Knocking off sets

Nothing remarkable here but I wanted to post the final cards from a couple of sets I've been working on for a while. Up top is the 1957 Bobby Richardson that came last week. The right border is there despite what my scanner did to it. Richardson is a clear-eyed rookie pictured with a faintly seen Yankee Stadium scoreboard behind him and the Bronx as a backdrop.

His card wasn't the last card purchased for the build (that honor went to his infield partner and fellow rookie, Tony Kubek) but it was the last to arrive and find its slot in the binder. Both the Richardson and Kubek cards were part of the shorter-printed 4th Series, both (as noted) were rookie cards and both, being Yankees, carried the 'pinstripe tariff'.

I actually have a few items on my '57 list, a couple of unnumbered checklists and some contest cards, all of which can wait for later. I have 'examples' of each in the binder and that will do me for now.

Below is a poorly scanned '74 Dave Roberts 'Washington' card. I ended up with three of these in my mailbox within a few days of each other due to some good fortune and generous friends. I actually have a few '74s coming from COMC that will be the last to make the binder but this was the last card I found for the set.

Back in early October I was bitchin' and moanin' about the problems I had putting this thing together and I'm still not crazy about it but looking at it in the binder I'm coming around to appreciating it again.

Meanwhile, my '73 build is a card or so from completion and a huge bundle of '71 Topps football cards came my way at the card show on Saturday. I'm now close to 75% done with that fun, colorful set just a few weeks after deciding to tackle it. I think the collecting gods were smiling Saturday as the lot of 71s were in amazing condition and my friend Darryl was in a holiday mood and practically gave them to me.

I'll post a few other pickups from the show and discuss my blogging plans next time.

Scan Dump, Part 1

Between a couple of hotel shows, the TriStar show and some online purchases, I've accumulated a bunch of  'stuff' that covers a wide range of my collecting interests. I have most of it scanned, but little of it posted. This will keep me occupied for a few weeks.

From Net54 came a pair of un-connected lots from the same seller. This one, obviously, was a group of signed vintage cards. Now I'll admit that I'm not much of an autograph guy. But when a grouping of them comes cheap, has cards of Orioles, players I semi-collect, and/or come from sets I have chased, I'm gonna buy it.

I'm going to crank up my '57 chase once I finish off the stuff I'm doing now. But I bought a fair sized starter lot some time back and I add to it if something falls in my lap. Add to that the fact that one way I spice up my vintage sets is sprinkling in a few signed cards, and the Triandos is a natural for me. And as a bonus, it's nicer than the one I would have yanked from my old Orioles team set pages.

Hal 'Skinny' Brown pitched for several clubs but had his best seasons as an Orioles starter from 1956 through 1961. This '64 card is from his last season in the bigs. That's the Polo Grounds behind him, I'm 99% sure of that. I don't plan to collect the '64 set but there are worse ways to spend hobby money, I'll say that.

It's a lousy sig on the Milt Pappas but it's got a spot in my '62 binder.

A few years ago I made a halting start on chasing the 1963 set. Considering how much I was into it as a kid in '63 (it was right in the heart of my collecting days) I'm surprised that it doesn't really inspire me these days. 

I have a couple of Bobby Richardson signatures but this is the first on a real card. I saw so much of him at Yankee Stadium back in the day. If I had a 'favorite' Yankee list, he'd be at or near the top.

Manny Mota just sort of came along for the ride. Too bad he got an airbrushed helmet instead of a pic in that spectacular Expos uni in their first year.

That's the first load from my backlogged scan file. And the last baseball cards to be shown from it. The rest are spies, cars, presidents, actors, and oddities. I know you can't wait.

A Little Show Diary and some Vintage

Made it out to the card show on Saturday. The result was a mixed bag but it was mostly positive. First things first.....I got my '58 Mantle. It was a bargain but came with a caveat that I'll save for my '58 Topps blog when I get around to posting Mickey.

The show, as are most TriStar events, was pretty well attended. But again, like most TriStar events, most of the folks in attendance were there for the autograph signings. They always have an impressive lineup of guests and this time was no exception. There was even a Phi Slama Jama 'reunion' with nearly all the players from that early 80s era high-flying Houston hoops squad signing. I bumped into my brother and my nephew who came to get a few items signed by Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. Looking at the prices they were getting it made me wish I had thought to get them to sign for me back when I was working in the athletic offices and they were just a couple of guys hanging out.

I griped before I went to the show about the cost of parking and admission. Well, that turned into a bad news/good news proposition. Parking at the NRG complex was $12 which was higher than I expected and I find it outrageous. But as I walked towards the box office to buy my show admission ticket some random guy handed me an extra he had, Saved me $9. Thanks random guy!

