1948 Leaf Baseball Card Set Guide
Set Description
1948 Leaf was a landmark set. It was the 1st colorized post-World War 2 baseball card set, and really helped ring in what is now known as "post-war" cards. The Leaf company, of Chicago, released this 98 card set. It is recognized as one of the best and most difficult sets to collect. Each card has either a close up portrait or action shot of the player with bright and vibrant color detail complete with a vivid solid color background. The backs contain the card # and player's name in large font, along with a biography and advertisement for Leaf at the bottom. Some contain copyright 1948, while others do not. It is widely believed that despite the 1948 copyright, the set itself was not released until 1949. Centering can be a major issue with this set, along with colors not matching up correctly. As a result, hazy images are quite common. The set can be extremely difficult to collect, as almost half the set consists of short prints. The card numbering is also strange, as the card #s range from 1-168, but there are only 98 total cards. The set was skip numbered, more than likely to encourage kids to keep buying packs. The set includes major rookies and Hall of Famers. The key cards in the set are rookies of Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige, and Stan Musial. There are also cards of Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, and Bob Feller. Short prints of commons regularly sell for hundreds of dollars.
Set Information
Manufacturer: Leaf
Year: 1948
Cards in Set: 98
Card Size: 2-3/8" x 2-7/8"
Series
Series 1: 1-168
Notes
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The set is skip numbered. Although the set #s range from 1-168, only 98 different cards were actually printed
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49 cards in the set were extremely short printed. They are scattered throughout the set
Key Rookie Cards
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Stan Musial (#4)
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Satchel Paige (#8)
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Phil Rizzuto (#11)
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Warren Spahn (#32)
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Ted Kluszewski (#38)
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Jackie Robinson (#79)
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Hal Newhouser (#98)
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George Kell (#120)
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Enos Slaughter (#127)
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Larry Doby (#138)
Errors and Variations
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No significant errors/variations
Key Cards/Hall of Famers
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Joe DiMaggio (#1)
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Babe ruth (#3)
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Ted Williams (#76)
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Bob Feller (#93)
Subsets
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None
1948 Leaf Baseball Checklist
1 Joe DiMaggio - New York Yankees
3 Babe Ruth - New York Yankees
4 Stan Musial - St. Louis Cardinals
5 Virgil Trucks - Detroit Tigers RC SP
8 Satchel Paige - Cleveland Indians RC SP
10 Paul Trout - Detroit Tigers
11 Phil Rizzuto - New York Yankees RC
13 Casimer Michaels - Chicago White Sox RC SP
14 Billy Johnson - New York Yankees
17 Frank Overmire - Detroit Tigers RC
19 John Wyrostek - Cincinnati Reds SP
20 Hank Sauer - Cincinnati Reds SP
22 Al Evans - Washington Senators RC
26 Sam Chapman - Philadelphia Athletics
27 Mickey Harris - Boston Red Sox RC
28 Jim Hegan - Cleveland Indians RC
29 Elmer Valo - Philadelphia Athletics RC
30 Bill Goodman - Boston Red Sox RC SP
31 Lou Brissie - Philadelphia Athletics RC
32 Warren Spahn - Boston Braves
33 Harry Lowrey - Chicago Cubs RC SP
36 Al Zarilla - St. Louis Browns SP
38 Ted Kluszewski - Cincinnati Reds RC
39 Ewell Blackwell - Cincinnati Reds RC
42 Kent Peterson - Cincinnati Reds RC
43 Eddie Stevens - Pittsburgh Pirates RC SP
45 Ken Keltner - Cleveland Indians RC SP
46 Johnny Mize - New York Giants RC
47 George Vico - Detroit Tigers RC
48 Johnny Schmitz - Chicago Cubs RC SP
49 Del Ennis - Philadelphia Phillies RC
50 Dick Wakefield - Detroit Tigers RC
51 Alvin Dark - Boston Braves RC SP
53 John Vander Meer - Cincinnati Reds
54 Bobby Adams - Cincinnati Reds RC SP
55 Tommy Henrich - New York Yankees SP
56 Larry Jansen - New York Giants
57 Bob McCall - Chicago Cubs RC
59 Lucius Appling - Chicago White Sox
61 Jake Early - Washington Senators RC
62 Eddie Joost - Philadelphia Athletics SP
63 Barney McCosky - Philadelphia Athletics SP
65 Bob Elliott - Boston Braves RC
66 Orval Grove - Chicago White Sox RC SP
68 Ed Miller - Philadelphia Phillies SP
70 John Wagner - Pittsburgh Pirates
72 Hank Edwards - Cleveland Indians RC
73 Pat Seerey - Chicago White Sox RC
75 Dom DiMaggio - Boston Red Sox SP
76 Ted Williams - Boston Red Sox
77 Roy Smalley - Chicago Cubs RC
78 Walter Evers - Detroit Tigers RC SP
79 Jackie Robinson - Brooklyn Dodgers RC
81 George Kurowski - St. Louis Cardinals RC SP
82 Johnny Lindell - New York Yankees RC
83 Bobby Doerr - Boston Red Sox
84 Sid Hudson - Washington Senators
85 Dave Philley - Chicago White Sox RC SP
86 Ralph Weigel - Chicago White Sox RC
88 Frank Gustine - Chicago Cubs RC SP
91 Ralph Kiner - Pittsburgh Pirates RC
93 Bob Feller - Cleveland Indians RC SP
95 George Stirnweiss - New York Yankees
97 Marty Marion - St. Louis Cardinals
98 Hal Newhouser - Detroit Tigers RC SP
102 Gene Hermanski - Brooklyn Dodgers RC
104 Edward Stewart - Washington Senators RC SP
106 Lou Boudreau - Cleveland Indians RC
108 Matthew Batts - Boston Red Sox RC SP
111 Gerald Priddy - St. Louis Browns RC
113 Emil Leonard - Chicago Cubs SP
117 Joe Gordon - Cleveland Indians RC
120 George Kell - Detroit Tigers RC SP
121 John Pesky - Boston Red Sox RC SP
123 Clifford Fannin - St. Louis Browns RC SP
125 Andy Pafko - Chicago Cubs RC
127 Enos Slaughter - St. Louis Cardinals SP
128 Warren Rosar - Philadelphia Athletics RC
129 Kirby Higbe - Pittsburgh Pirates SP
131 Sid Gordon - New York Giants SP
133 Tommy Holmes - Boston Braves RC SP
136 Cliff Aberson - Chicago Cubs RC
137 Harry Walker - Chicago Cubs RC SP
138 Larry Doby - Cleveland Indians RC SP
139 Johnny Hopp - Pittsburgh Pirates RC
142 Danny Murtaugh - Pittsburgh Pirates RC SP
143 Dick Sisler - Philadelphia Phillies RC SP
144 Bob Dillinger - St. Louis Browns RC SP
146 Harold Reiser - Boston Braves SP RC
149 Henry Majeski - Philadelphia Athletics RC SP
153 Floyd Baker - Chicago White Sox RC SP
158 Harry Brecheen - St. Louis Cardinals RC SP
159 Mizell Platt - St. Louis Browns RC
160 Bob Scheffing - Chicago Cubs RC SP
161 Vernon Stephens - Boston Red Sox RC SP
163 Freddy Hutchinson - Detroit Tigers RC SP
165 Dale Mitchell - Cleveland Indians RC SP
168 Phil Cavarretta - Chicago Cubs RC SP