo Grounds stamp has a view of the buildings at Coggan’s Bluff above and behind the upper deck. The Fenway Park stamp is the only one to utilize a night-time shot. If you look at the highest point of the Tigers Stadium roof at right-center field, the linen used for the stamp was issued years before there was a transformer there that Reggie Jackson hit with a 1971 All Star Game home run.
The “Baseball Sluggers” sheet was issued in 2005 and is appropriately named. The 20-stamp sheet has five stamps each of Roy Campanella, Hank Greenberg, Mel Ott and Mickey Mantle batting right handed.
As a Yankees fan, the Mantle stamp stands out. It’s a “home” image so the classic pinstripes and the Yankee Stadium Frazee, a signature feature of the iconic ballpark, make the 39-cent stamp on a sheet for $7.80 that was well spent.
Like baseball cards, the back of these stamp sheets also have interesting information. The Mantle stamp points out that he hit 536 career home runs, including a record 18 in the World Series. I have a Mantle clock in my sports room. When I’m there, I don’t care what time it is so the hour hand is set on 5, the minute hand on 36 and the second hand on 18.
If you’re a fan of “Take Me Out To The Ball Game,” you may want to take a look at the 2007 issued 42-cent stamp that has the title of that song on the front. It is my favorite baseball stamp. The image appears to be a pitcher in the late 1800s to early 1900s. No glove and that particular uniform are good clues.
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As a Jackie Robinson fan, I found the value of the stamp, 42 cents, on a baseball between the words “TAKE ME OUT TO” on the top a great idea. The musical notes on the bottom near the words “BALL” and “GAME” are also a great touch. “THE” is above the pitchers hat and baseball bats on the right and left side of the image are a perfect fit.
As is the case with other sheets, this one at $8.40 is plenty of bang for your buck. Once again, the back of the sheet has relevant information. The song was written in 1908 by Jack Norworth and set to music by Albert Von Tilzer.
“Major League Baseball All-Stars” is a sheet issued in 2011 that features Ted Williams, Larry Doby, Willie Stargell and Joe DiMaggio. Information on the back of the sheet states, “one was from an immigrant family,” is about Joe DiMaggio. “One taught us about team spirit” is insight on Willie Stargell. Another says, “one took time from his career to serve his country, not once but twice.” As a veteran, that tells me all I need to know about Ted Williams. “One faced prejudice with dignity and courage” covers Larry Doby, the player that broke the color barrier in the American League.
Yogi Berra is my all-time favorite player. On June 24, 2021 the United States Postal Service issued a “Yogi Berra Forever” stamp at the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center. Prior to the start of his baseball career, Yogi joined the Navy when he was 18. On June 6, 1944 he was a part of the Normandy invasion and earned a Purple Heart and the Lone Sailor Award.
During a baseball career that earned him a plaque in the Hall of Fame in 1972, Yogi was number one in World Series hits with 71, at-bats with 259 and doubles with 10. His 12 World Series home runs placed him third behind Mantle’s 18 and Babe Ruth’s 15.
Jackie Robinson is my favorite Brooklyn Dodger. I was pleased to see Topps issue a numbered Gypsy Queen card of him in 2011 (mine is 6/10) and has a 3-cent stamp that features General Oglethorpe. There were 450 subjects in the state stamp parallel set. The stamps that were chosen to represent the city/county where the player was born and sequentially numbered. General Oglethorpe was a British soldier, a member of Parliament and the founder of the colony of Georgia. At that time, it was part of British America. He was the Governor of Georgia from 1732–1743.
Jackie was born in Cairo, Georgia on Jan. 31, 1919. Doing the research for the stamp cleared up why it was used on a baseball card, so that was fun.