I spent more time at this show than I usually do. I found Darrell, my dealer friend who puts on the hotel shows, and hung out at his table. He always has great cheap vintage baseball and football cards in boxes that range from a quarter to a buck or two. The 61's in this post came from his table.

I spent another hour or so wandering the tables looking for other cheap vintage boxes and that's when I found the Mantle. I also got lucky and sniffed out a few dealers with inventory similar to Darrell's and made some purchases that are going out in packages this week. I wanted to get more but I only have a limited amount of  'bend over a box with a wantlist' time in these old bones.

Another dealer I've known for awhile recruited me to help him tear open some blaster boxes of 2017 Topps. I welcomed the chance to just sit, shoot the hobby breeze, and rip open packs. He threw a few goodies my way for my time.

I hit up some tables with mostly football and hockey pins and stopped at one more vintage card dealer's table on my way out. All in all it was a productive but tiring day.

I've just realized that I haven't mentioned the cards I have posted. I'm really on the fence when it comes to the prospect of chasing the 1961 Topps set. It doesn't get much love in the hobby that's for sure. I have a sentimental attachment to it as I can recall going to the Korvette's store near our home in suburban north Jersey with my Dad and him buying me cello packs of it.

I already own the MVP subset and most of the All Star one, plus the Orioles and some assorted star cards. But I don't think I'm quite ready to tackle another set quite yet. And I sure won't crank up another set-specific blog anytime soon.

But in the meantime I'll continue to add cards from it that I enjoy. I've casually collected Vada Pinson and Mudcat Grant cards over the years. And although he was a Yankee I've retained a soft spot for easy-to-like Bobby Richardson. I picked up a few more nice vintage cards but I'm debating whether or not to send them out to someone so I won't post the scans. I like to surprise folks.

For a couple of bucks I nabbed the Lenny Moore card above. I don't care much about relics and such but for $2 a Memorial Stadium seat card of one of my favorite BALTIMORE Colts stars was impossible to pass up.

Here are the pins I picked up. The Colts one says 'Since 1953' on the bottom so I'm including it in my collection. I bought the Super Bowl pin for $5 because I have pins from the previous two Houston SBs.

All in all it was worthwhile day at the show. My only regret is that by buying the Mantle I've blown my hobby budget for the month so this coming Saturday's hotel show will be a 'chat' session rather than a 'buy' session. Oh well.

A Few More '63 Fleer

I'm close to finishing this set. I haven't scanned them all but I had a few scans ready to go. These happen to include some of my favorite 'enemy' players (read: non-Orioles).

Bob Gibson was just emerging as a standout when this card was issued. He had been a regular in the Cards' rotation for a couple of seasons and as a first time All Star in 1962 he pitched a couple of innings and allowing a run. I can't say for certain Gibby is the best righthander I've ever seen but he was definitely the most intimidating. Rather than repeat my favorite Gibson memory I'll just link to that post.

Bobby Richardson was a steady Yankee in the middle of their infield for most of the years I watched games at the Stadium growing up. He was an excellent 2nd baseman and pretty good hitter most years. My Dad (and Yankee broadcaster Phil Rizzuto) loved the guy. He's a good TTM signer as well.

I was always a fan of Tommy Davis and always thought of him as a Dodger. In the 1970s he came to Baltimore and showed he had something left in the tank. I was looking at his Baseball reference page and was reminded that he played for the Astros in 1969/70. I had absolutely no memories of him in a Houston uniform and I realized that it's because I was living back in New Jersey during the bulk of those two seasons.

In fact Davis played for ten different teams in his 21 year career. I had no idea. hey, he was third in the 1962 MVP balloting and picked up some scattered MVP votes 14 years later as an Oriole. Cool.

Frank Lary was a really good and very popular pitcher for the Tigers from 1955 thru 1961. He won a career high 23 games in '61 and led the league in complete games, finished third in the Cy Young voting, seventh in the MVP race and earned a Gold Glove. Then his career fell off a cliff thanks to shoulder problems. He had a terrible '62 season but Fleer included him in the set anyway.

When I wasn't rooting for the Dodgers as my NL team I was a fan of the Phils. This isn't among the better cards in the set. Ruben Amaro has his face obscured by the shadow of his cap brim and he doesn't fill much of the frame. But we do get to see some of Wrigley Field so there's that.

I was looking up some stuff on Amaro and clicked thru a couple of links to where I saw that his son, Ruben Jr., is now the first base coach of the Red Sox. Has anyone else ever gone from being a major league GM to a job as a first base coach?