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).Known backs in this series are:
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:
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.
- 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?