1959 Home Run Derby Ernie Banks

Number of Cards

The 1959 Home Run Derby featured 20 cards, including 1 player from the Cubs.

Size of Cards

The set dimensions are somewhat larger. 3 1/4" x 5 1/4"

Basic Features

American Motors created promotional cards for the widely-loved Home Run Derby TV series, distributing them at auto dealerships. This corporate-sponsored show was filmed during the off-season and featured blank-backed black and white cards. Notably, nine of the featured sluggers later earned their place in the Hall of Fame. The series was shot over three weeks in December 1959 at Wrigley Field, a baseball park located in Los Angeles, California. The host, Mark Scott, frequently engaged in conversations with each player while their competitor was at bat.

The game featured simple rules: any contact led to either an out or a home run, meaning each batter had a total of 27 outs. The player with the highest number of home runs after nine innings would be crowned the winner. In the event of a tie at the conclusion of nine innings, the derby would continue into extra innings. The champion of the week's competition would earn $2,000 and receive an invitation to compete against a new player in the next week's episode. The runner-up would still receive a thousand dollars, which was quite a decent amount in those times.

To safeguard against acquiring a fake piece of history, always buy a professionally graded card from a reputable seller. These graded cards are likely to increase substantially in value as time goes on.

This collection was not widely popular, featured flimsy cardboard, and it is uncommon for someone to visit a dealership solely to collect baseball cards.

If you're interested, here are the episodes featuring Ernie Banks. I would love to own the house in left field! Just imagine how many baseballs you could collect from Hall of Fame players, along with a few autographs!

Home Run Derby S1-E2 Ernie Banks vs. Mickey Mantle Sat, Jan 16, 1960 Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs takes on last week's champion, Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees, in an exciting showdown between two titans for nine thrilling innings.





Home Run Derby S1-E23 Ernie Banks vs. Gil Hodges Ernie Banks from the Chicago Cubs goes head-to-head with last week's champion, Gil Hodges of the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was a tightly contested match, but Hall of Famer Ernie emerged victorious, claiming the 2000 prize.





Home Run Derby S01-E24 Jackie Jensen of the Boston Red Sox takes on last week's champion, Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs, in an electrifying showdown where both players smashed impressive home runs.