Manufactured scarcity in baseball cards is not a recent idea concocted in the boardrooms of the modern hobby. Dating to 1923 with the Canadian V117 Maple Crispette release (Stengel), companies often shortprinted certain cards either to avoid giving away too many prizes or to encourage youngsters to keep “coming back for more.” While profits multiplied for the candy producers, frustrated consumers lamented their inability to complete their treasured bubble gum card series. Particularly during the depression era, candy companies often resorted to producing early “chase cards” to keep profits up. Noteworthy examples include: 1933 R300 George C. Miller Ivy Andrews, 1933 R306 Butter Cream Babe Ruth and 1932 R328 U.S. Caramel Freddie Lindstrom.

From 1933-1941, the Goudey Company on Boston, Massachusetts released several of the most acclaimed early gum sets. Advertised as a “series of 240 baseball stars,” the first mainstream issue of “Big League Chewing Gum” was released in 1933 and proved an instant hit among American youth and prospective set collectors, who hoarded “pictures” of their beloved heroes. Unfortunately, frenzied consumers were ultimately stymied in their attempt, as card #106 was nowhere to be found. As many of their contemporaries and predecessors, Goudey never actually printed card #106 in packages of their product. Perhaps becoming wise to the tactic, a handful of enterprising early hobbyists wrote letters complaining to the confectioner.

Released only to those who put “pen to paper” in 1934, Goudey curbed the outcry by producing a special #106 Napoleon Lajoie card, mailing copies to those who yearned to complete their sets. With a 1934 copyright on the reverse, #106 Lajoie was produced near the time frame as the Sport Kings series from the same year. Recognizing the scarcity of the Hall of Famer, early collectors dubbed #106 Lajoie as one of the “Big Three” along with the iconic T206 Plank and Wagner examples. Graded VG-EX 4 by PSA, the offered 1933 Goudey #106 Napoleon Lajoie is one of the most celebrated baseball cards in history. With a combined PSA and SGC population census of 99 (with deference to probable "cross over" exclusions), this mid-grade specimen is properly centered with mildly touched corners and edges. The portrait is framed by a lovely lime backdrop, and the biographical reverse is clean. Despite an approximately 3/4” wrinkle tracing from “Larry’s” right cheek to the middle edge and an additional indentation right of the neck, the card of this Rhode Island native still displays nicely. With a legacy that few sports cards can match, this museum-quality treasure is a standard bearer for collecting achievement.