Elston Howard: A new PC

I don't intend for this blog to be Yankee-centric but I have had this post queued up for awhile. A few weeks ago I got this Elston Howard Panini card from a card show dealer's box of 25 or 50 cent cards (I forget which now). Panini stuff is hit-or-miss for me but I liked this one so I picked it up.

I've told this Elston Howard story previously over on my '59 Topps blog many moons ago:

He had opened Elston Howard Travel in my hometown of Nutley, New Jersey. When it opened my best friend and I would walk by daily hoping for a glimpse of a major leaguer. One day a woman waved us in to the offices and told us to come by that weekend. Sure enough Elston was there and he signed pictures for us. Probably my first in person autograph and definitely our first off the field encounter with an athlete.

I'm currently going through my boxes to find that photo. I know I have it as I've seen it within the last year or so. Back to this card...there are (of course!) 'hit' versions that I've seen on eBay which have bat pieces and such. Those do nothing for me.

I've always had a casual Howard collection. By 'casual' I mean that if I come across one of his cards that I think I need I buy it. No modern set cards but career era stuff from Topps, Post etc. Sometimes that leads to me having dupes because I'm too lazy to actually checklist my casual PCs like Ellie, Johnny Callison and Bob Moose. 

One of my favorites is this one from the '64 Topps Giants set. 

Before I get too deep into his cards here is a really cool (to me) piece I found on eBay and added to my collection. These type of key chain good luck pieces were popular back in the day. 

I'm posting an oversize shot of the back because it's a bit hard to read otherwise.

Here are a few more of my favorite Elston Howard cards from my binder:

1957 Topps. I love this card.

Both '62s, this All Star and regular cards:

And here are the three from the sets I've completed/blogged:

His 1958. A beauty.

His 1960 card...why they have him capless is a Topps mystery.

Finally his 1959. I've upgraded this one once so I have one for my PC binder but this one that fills the slot in my '59 set could still use an upgrade.

And just the other day some Twitter-ites were celebrating National Doughnut Day. A baseball related site posted this:

Elston is credited with inventing it. The Wikipedia page for this has some interesting insights as well as links to scientific studies that delve into whether or not it does what it is clams...increase bat speed.

Here is a pic of the back of the box I found on the net.

And finally a variation of the box. Due to that '59 Topps card I associate Ellie and the color light blue. This box therefore is cooler.

Yet another box variation. This one has a red doughnut.which I don't think is what originally came in the box.

Mark Hoyle is another Howard collector based on Howard's contributions to the Impossible Dream Red Sox in 1967.  Every once in awhile Mark rides his Segway through the 20-acre warehouse that houses his collection and returns with a Howard piece to post on Twitter. His collection puts my PC to shame!  But I'll keep digging though.