Card Details:
Manufacturer: Exhibits Supply Company
Year: 1947-66
Card Number: N/A
Paper: Heavy Stock Cardboard
Size: Postcard (3 3/8” x 5 3/8”)
Card Status: 3rd or 4th Year
The Set:
The 1947-66 Exhibits set was manufactured and distributed by the Exhibit Supply Company in Chicago, Illinois. The set consists of 330 unnumbered cards that were printed and issued yearly for nearly 2 decades. Because of this long print run many players have multiple cards printed.
Every card features a black-and-white action shot or portrait photo on the front and a majority of the print run is blank backed. The players’ names can be found in script somewhere on the front of each card as well. For this set the words “Made in the USA” or “Printed in the USA” can be found in the bottom right corner of every card, with slight variations in the manner of printing these are the best tool to help better identify which year(s) the card may be from. The best tool for this identification is the KeyMan Collectibles page that has a Dating Chart created on it’s website.
The Card:
The Al Kaline Two Bat portrait is one of 2 cards of Mr. Tiger that can be found in the 1947-66 Exhibits set. The card itself is vertically oriented with Kaline in his home white uniform holding two bats out in front of him. A facsimile representation of his autograph can be found on the right side of the postcard, just above the Old English D of his uniform.
To the best of my ability, using the KeyMan dating chart, I estimate that this Exhibit example is early in Kaline’s career; either the 1957 or 1958 print run of the set.
The back of this card is blank, unlike it’s 1962 counterpart that can be found with either a red or black stat back.
The Player:
Bat: Right Throw: Right
Height: 6’2” Weight: 180lbs
Debut: 25 June 1953 Final: 2 October 1974
DOB: 19 December 1934 Death: 6 April 2020
If you are to believe Baseball-Reference Kaline was signed (at the age of 19) to a $25,000 bonus, however, the back of his rookie card indicates that it was a $35,000 signing. Kaline never played a game at the minor league level, instead, he joined the Tigers immediately after high school in 1953.
In 1973 Kaline became the third recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award. The award is given out to those who “Demonstrates the values Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente displayed in his commitment to community and understanding the value of helping others.” Al remains the only Detroit Tiger to have one the award, which has been awarded since 1971.
At the end of his career Kaline tallied 3,007 hits, 1,622 runs scored, 1,582 RBI, 399 homeruns and a .297 batting average. Kaline also became the youngest batting champion ever in 1955, beating out fellow Tiger Ty Cobb by one day in age. While Kaline’s career numbers make not be eye popping, only having managed three 100 RBI seasons one 200 hit season and no seasons with 30 homeruns, his numbers are extremely impressive seeing that he played during the second dead ball era (1963-76).
Notable Achievements:
· 15x AL All-Star (1955-87, 1971 & 1974)
· 10x Gold Glove Winner (1957-59 & 1961-67)
· AL Batting Average Leaders (1955)
· AL Slugging Percentage Leader (1959)
· AL OPS Leader (1959)
· AL Hits Leader (1955)
· AL Total Bases Leader (1955)
· AL Doubles Leader (1961)
· 20-Homerun Seasons: 9 (1955-57, 1959, 1962-63, 1966-67 & 1969)
· 100 RBI Seasons: 3 (1955-56 & 1963)
· 200 Hit Seasons: 1 (1955)
· ROY Voting: 3rd Place (1954)
· Top-10 MVP Vote Finish: 9 (1955-57, 1959, 1961-63, & 1966-67)
· World Series Champion (Detroit, 1968)
· Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1980 (Became 10th player to be elected to HOF in first year on ballot)
Population and Sales:
PSA has 13,255 graded examples of the Exhibits set. Of this population, only a mere 71 of the Two Bat portraits have been graded; accounting for only 0.5% of the total population. There are 56 examples of whole grades, 13 with “+” (or half grades) and 2 that have a qualifier attached to them. The card from my Personal Collection has been graded PSA 5.5 and has a population of just 5 with 37 higher examples.
Population Report
The current VCP for a PSA 5.5 is $16, however, this is extremely out of date. There are only two “recent” sales that can be found on Vintage Card Prices website; one from 2012 ($29.25) and another from 2013 ($16.00).
As you can see below, it’s rather difficult to assign a value/price to any Kaline Exhibits piece due to a low overall population. According to PSA the sale prices have ranged from $9 for a PSA 3 (VG) up to $368 for a PSA 9 (MINT).
Auction Prices Realized Chart
Work Cited
“1947-1966 Exhibit Baseball Card Checklist.” 1947-1966 Exhibit Baseball Card Checklist, http://keymancollectibles.com/baseballcards/exhibit/19471966exhibitbaseballcards.htm.
“Al Kaline Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More.” Baseball, https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kalinal01.shtml.
“Al Kaline.” Al Kaline - BR Bullpen, https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Al_Kaline.
Baseball Cards - 1947-1966 Exhibits | PSA CardFacts®. https://www.psacard.com/cardfacts/baseball-cards/1947-1966-exhibits/987.
“Exhibit Supply Company Dating Chart.” Exhibit Baseball Card Dating, http://keymancollectibles.com/exhibitdatechart.htm.