c 1921-1923 UNIVERSAL TOY & NOVELTY CO. BASEBALL STRIP CARDS

I collected cards for over 45 years.  I was given this card to me by my great grandfather over 40 years ago.  I have been searching for years to determine if there are others out there. No one at any show could ever produce one that was similar or close. This may be one and only. I have had many offers over the years. But I could not part with this card. What do you think it is? Any help appreciated. 



This is an uncatalogued, 4 in 1 card, made for/by Universal Toy & Novelty Co out of Chicago, ILL. A 6 in 1 card has also been found. In 1925, Universal Toy & Novelty distributed catalogued (W504) team sets of strip cards of The Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Yankees, New York Giants and Washington Senators. This grouping of 4 in 1's, similar to the later 1935 Goudey 4 in 1's, is not listed in the Standard Catalog of Vintage Baseball Cards. 
At a minimum, Universal Toy put these cards in a "Universal Surprise Box" toy, which was full of little booklets, toys, actor strip cards and even a 4 in 1 card of boxers. It is entirely possible, of course, that Universal Toy distributed these cards in other fashions. 
SCG (Sportscard Guaranty) seems to be the only grading company that has validated and graded these examples. A graded, cut out, Ty Cobb is currently on E-bay listed for $300. There is no doubt that any examples of this group of cards are rare. 

Your sheet contains Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Dave Bancroft and Grover Cleveland Alexander. 
Other known produced players were: Babe Ruth, Zach Wheat, Tris Speaker, Ray Schalk, Lee Meadows, Steve O' Neil, Eddie Collins, Heine Groh and Rabbit Maranville. 

I have provided you a picture of the Universal Surprise Box and contents from net54baseball.com, a great forum site. 




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