1953 Stahl-Meyer Franks

The 1953 Stahl-Meyer Franks baseball set consists of nine cards produced by a New York-area meat company. Each card in the inaugural venture measures 3-1/4” by 4-1/2” in size and feature three star players from each of the New York teams of the day - Dodgers, Giants and Yankees. The white-bordered, unnumbered cards bear a color photo of a Big Apple hero, with his name and facsimile autograph. The backs list both biographical and statistical information on one half and a ticket offer promotion on the opposite half. The key card in the set belongs to Mickey Mantle, with the remainder of the set consisting of Hank Bauer, Roy Campanella, Gil Hodges, Monte Irvin, Whitey Lockman, Phil Rizzuto, Duke Snider and Bobby Thomson. Specially cut with rounded corners and covered with a thick wax coating to protect the cards from the hot dogs with which they were packed, the set is considered scarce – owing to its issuance only in the New York area.