Wally Berger - 1933 Goudey #98
1933 Goudey #98 Wally Berger
No team banner: this card comes from Goudey's late-1933 press sheets 8-10, which dropped the team-name banner from the front design.
About Wally Berger
Wally Berger, born October 10, 1905, in Chicago and raised in San Francisco, broke into pro ball with Pocatello of the Utah-Idaho League in 1927 before the Boston Braves purchased his contract from the Los Angeles Angels. A right-handed-hitting center fielder, he debuted with Boston in 1930 and immediately set an NL rookie record with 38 home runs and 119 RBI, a mark that stood for 57 years. Berger anchored the Braves through 1936, made four straight All-Star Games (1933-1936), and led the league in 1935 with 34 homers and 130 RBI. In the 1933 season depicted on this card, he clubbed 27 home runs, finishing third in NL MVP voting, and his 190 career home runs as a Brave remain the Boston/Milwaukee-Atlanta franchise's all-time record, with 105 hit at Braves Field alone. Traded to the Giants for the 1937 World Series run, then to Cincinnati (1938-1940), he retired with a .300 average, 242 home runs, and 898 RBI over 11 seasons. He drew a handful of Hall of Fame votes but was never elected. Berger died November 30, 1988, in Redondo Beach, California.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · SABR
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 234 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 12 | 22 | 38 | 145 | 4 |
| SGC | 100 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 21 | 66 | 3 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-07-03. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8). PSA counts are straight-graded.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1933 Goudey Wally Berger card?
It is card #98 of the 1933 Goudey (R319) Baseball set - the 240-card, 2-3/8 by 2-7/8 inch color-art set issued in 1933 with Big League Chewing Gum. It pictures Wally Berger with the Boston Braves.
Why does this card have no team banner?
It comes from Goudey's late-1933 press sheets 8-10, which dropped the team-name banner from the front design - 72 cards in the set share the bannerless look.
Is the 1933 Goudey Wally Berger #98 a rookie card?
By modern catalog convention, yes. 1933 Goudey is treated as the hobby's first major nationally distributed gum set, so nearly every card in it carries the rookie-card (RC) designation - a modern label applied retroactively, since many of these players had earlier tobacco, caramel, or strip cards.
How many cards are in the 1933 Goudey set?
240 numbered cards, though collectors usually count 241 collectible cards because #6 Jimmy Dykes exists in an error and a corrected version. Only 239 numbers were in 1933 packs - #106 (Nap Lajoie) was printed in 1934 and issued by mail.
Sources: Trading Card Database, Baseball-Reference, PSA & SGC population reports, and hobby press-sheet research. Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-07-04.