1943 m.p. Co. - Feller, Ott, and Cooper

This M.P. & Co. set is interesting for a few reasons. One, it is the only set (that I know of) that was made during WWII. Two, it is very poorly done. And Three, they made another set six years later but kept all the artwork of the '43 set, swapping out the names in the baseball, the names on the jerseys, and the player info on the back. Why would they try again with these hideous monstrosities 6 years later? This is a very affordable set to get into and it has a lot of stars.

The cards came in strips. This was not uncommon back in the day. I suppose stores would give them away or included them with purchases. Or perhaps they sold them as is. The idea would be to cut them into individual pieces at your own convenience. I believe the strips were originally quite long (9 or more cards). I picked this one off of ebay for a few dollars. It has been cut down, but obviously not all the way down. Pictured, if you can call it that, are HOFers Bob Feller and Mel Ott. Also included is Cardinals catcher W. Cooper. Bob Feller was from a town outside of Des Moines called Van Meter. I visiter the Bob Feller museum and gift shop when I lived there (as did world-traveling Buck Herzog). This Bob Feller card may hold the record for most names - "Bobby" on the front, "Robert William Andrew Feller," "Bob," and the "Cleveland Cannonball" on the back.