Did you happen to see that last week on Ebay a Mickey Mantle Big League Stars card with no plastic bubble sold for almost $500? It's accompanying statue sold for almost $300. It was perfect timing for this week's feature on the Dairy Queen & Big League Stars article below. I hope you guys enjoy it.

We implore you all to participate in this Blog. If you have a sports memorabilia expertise, we would love to hear from you. If you have any questions about memorabilia, perhaps  our readers can help. Just drop us an email. This Blog was initiated for you- so try to take advantage of it.

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DAIRY QUEEN & BIG LEAGUE STARS STATUES

In the mid 50's, baseball took a big jump in popularity. With World War II being a passing memory and the advent of television, more and more fans became interested in Our National Pastime.  Baseball card companies Bowman & Topps took full advantage of this growing craze by issuing yearly series of baseball cards. But two other companies (Dairy Queen & Big League Stars) also tried to cash in by issuing a series of 18 small plastic baseball players statues in 1956.

Both these companies issued the same 18 players (see list below) and used the same mold. There were 9 American League and 9 National League players made. There are a few differences. The Dairy Queen statues are all completely white, while the Big League Stars are all painted gold. It is widely speculated that the Dairy Queen franchise used these statues as a premium for their customers. They were not packaged. Big League Star statues were sold in retail shops.  They came with an attached baseball card with a plastic bubble holding the statue in place. The header card came with an easel back for display purposes. The statues are small in stature measuring up to 3 inches tall. All came on a base with the players name embossed in front. They were all posed differently either batting, fielding, pitching or in the case of Mickey Mantle- bunting.

If you go to any baseball card or memorabilia show, you will be lucky to see a handful of these statues and cards. Most dealers have little or no knowledge of them. It has always been our opinion that they are totally under-rated. Although they are some-what crude looking (especially compared to the Hartland baseball player series), they were the first real series of actual player statues in the Baby Boomer era. The more common players generally sell in the $50- $75 range. As with almost every card series of that time, the Mickey Mantle statue is the most desired and most expensive. These sets are a "blast" to  put together and will make a welcome addition to any figural collection.

LIST OF PLAYER STATUES MADE

John Antonelli

Bob Avilla

Yogi Berra

Roy Campanella

Larry Doby

Del Ennis

Jim Gilliam

Gil Hodges

Harvey Kuenn

Bob Lemon

Mickey Mantle

Ed Mathews

Minnie Minoso

Stan Musial

Pee Wee Reese

Al Rosen

Duke Snider

Mickey Vernon

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