Billy Pierce '13 Heritage

I picked up a couple of Billy Pierce items over the course of the last month. But I can't access the scan of the 2nd one at the moment so I'll save it for another post.

I debated with myself over picking this one up. It's a 2013 signed 'Certified' Heritage in the '64 style. I actually had to check to see if I had one because it seemed familiar (even outside the obvious ' '64 Topps' aspect of being familiar).

Turns out I had a different version of the same card, one signed in red (oh my!!) and numbered by hand (double oh my!!). Topps was obviously considering the fact that they could make money by having 'completists' like me chase several different non-vintage versions of this version of a vintage card. All it really does is is make eBay sellers happy.

But whatever. I didn't spend much. And I got to add another row to my Pierce collection spreadsheet and 'X' the 'Got It' column. That's always fun. items that feature BP with the White Sox are always better than those that have him with the Giants but I like the '64 design a bunch and the orange/black/white scheme with the blue San Francisco sky make this a nice card, in any rendition.

I'll post the other new Pierce item, one from Comiskey Park, later this week once my fantasy baseball draft is over.

Frank Robinson, with the Reds

I've been sorting and storing a lot of cards lately. Getting organized comes hard for me since I am by nature just a 'stack it and forget it' kind of person. I came across my stash of assorted 'Favorite Orioles player non-Orioles cards' last week. Out of that stack of Frank Robinson, Mike Cuellar and Dennis Martinez-dominated stuff I pulled these 'FRobby as a Red' gems.

Hard for me to pick a favorite out of these. The '64 at the top looks to be a Polo Grounds shot which you make it seven years old when the card was issued. Frank looks young in the pic but not THAT young so who knows?

A pair of 62s are next. I'm becoming more and more enamored of this set as I look at more of them. I'm almost positive that the regular card is a  Polo Grounds shot. I'm basing that on what I've seen of the seating area behind home plate.

Now the All Star card shows red seats in the background. That would be Connie Mack in Philly.And I know based on my '59 blog research that Topps used that place for some of their photography.

And finally we have his '57 Topps, a classic rookie card of the 50s. You get a look at his slightly choked-up grip in this one. With that unfocused background it's hard to say where this one was taken. I'd say the Polo Grounds based on the light standard but again I can't be sure.

Of course the bigger questions are probably "what does it matter?' and "why do I care?". I can't answer that. Just something I'm interested in I guess.

********************************************************

EDIT    EDIT  EDIT

********************************************************

See the comments. My friend Joe Shlabotnik takes me to school on the background of these.*

Hey, thanks, Joe!!! You are the man!

*-I'll refrain from mentioning the fact that he's pretty much in cruise control over at his blog while I'm snowed under with about six year school related projects and can't be expected to have my head on straight. No I won't mention that at all. ;-0

Juan Pizarro Collection

Somebody posted a Juan Pizarro card a few weeks back, I can't find that post now but it got me to thinking about my own bunch of Pizarro cards. I can't explain exactly why I pick them up. I do remember that when I was a kid I always put them aside, along with Johnny Callison and a couple of other non-Orioles.

I may someday have to go see a shrink and may they could delve into my fixation on lefty pitchers like Pizarro, Koufax, Billy Pierce, Marcelino López and Whitey Ford. I'm sure it comes from something buried in my childhood.

That '57 is probably my favorite. I always love those Braves unis and the '57 is just a terrific set. The '63 reminds me of my days watching AL clubs at Yankee Stadium.

I may yet chase the 1960 set. Maybe as much for the backs as the fronts. Maybe the shrink can explain my obsession with the backs of these to me as well.

Several of these are recent COMC pickups to fill holes or upgrade my ratty 60s cards.

These are two of the three League Leaders cards on which Pizarro appears. He is also on the E.R.A Leaders card in the '64 set.

The card on the left in the below pairing is an oddball from a set put out by the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Pizarro shows up on a couple of other Topps cards that I don't own yet, the '68 for one. The '68 is a high number and I won't spend enough to nab it. He also has a '62 stamp and a coin from '64.

Dazed and Confused

As my 'mainstream' Billy Pierce collecting grinds to a halt (I'm down to some very expensive/elusive white whales) I've concentrated on adding some of the reprint/Heritage/Lineage cards that Topps has cranked out in recent years. Those plus some TCMA's that I posted last week. 

