I watched the Tigers win the World Series in 1984. I watched the Cubs win in 2016. And that is the entirety of my knowledge and experience with baseball.
However, I love a subset within View-Master collecting, and I recently completed one: I got every packet about baseball that exists (that I know of).
I thought it might be fun to highlight this subset for those who have a genuine passion for the sport (or who are just huge nerds like me). So, let’s dig in!
In 1953, View-Master released Baseball Stars of the Major Leagues, featuring photos of high-profile American and National League players. The reels were sold as either three individual reels (numbered 725, 726, and 727) or as a three-reel packet. Each reel had a booklet with a short bio on each player and some recent stats.
Since these reels cut across several teams, I thought it would be helpful to know who is pictured.
Reel 725
Al Rosen, Cleveland Indians
Phil Rizzuto, NY Yankees
Jackie Jensen, Washington Senators
Preacher Roe, Brooklyn Dodgers
Whitey Lockman, NY Giants
Minnie Minoso, Chicago White Sox
Yogi Berra, NY Yankees
Reel 726
Johnny Mize, NY Yankees
Bob Lemon, Cleveland Indians
Al Schoendienst, St. Louis Cardinals
Ferris Fain, Chicago White Sox
Monte Irvin, NY Giants
Bob Shantz, Philadelphia Athletics
Sid Gordon, Milwaukee Braves
Reel 727
Bob Thomson, NY Giants
Grady Hatton, Cincinnati Reds
Vic Wertz, St. Louis Browns
Mel Parnell, Boston Red Sox
Gene Woodling, NY Yankees
Sal Maglie, NY Giants
Roy Campanella, Brooklyn Dodgers
I learned a lot by looking up each player! And that’s what I love about View-Master: I learn about so many random people, places, and things.
It would be nearly 20 years before View-Master went back to the major leagues, when, in 1970, View-Master released its Dimensional Learning Series, a mini collection totaling nine packets. Each packet offered 3D photos of sports pros with tips on how to improve your game. Instructional Baseball (B953) featured the World Championship NY Mets Gary Gentry, Cleon Jones, and Bud Harrelson.
It was yet another decade before View-Master tackled baseball again. In 1981, View-Master released five Major League Baseball sets. Each featured the same packet design but the reels inside were specific to the teams. These included (with their packet numbers):
Houston Astros (L18)
Featuring Alan Ashby, Terry Puhl, Ken Forsch, Denny Walling and others
Philadelphia Phillies (L19)
Featuring Garry Maddox, Manny Trillo, Mike Schmidt, Greg Luzinski, Pete Rose, Scott Munninghof, Larry Christenson, and others
New York Yankees (L20)
Featuring Eric Soderholm, Mike Griffin, Ron Davis, Tim Spencer, Bucky Dent, Willie Randolph, Tommy John, Rupert Jones, Dennis Werth, Bob Watson, and others
Minnesota Twins (L22)
Ron Jackson, Rob Wilfong, Danny Goodwin, Rick Sofield, Pete Mackanin, Roy Smalley, and others
Los Angeles Dodgers (L23)
Tommy Lasorda, Ron Cey, Bill Russell, Monty Basgall, Davey Lopes, Steve Yeager, Steve Garvey, Bob Welch, and others
A sixth packet, Baltimore Orioles (L21), was planned but never issued. However, test reels are known to exist, so there are a handful circulating in the wild. I don’t have a copy of those rare items, and I certainly never expect to (but I’d accept a set if you wanted to gift them to me).
Sadly, because of the year these were issued, all of the reels were printed on an unstable film stock, meaning the transparencies have a faded quality to them. However, if your family photos from the 1970s are anything like mine, you’re accustomed to faded images. If you can get past the fading, the 3D in these sets are great, and it looks like these were all filmed on the ground with a real stereo camera. There’s a great mix of photos in each packet that include the team’s mascot, action shots, and close ups of each team’s biggest players, coaches and managers. There are a lot of players swinging a bat in the direction of the camera in 3D, which is fun! I’m not too proud to admit that I enjoy a 3D gimmick.
Beyond the Leagues: For the true completists among us, here are a few more packets related to baseball:
The Little League World Series (B940) packet, part of the ABC Wide World of Sports series (another mini collection in itself!) takes viewers up close and personal with the kids and the action on the ground including a shot of Mickey Mantle signing autographs for the players.
Entertainment Titles and Tie-Ins
I will update this page on my site as any other View-Master baseball-related content is made known to me.
Be sure to ❤️ LIKE this post below if you made it this far!
Nice baseball reels!
Hey TODAY, 3/21 is National 3D Day! ( 3rd day of the 3rd week of the 3rd month).
https://la3dspace.wixsite.com/3-dspace/national-3-d-day
I so agree with you about loving View-Master because of how much one can learn about people, places and events! Topics I wouldn’t necessarily be interested in suddenly become fascinating… thanks for posting this fun guide to every baseball View-Master out there!