1933 Butter Cream (R306)

One of the more scarce issues in the 1930s, the thirty card set originated from the Butter Cream Confectionery Corporation in Union City, New Jersey. The black and white cards measure only 1 ¼ x 3 ½ inches. Each card back held a contest where one could guess the player's final batting average and win a prize. The nature of the contest and any prizes have been unfortunately lost to time, as there is no mention of specific prizes on the card backs.

The cards themselves don't hold much of a curiosity, but the rarity of the issue, with only a handful of examples of each card, remain the allure of the set. The thirtieth card (Babe Ruth) wasn't rediscovered until 1989 and is so rare that a set can be considered complete at twenty-nine cards.

The White Sox have one card in the set.

- Ted Lyons

The set may not be much to look at with mostly poor grades available and miscut cards providing the bulk of examples, but that adds to the charm of the set. It is doubtful that anyone will ever find a gem mint complete set, but the thrill of the hunt and uncovering new examples of this rare set have collectors scrambling.

Cards That Never Were #61

2012 Topps - Rich Thompson

Rich's last licensed MLB card came in 2002, as a prospect for the Toronto Blue Jays. Since then, he made his MLB debut for the Kansas City Royals on April 7, 2004. Thompson only appeared in six games for the Royals before he was sent down to the minors, where he was on the cusp of being called back up many times, for many teams.

Patience paid off and Rich was called back up to the majors in 2012, as a part of the Tampa Bay Rays organization. It was here that Thompson had his greatest success in the majors, collecting his first hit on May 17, 2012 against the Boston Red Sox, eight years, one month and ten days after his MLB debut.

Thompson broke his foot in 2013, while fielding a ball, which ended his career. Despite spending time with the Royals in 2004 and the Rays in 2012, Rich only has a Royals Police issued card from 2006 and a handful of minor league cards after his Blue Jays prospect cards in 2002. In 2014, Thompson competed on season six of American Ninja Warrior.

RIP Robin Williams