Bob Lemke’s “Cards That Never Were” Estate Inventory (235)

Bidding

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/18/2019

Former SCD publisher and Standard Catalog Editor Bob Lemke produced literally hundreds of “Cards That Never Were” during his fabled career at Sports Collectors Digest and after his retirement. With a roster that includes the likes of Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Warren Spahn and Duke Snider, and football luminaries that include Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre, Joe Namath and Frank Gifford, plus spectacular non-sport offerings, Lemke’s creations are a worthy legacy for a hobby pioneer of unmatched credentials. Offered here are the last remaining cards from his inventory consigned by his estate, wonderfully unique cards utilizing literally dozens of vintage design styles from Topps and Bowman to the lesser-known regionals and food issues, tapping into his vast research of rare photography to produce each gem. Perhaps Lemke’s favorite component to this epic undertaking was his “Extension Set” to the popular 1955 Topps All-America football issue; he “added” a total of 175 cards to the set, with each and every card handmade, one at a time. Here’s the lineup of the entire remaining inventory: Baseball (103): 1909 T206 Style Cards With Tuxedo Backs (10) - Walter Johnson (5), Mathewson, McGraw (4, one is blank backed); 1912 T202 Triple Folder with Honus Wagner and Carey (2); Lorillard’s Tiger Fine Cut Ty Cobb (3); 1934 Goudey Henry Oana (4); 1936 Diamond Stars Ruth (2); 1940 Play Ball (5) - Rudy York (4) and Rizzuto; 1941 Play Ball - Rudy York (5); 1951 Bowman Satchel Paige (2); 1953 Topps Quincy Trouppe; 1953 Johnston Cookies Jay; 1954 Topps - Adcock (3); 1955 Topps (11) -Adcock (3), Ashburn, Thomson, Grimm (4), Crowe, Logan; 1955 Bowman George Crowe (2); 1957 Topps Hazle; 1958 Topps (3) - Bouchee, John DeMerit and Newcombe/Antonelli dual card; 1959 Topps (8) - Rudy York (three Yellow Background, four Green Background), Bob Taylor; 1961 Post Cereal (6) - Frank Howard and Jim Kaat (5, two variations, four and one); 1963 Post Cereal (13) - Belinsky (3), Uecker (4), Umbricht (2), Duke Snider (2), Bouton and Gibbs; 1963 Topps Tom Brown (2); 1965 Topps Tony Horton; 1967 Topps Tony Horton; 1968 Topps Steve Chilcott; 1969 Topps Spahn; 1971 Topps Spahn; 1972 Topps Doby; 1974 O-Pee-Chee Gary Carter; 1977 Topps (3) - Reggie Jackson (Orioles, 2) and Dick Allen; 1978 Topps Colavito (2); 1985 Topps (2) - Will Clark (Olympics) and Barry Larkin (Olympics); and 1986 Topps (5) Roberto Clemente Jr.; Football (95): 1951 Bowman Small (4) - Shula (2) and Favre SMU (2); 1952 Bowman Large (5) - Favre, McCluster, Polamalu and Manziel (2); 1955 Bowman - McGee; 1961 Fleer – Tolar; 1965 Philadelphia Gum Bucky Pope (5); 1965 Topps Wahoo McDaniel (2); 1969 Topps Winston Hill (3): 1972 Topps (4) - Rich Kotite (2) and Matt Snell (2); 1972 O-Pee-Chee Carl Weathers; and 1977 Topps Namath. 1955 Topps All-American Extension Set (68) (Bob’s numbering is included in this listing) – No. 105 Ricky Williams, 118 Archie Manning, 121 Brian Bosworth (2), 126 Maurice Clarett, 135 Biakabutuka, 153 Dwayne Johnson (2), 166 Tomlinson, 175 Don Meredith (2, two variations), 217 Harry Agganis, 221 Gabriel, 222 Rocky Bleier, 226 Guy (3), 231 Fridge Perry (2), 231 Aaron Rodgers (4), 233 Michael Oher (2), 247 Herbstreit (8), 252 Phil Robertson, 256 Wilmeth Sidat-Singh, 262 Brian Stann, 262 Parilli (2), 263 Brian Piccolo (4), 263 Donny Anderson, 264 Jameis Winston (3), 265 Montee Ball, 266 Brian Piccolo (2), 267 Pat O'Dea (2), 268 Melvin Gordon (2), 269 Tim Davis (3), 270 Frank Gifford (4), 271 Mike Tomlin, 272 Aaron Rodgers (2), 274 Dak Prescott (2) and 275 Keenan Reynolds (2). Non-sport Cards (37): World on Wheels (2) - American Moto-Scoot and Vincent Black Shadow (3); Spins and Needles Robbins (2); Civil War News (2) - Death at 1,000 Yards and Victory Parade; Flags of the World (10) - Alaska (3), Hawaii (3) and Puerto Rico (4); Ships and Trains (8) -U.S.S. Indianapolis (2), Queen Anne’s Revenge, Monitor, CSS Virginia and (3) different Titanics; and (9) different locomotives.