Early Batman Stars Discovered in Rare Amusement Park Card Set
1954 Pike Pier Long Beach Actors Arcade Card
Size: 3 3/8” x 5 ½”
Blank Back
Glossy photo print on heavy photo paper
Facsimile autograph
Number in set: 146
As a collector of vintage Batman related vintage cards, I recently uncovered two cards of actors from the franchise. First was Robert Lowery, the star of the 1949 serial playing the title role of Batman. The second card of interest is J. Carol Naish. Before Heath Ledger, Danny DeVito, or Frank Gorshin, character actor J. Carrol Naish played Batman’s first onscreen archvillain.
The cards measure a standard size 3 3/8” x 5 ½” and are printed on heavy, glossy photo paper with a blank back. The actor’s facsimile signature appears in either black or white on each card. With a little bit of research and speaking to an online vendor that was selling the known inventory, these cards were determined to have been sold at the Pike Pier Long Beach Amusement Park.
The Pike, in Long Beach, CA since 1902, had its beginning as a beach and bath house resort. It was located at the end of the very fashionable red car electric line from Los Angeles. Crowds came from all parts of the country to enjoy the beautiful beaches and bath house and pool. This area gradually grew into a real old-fashioned amusement park with fun and games and thrill rides that fit every age group. As the years passed, the park kept pace with new and modern rides including a brand-new cyclone racer. But it still retained its old-fashioned air of the country carnival with fun for all, and no admission fee.
Imagine going to Disneyland at the beach, and it’s free to get in and has no lines. The Pike was like that and much more in its time. When the silent film industry started in the 1900’s, The Pike built eight theaters to show the films. When ballroom dancing became popular, The Pike had many ballrooms from which to choose. Whether it was your childhood memory or your first date, those lucky enough to have visited it will always remember The Pike.
I have interviewed the original seller who controlled the entire known inventory and confirms this is the complete list of stars that he discovered in the find. He also verified that this was the remaining inventory from the Pike Pier Long Beach Amusement Park and was adamant of the cards origin. I have been tracking this set for nearly three years and have found zero cards being offered by any other seller. Therefore, I am confident that the origin can be attributed to Pike Pier and the inventory was controlled by a single person. To further document the set, a photographic archive was created of each card. Being so close to Hollywood, it makes sense that movie related subjects would be highly collected by the parks visitors. Amusement parks were known to have arcade machines which dispensed arcade, fortune, and weight cards. 1954 The Pike is listed as one of the five largest amusement zones in the country, with 218 concessions. Due to the size, organization, and commerce associated with this venue, it makes sense that the park would produce its own line of cards and not use more costly alternates offered by more mainstream and established vendors.
To determine the date of 1954 circa, I reached out to non sport card expert Troy Kirk. He replied,
“There is only one card featuring two performers, the card of Bill Elliott and Virginia Grey. Those two were in one film together, “The Forty-Niners,” which was released in May of 1954. This set was probably issued in 1954 or 1955.” For the checklist on his website, www.moviecards.com , Troy dated the set to 1954.
Although not issued in costume and there is no mention of the Batman movie, this set is very important to the history of the Batman/Super Hero genre as it contains Lowery, the 2nd on screen Batman, and Naish, the 1st on screen villain.
Checklist (146)
John Agar
Robert Alda
Ben Alexander
Keith Andres
Eddie Arnold
Robert Arthur
Roy Barcroft
Jess Barker
Lex Barker
Freddie Bartholomew
John Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore
Richard Basehart
Scotty Beckett
Noah Beery Jr.
Tom Bennett
Lyle Bettger
William Bishop
Bobby Blake
Ben Blue
Lee Bowman
Charles Boyer
Eddie Bracken
Keefe Brasselle
David Brian
Rand Brooks
John Brown
Richard Burton
Rod Cameron
William Campbell
Larry Carr
Jack Carson
Gower Champion
William Ching
Lee Cobb
Tom Conway
Ben Cooper
Wendell Corey
Joseph Cotton
Jerome Courtland
James Craig
Alan Curtis
Helmet Dantine
Dan De Fore
Richard Denning
Al Dexter
Arturo de Cordova
John Derek
John Ericson
Tom Drake
Dave Duryea
Richard Egan
William Eythe
Jose Ferrer
Mel Ferrer
Peter Finch
Eddie Fisher
Scott Forbes
Doug Fowley
John Forsythe
Arthur Franz
Leo Genn
Race Gentry
Arthur Godfrey
Stewart Granger
Kirby Grant
Gary Gray
Richard Greene
Lloyd Gough
Ron Hagerthy
Monte Hale
Louis Hayword
Rex Harrison
Richard Hart
Van Heflin
Paul Heinreid
Dan O’ Herlihy
Craig Hill
Earl Holliman
Tim Holt
Skippy Homeier
John Hudson
Ross Hunter
John Ireland
Claude Jarman Jr.
Louis Jourdin
Allan Jones
Dick Jones
Johnny Johnston
Paul Kelly
Keith Larson
Maurice Lawrence
Sam Levene
Howard Keel
Patrick Knowles
Mickey Knox
Al “Lash” LaRue
Robert Lowery
Gordon MacRae
Eddie Mayehoff
Dewey Martin
Lon McAllister
Charles McGraw
Ralph Meeker
Lauritz Melchoir
Cameron Mitchell
Vaughn Monroe
Tom Morton
Henry Morgan
George Murphy
J Carroll Naish
Alex Nicole
Bob Nolan
Dennis O’ Keffe
Larry Parks
Robert Preston
William Prince
Anthony Quinn
Ron Randell
Phil Regan
Michael Rennie
Jeff Richards
Bob Shannon
Jack Sernas
Michael Shea
Charles Starrett
Robert Sterling
Paul Stewart
Robert Strauss
Barry Sullivan
Don Taylor
Richard Todd
Carlos Thompson
Marshall Thompson
Bobby Van
Clint Walker
Joey Walsh
David Wayne
Clifton Webb
Jack Webb
Richard Widmark
George Winslow
Billy Williams
Alan Young
Gig Young
Bill Elliott/Virginia Grey