“Football and Cricket Cards (Series 1)” (Battock)

Year of issue: 1923
Issued by: J.C. Battock
Trade reference number(s): BEV-1-2 / BAT-200
Number of cards in set: 109 known
Size: M (approx. 70mm x 57mm)
Approximate value (per card): Murrays unlisted; FCCM £65.00

These cards are really very, very rare, rarer than the elusive Baines cards of the late-Victorian/Edwardian period. Cards appeared with different backs although it’s not clear whether or not they all appeared as variations; it could be that each only ever appeared with one type of back. This set featured a heavy, dark typeface with a full stop after the team name. Carl Wilkes has identified them as a 1923 issue.

Then, in 2018 this photograph of an exceedingly rare album appeared in the pages of Football Card Collector Magazine (FCCM).BATTOCKS albumKnown backs in this series are:

BEV-1-2 BAT-200 back 1   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 back 4   BATTOCKS back variation   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 BATTOCK back 2

I have also seen this back online but cannot be certain that it comes from this series. It is a variation on the “skagging” game mentioned for use with BAINES cards:

BEV-1-2-BAT-200 back Cover Cards

Cards featured both cricket and football subjects although I am only dealing with the latter here. The backs declare that “there are 108 different cards” but 109 are known to exist. The publishers also played fast and loose with the shirt designs although they got the actual colours correct more often than not. It is also worth noting that that there are also variations for certain teams, particularly those in stripes (see Bradford and WBA for examples).

N.B. I am hugely grateful to Mark Hughesdon who has provided many of the images that you see here.

BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Aberdare   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Accrington   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Airdrieonians   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Arsenal   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Aston Villa   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Barnsley   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Birmingham   BEV-1-2-BAT-200 Blackburn   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Blackpool   BEV-1-2-BAT-200 Bolton   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Bradford variant   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Bradford   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Bradford City   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Brentford   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Bristol City   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 BATTOCK Burnley   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Bury   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Cardiff City   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Charlton Athletic   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Chelsea   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Chesterfield   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Clapton Orient  BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Clyde   BEV-1-2-BAT-200 Clydebank   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Coventry   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Crewe Alexandra   Bev-1-2 Bat-200 Darlington   BEV-1-2-BAT-200 Derby   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Doncaster Rovers   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Dundee   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Durham   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Edinburgh Hibernian   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Everton   BEV-1-2-BAT-200 Exeter   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Gillingham   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Glasgow Rangers   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Greenock Morton   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Halifax  BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Heart of Midlothian   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Huddersfield   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Hull City   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Kilmarnock   Bev-1-2 Bat-200 Luton Town   Bev-1-2 Bat-200 Manchester City   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Manchester Utd 1   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Merthyr   Bev-1-2 Bat-200 Millwall   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Motherwell   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Nelson   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 New Brighton   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Newcastle   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Northampton   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Norwich City   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Notts COunty   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Notts Forest   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Oldham   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Plymouth Argyle   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Port Vale   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Queens Park Rangers   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Raith Rovers   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Reading   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Rochdale   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Rotherham County   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Sheffield Utd   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Sheffield Wednesday   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 South Shields   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Southampton   Bev-1-2 Bat-200 Southampton   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Southport   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Stockport County   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Sunderland   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Swansea Town   BEV-1-2-BAT-200 Swindon   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Third Lanark   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Walsall   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 West Bromwich Albion 2   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 West Bromwich Albion   BEV-1-2-BAT-200 Wigan   BEV-1-2 BAT-200 Wolverhampton Wanderers.jpg

  • Aberdare
  • Aberdeen
  • Accrington
  • Airdrieonians – not included in CSGB Trade Card Index/Handbook
  • Arsenal
  • Ashington
  • Aston Villa
  • Ayr United – not included in CSGB Trade Card Index/Handbook
  • Barnsley
  • Barrow
  • Birmingham
  • Blackburn Rovers
  • Blackpool – not included in CSGB Trade Card Index/Handbook
  • Bolton Wanderers – not included in CSGB Trade Card Index/Handbook
  • Bournemouth & Boscombe
  • Bradford City
  • Bradford (Park Avenue)
  • Brentford
  • Brighton & Hove Albion
  • Bristol City – not included in CSGB Trade Card Index/Handbook
  • Bristol Rovers – not included in CSGB Trade Card Index/Handbook
  • Burnley
  • Bury
  • Cardiff City
  • Celtic
  • Charlton Athletic – not included in CSGB Trade Card Index/Handbook
  • Chelsea
  • Chesterfield
  • Clapton Orient
  • Clyde
  • Clydebank
  • Coventry City
  • Crewe Alexandra
  • Crystal Palace
  • Darlington
  • Derby County
  • Doncaster Rovers
  • Dundee
  • Durham City
  • Edinburgh Hibernian
  • Everton
  • Exeter City
  • Falkirk
  • Fulham – not included in CSGB Trade Card Index/Handbook
  • Gillingham
  • Glasgow Rangers
  • Greenock Morton
  • Grimsby Town – not included in CSGB Trade Card Index/Handbook
  • Halifax Town
  • Hamilton Academical
  • Hartlepool
  • Heart of Midlothian
  • Huddersfield Town – not included in CSGB Trade Card Index/Handbook
  • Hull City
  • Kilmarnock
  • Leeds United
  • Leicester City
  • Lincoln City
  • Liverpool
  • Luton Town
  • Manchester City
  • Manchester United
  • Merthyr Town
  • Middlesbrough
  • Millwall – not included in CSGB Trade Card Index/Handbook
  • Motherwell
  • Nelson
  • New Brighton
  • Newcastle United – not included in CSGB Trade Card Index/Handbook
  • Newport County
  • Northampton Town – not included in CSGB Trade Card Index/Handbook
  • Norwich City
  • Nottingham Forest – not included in CSGB Trade Card Index/Handbook
  • Notts County
  • Oldham Athletic
  • Partick Thistle
  • Plymouth Argyle
  • Port Vale
  • Portsmouth
  • Preston North End
  • Queen’s Park
  • Queens Park Rangers
  • Raith Rovers
  • Reading
  • Rochdale
  • Rotherham County
  • Sheffield United
  • Sheffield Wednesday
  • South Shields – not included in CSGB Trade Card Index/Handbook
  • Southampton
  • Southend United
  • Southport
  • St. Mirren – not included in CSGB Trade Card Index/Handbook
  • Stockport County
  • Stoke
  • Sunderland
  • Swansea Town – not included in CSGB Trade Card Index/Handbook
  • Swindon Town
  • The Wednesday
  • Third Lanark
  • Tottenham Hotspur
  • Tranmere Rovers
  • Walsall
  • Watford
  • West Bromwich Albion
  • West Ham United
  • Wigan Borough
  • Wolverhampton Wanderers – not included in CSGB Trade Card Index/Handbook
  • Wrexham

Many of these images are from eBay and are of very poor quality – can YOU send me better ones, please?