Hage's Dairy of Southern California issued three card sets in three
years starting in 1949. According to researcher David Levin, the cards were not included in any of their products, however,
they were issued in boxes of popcorn sold at the concessions stands at
Lane Field Park, home of the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast
League. The first and most rare of the three sets is the 1949 F65-1
Hage's set, consisting of 105 different cards printed on thin stock. The
unnumbered, blank-backed cards have images printed inside a white
border. The half-tone images were printed in one of four color tints:
Black & White, Sepia, Blue, or Green.
Hall of Fame manager "Bucky" Harris is
the subject
of this example, graded Poor 1 by SGC. Harris has two different cards
in the set. One shows the manager shouting, and this version shows him
posing with a smile. Harris had just finished two
seasons managing the New York Yankees, winning the World Series in 1947.
Despite a 94-60 record in 1948, the Yankees did not win the AL Pennant,
and Harris was let go. He came to the PCL to manage the San Diego
Padres for one year in 1949 before resuming his Hall of Fame MLB
managerial career in 1950 with the Washington Nationals. As great of a
manager as Harris was, the Yankees probably made the right decision,
rattling off a record streak of five consecutive World Series titles
from 1949 through 1953, immediately after his departure.
Centering is nice, save for some minor diamond cutting which leaves the top left corner just a hair higher than the right. Corners and edges are consistent with
the grade. Some faint soiling is evident, with more noticeable color difference at the bottom edge of the sepia printed image. A large crease running vertically through the middle of the card, just left of Harris' right ear, and the name "Jerry" written in the top left corner of the reverse but not affecting the front are the main explanations for the
card's technical grade. However, the
scarcity of this issue far outweighs any cosmetic flaws on
this example.
SGC has only ever graded 3 total
examples of this 1949 Hage's Dairy card,
with only two receiving a higher grade than the Poor 1 offered here
of San Diego's "Bucky" Harris.