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Since this resulted in a fairly productive discourse in a recent thread, I thougth this would be a good time to start a broader thread about the subject of trading cards that were printed in newspapers, with the intent to be cut out and collected.  For starters, here is a blog post I did several years ago on the subject.  I present this mainly as a starting point as it lists a variety of this kind of set from the last 100 years or so.

Clyde's Stale Cards: Baseball "cards" in Newspapers (clydes-stalecards.blogspot.com)

I raise this issue because all of these "sets" are not created equal.  Some are very specifically referred to as "cards", while others are "scrapbook" pages.  And then there are the 1936 "Sport(s) Stamps" that were included with several Hearst papers across the country. 

I have already added the checklist for the 1978 Burlington Free Press and the 1983-1985 Wichita Eagle Beacon. Most of the Chicago Tribune sets are already here, as well.

I think there probably need to be very specific critera these types of issues should meet to be considered for inclusion, but would love to hear some other opinions.  Here are my suggestions:

- must be intended to be cut out of the paper and saved

- must be part of a coherent series, not just random one-offs

...and I guess I don't really have any other specific suggestions.  I would not included generic art pieces (like the Sords Points from my blog post), photos or cartoons.  There needs to be very specific intent on the part of the publisher that what is being presented is a series of collectibles.  I don't know that there is necessarily any difference between items described in the paper as a "card" vs items described as scrapbook (Reds Scrapbooks from the Cincinnati Enquirer) or album pieces (Pittsburg Post-Gazette Pirate Albums).

For instance, I don't think I would consider the 1938 Anniston Star Anniston Rams series of portraits for inclusion.  No mention was made of collecting them, they were just a series of sponsored advertisements intended to introduce the players from the 1938 Rams roster.

Clyde's Stale Cards: Hobby Archaeology: 1938 Anniston Star Anniston Rams (clydes-stalecards.blogspot.com)

I would say this discussion should be limited to things to be cut out of the papers, and not items that were simply included with papers, as there have been cards, schedules featuring players and photos included as premiums, that are their own separate items.  Most of those are already included.

Thoughts?

I just discovered another minor league newspaper set.  In 1992, the Louisville Courier-Journal issued on every Wednesday that was a Redbirds home game from April 22 - September 2.  Looks like there were also sets in 1990 & 1991.

I agree with your original post and more specifically your rationale for inclusion of the items you named.  Looking forward to seeing the Redbirds set on your blog. 

I have added some soccer 'cards' from the 1920's and 30's which were specifically designed to be cut-out i.e. they have blank backs and there were albums that could be bought to stick them in.  These sets should be included but, ones that are simply pictures which have been cut-out shouldn't be included.

Do you know what paper(s) they were from?  Newspapers.com has added a lot of English papers this year, so if you don't have a complete checklist, we might be able to pull one together.