More Odds & Ends

More random stuff I grabbed from my 'to-be-sorted' boxes recently. Just going to toss in a few words on each as I await my Amazon delivery of a case of white binders. Once those arrive I've got some work to do!

First up, a George Brace photo of Billy Pierce.

There is nothing on the back except for Brace's ID of Billy P. in his usual manner.

Paul Richards' '51 Bowman is just so damn odd that long ago I had to go grab one. It's nothing like the painted photos that make up the rest of the set. There have been a few discussions on various card forums as to why Bowman went with a caricature instead of the standard photo but nothing has ever been decided as far as I can tell.

One of our usual haunts for cheap dinners out with the kids was a burger place near us that had a big selection of vending machines and video games. My boys took their loose change and always spent it all on sports team stickers and gumball helmets. I'm sure that's where this Bears sticker came from.

Dormand postcards are one of the great overlooked collectible of the 50s. Allie Reynolds, as I've mentioned several times, was my father's favorite pitcher. I'd have bought this even if that wasn't the case.

I found a stack of Dexter Press 5x7s in a box of photos. I have no idea where I got them from but it included Yaz, Al Kaline, Joe Pepitone(!) and this creased Willie Davis. Another under-appreciated issue.

It's about to be hockey season and I am pumped! I'm excited to watch the rebuild my Rangers are in the middle of. I already bought tickets for their game in Dallas in March. And for the first time in years I signed up for the Rangers package on NHL.TV! I have had MLB.TV for years and I realized that over the last two seasons I probably hadn't spent more than a couple of hours with it. I found the place where they buried their opt-out for auto-renewal and cut the cord.

Bailing on the Orioles for awhile might cause me to be viewed as a shitty fan but honestly I can't see pouring money into a 100 loss hole anymore.

This Topps Ripken medallion card weighs more than any card I've ever held in my hand. If I was 'Commish For A Day' one of the things I'd do was take Landis' name off this MVP award. I'd do that right after I decreed that the majors would no longer use 'superballs'.

I met Vince Young at the Roger Clemens charity softball game a few years ago. He just walked up to my wife and I and introduced himself. He's had a difficult time post-NFL. I hope things are good for him these days.

Lastly, a Ted Williams Company item. It's hard to tell from the picture but these are die cut faux-milk bottle caps. If you look at this cropped image you can see what is supposed to be the 'pull tab'.

When I was little we had milk delivered to our homes on Long Island and later in New Jersey. The bottles had these sort of caps on them under a paper shield that covered the top of the bottle. They've been reissued as 'pogs' and in various other forms over the years. Slurpee disks are sort of the same thing. Here is a picture of an original milk cap I found on the 'net. These are the type I remember and collected.

That's it for today's randomness. I think I heard my binders being dropped off!

1953-1955 Louis Dormand postcard of Billy Pierce

Here is an item I didn't think I'd be able to add to my Billy Pierce collection. Louis Dormand was a photographer based in New York in the 40s and 50s. He worked in many areas but the one of most interest to baseball collectors are his postcards of players taken at Yankee Stadium and Ebbets Field. Most of the cards in his baseball checklist are Yanks and Dodgers but there are a few other players included and Pierce is one of them. These cards were reportedly used by players to answer autograph requests. They were also sold at the stadiums.

The Dormands are an interesting item. Check out the current eBay listings. Prices are all over the map. They range from $5 to $10 for a Gil Hodges or a Johnny Sain to many hundreds for some of the others. Scarcity is certainly a factor. There was an 'attic stash' of Gil Hodges cards discovered some years back and thus his cards are very common. I own an Allie Reynolds Dormand (my father's favorite Yankee pitcher). I paid next to nothing for it at a show a few years back.

Billy Pierce's Dormand has been one of the pricier examples. I hadn't seen one for under $200. There is one on eBay at this moment with a $285 asking price. That's why when I got my email alert from eBay with a new listing of a Dormand Pierce for about ONE TENTH of that I jumped on it instantly.

And I couldn't be happier. These are beautiful items. Here is the back and below that I have a crop of the 'business' side of the back.

Here is the Pierce as it came to me and before I broke it out of it's plastic prison.

Most sources list 45 cards in the set including variations. But the 'skip-numbering' (no 131 or 137) makes me think there were probably others. there are also some un-numbered/blank backed variations. They might be the ones sold at the stadiums. That's pure speculation on my part.

1953-1955 Dormand Baseball Series Postcard Checklist

101 Phil Rizzuto
101 Phil Rizzuto (Jumbo 6 x 9)
102 Yogi Berra
103 Ed Lopat
104 Hank Bauer
105 Joe Collins (Patch)
105 Joe Collins (No Patch)
106 Ralph Houk
107 Bill Miller
108 Ray Scarborough
109 Allie Reynolds
110 Gil McDougald
110 Gil McDougald (Signature Variation)
111 Mickey Mantle (Batting Left)
111 Mickey Mantle (BL Jumbo 6 x 9)
111 Mickey Mantle (Bat on Shoulder)
111 Mickey Mantle (BS Jumbo 6 x 9)
112 Johnny Mize
113 Casey Stengel MG
114 Bobby Shantz
115 Whitey Ford
116 Johnny Sain (Pose Variation)
116 Johnny Sain
117 Jim McDonald
118 Gene Woodling
119 Charlie Silvera
120 Don Bollweg
121 Billy Pierce
122 Chico Carrasquel
123 Willie Miranda
124 Carl Erskine
125 Roy Campanella
126 Jerry Coleman
127 Pee Wee Reese
128 Carl Furillo
129 Gil Hodges
130 Billy Martin
132 Irv Noren
133 Enos Slaughter
134 Tom Gorman
135 Eddie Robinson
136 Frank Crosetti CO
138 Jim Konstanty
139 Elston Howard
140 Bill Skowron

If I were to chase another one it would be the Campanella. I have an online image but I have yet to see a listing for one. Campy and the other Dodgers in the checklist are shown posing at Yankee Stadium. The bunting hanging along the upper stands indicates the pictures were taken at a World Series. Since the Yankees and Bums played three times in the early 50s that would be the logical answer.