The problem is I don't really know what I'm chasing after. All the 'letter-numbered' (ROA-BP???) autographed Black Diamond Canary chrome foolishness is too much for me to decipher. My original Pierce checklist had two Heritage cards on it but that has expanded as I find listing for others. But the question for me remains "Are these the same cards just being listed differently?". With some like the various '52 reprint variations Topps has done it's hard to tell. 

But these two were easier to define. The numbered Heritage up top is a re-issue of one of my favorite Pierce regular cards, his '64 Topps. For that reason I didn't mind spending a bit of cash on it. The card came from COMC and I had first spotted it months ago with a price tag that I thought was too high. At least it was higher than I was willing to pay. The card didn't sell and eventually the cost came down.

I love the front design of the '64s. the backs not so much. That orange can be pretty hard to read.

The '62 reprint/re-issue below is at the opposite end of the spectrum. It's a mundane photo of a capless Pierce on the '62 design. Although the '62 set has grown on me through the years it's remains one of my least favorite Topps designs of the 50s/60s. But a Pierce is a Pierce and the price was right so here it is. 

Unlike the '64 set I like the back of the '62s more than the front.

I think even these reprints have some variations, different color ink used in the signatures. I don't intend to give a damn anytime soon. I have a nice white whale that arrived recently and it'll go up soon. Prepare to be jealous Jedi Jeff! ;-)

Time Magazine w/Hank Bauer Cover 1964

I wish I had kept more of my magazines through the years. But they take up so much room that over time I'd pared them down to the point I only had a handful left. I have a few Sports and Sports Illustrated with Orioles/Colts/Rangers covers. A couple of others with Billy Pierce covers as well.

One mag I don't think I ever owned was this Time from September of 1964 with the Oriole and manager Hank Bauer on the cover. I remember it from when my parents subscribed. I knew that one day I'd pick it but doing so took awhile. I'd seen a bunch of them on eBay, and pretty cheap, too. But they all had mailing labels. I'm fine with that for a mag in my collection but I had always thought I'd like to put the Bauer/Bird Time cover on display. 

This one was available a couple of weeks ago. On the plus side it was label-free and it was even signed by Hank Bauer which is a bit of a bonus. On the other hand it has a significant crease and it cost more than I thought it was worth.  

But I went ahead and bid on it and I won. In the scan the 'crease' looks more like a scratch. It's certainly visible in person but not nearly as distracting as it appears here. I haven't scanned much of the mag because frankly Time isn't very colorful. It's meant as a news and information source unlike the popular picture mags of the day, Look and Life. 

Since there isn't much in the way of eye candy here I figured I'd put up a few 1964 Topps cards, just for grins. 

Venezuelan Topps 1964 Billy Pierce

I hope you're not tired of Bill Pierce because if you are you will be tuning me out over the next few days. I've added several items to my Pierce collection and here is the most interesting.

This is the '64 Topps #222 Bill Pierce as issued in Venezuela. The card is nearly identical to my domestic version which I have posted below. The obvious difference is the black ink used on the back as opposed to the orange. One other change you can see easily is the "Printed in U.S.A." type is missing from the Venezuelan version but appears next to the copyright line in the orange-backed card.

One thing I'm not sure about is the difference in clarity and color of the photo and the cardboard stock itself. Looking at googled images of the Venezuelan Topps cards of 1964 doesn't give me anything conclusive. Some of the others appear to be on similar stock while others don't. Lots of possible answers, none of which really matter.

I was aware of Venezuelan versions of Topps cards being out there but never really gave it much thought. They certainly don't strike me as essential to a PC but I view them more as an interesting oddball item. Topps produced these most years from 1959 until 1968. The Lifetime Topps Project did a nice post on the background of these and rather than regurgitate the details you can read the post right here.

One last thing. I picked this one up on eBay from a seller in Venezuela. He sent it (very quickly I might add) via Fed EX and it was accompanied by some interesting paperwork which included a copy of what appears to be the sellers national ID card and the document below. Note the fingerprints that were required to send this along to me. Interesting stuff.