
Front

Back
Fast Facts
Year(s) Issued: 1928
Set Designation: W502
Number Cards: 60
Card Size: 1-3/8" x 2-1/2"
Common Card Value (Good Condition): $20
Scarcity Rating: (1 to 10, 10 scarcest): 7
W502 Strip Card Set
Keys For Collectors
W502 Strip Cards- The Backs Play A Game, But What Were They Playing?
The 1928 W502 Strip Card set, like most other pre-war strip card issues was released by an anonymous issuer.
The majority of strip cards from the '20s and '30s were released with blank backs.
However the W502 set has a bit of a different twist.
Cataloged as 'Baseball Photos', with 'Game on Back' by Jefferson Burdick in the American Card Catalog, the consensus is that the W502 cards were a part of some sort of game, even possibly with some sort of trade in program.
While most W502 issues were issued with a blank back, some were issued with ink writing on the back of the card.
Here are all of the known printed card backs:

One Bagger W502 Back

One Bagger - Hold What You Got back W502 Back

Home Run - Return To Storekeeper W502 Back

Three Bagger Return For Sponge Baseball W502 BAck

Three Bagger W502 Back

Two Bagger W502 Back
The problem here is that we really don't have a definitive answer as to what the writing on the back meant.
It sure seems that there was some sort of prize exchange, given the text on some backs that says 'Return to Storekeeper and Exchange for a Sponge Base Ball' or 'Base Ball'.
Wonder if any kids traded in their Cobb or Ruth cards for a sponge base ball?
One interesting note is that the writing on the back is not consistent and has varying directions, making the number of back variations quite large.
In addition, there is a very closely related 1931 W502 Set, which is similar in size (60 cards) but with 19 different cards in the set. This excellent writeup on the Old Cardboard website discusses the differences between the 1928 and 1931 W502 sets.
W502 Cards for Sale on eBay
1928 W502 Bob O'Farrell #12 SGC 2 New York Giants Rare!!
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1928 W502 Joe Harris #51 SGC 5.5 Pittsburgh Pirates Rare!! Nice!!
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1928 W502 EPPA RIXEY SGC 40 Very Good Univ Virginia Philadelphia Phillies @TB4
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1928 W502 STRIP CARD #38 SAM JONES SGC 7 *DS13812
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1928 W502 STRIP CARD #55 ED. ROMMEL SGC 6 *DS13811
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1928 W502 #5 Gabby Hartnett Cubs NICE!! HOF SGC 6 !! Beautiful Card
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1923 W502 **JOHN MCGRAW** SGC 4 (HOF) *EARLY ERA* BASEBALL CHAMPION (ONE BAGGER)
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1923 W502 *JOHN MCGRAW* PSA 4 (HOF) **RARE** HOLD WHAT YOU GOT (ONE BAGGER BACK)
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1931 W502 #19 Bill Terry PSA 6 New York Giants HOF
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PSA 2 1928 W502 Paul Waner Hand Cut One Bagger Pittsburgh pirates
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1951 Mickey Mantle August 1951 Baseball Magazine- N.Y. Yankees HOFer and GOAT
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1928 W502 Waite Hoyt - VG-EX
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1928 W502 Strip Card - Sam Rice - Washington Senators HOF Hall of Fame
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1928 W502 Ty Cobb Hand Cut Blank Back PSA 2.5 Detroit Tigers
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1928 W502 #27 Ty Cobb PSA 7 Rare Vintage Baseball Card HOF Detroit Tigers Graded
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1928 Game Back Strip Cards W502 Rogers Hornsby (Blank Back) #13 PSA 5 HOF
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1928 W502 #16 Eppa Rixey HOF SGC 5 EX 74046
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High Grade 1928 w502 Babe Ruth SGC 6.5 PSA Pop 1, ONLY 2 Graded Higher
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1928 W502 #55 Ed Rommel Graded SCG 1.5 Fair 20
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1928 W502 #46 Bill Terry New York Giants Baseball Card Blank back Variation
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