1953 Red Man Tobacco Warren Spahn

I wish I'd had the chance to see Warren Spahn at his best. The huge windup and high-legged delivery were still in evidence when I finally was able to watch him in person in his final season as a player. He was no longer one of the most dominate pitchers of all time but he was still Warren Spahn and that was pretty cool.

I actually saw him twice in 1965, once as a Met and late in the year when he made one of the last starts of his career as a Giant at Shea Stadium. That game I saw him pitch as a Met was a loss to Don Drysdale and the Dodgers and came in front of one of the larger crowds I was ever a part of at Shea. I remember it because my friend's father explained how the Mets used a different ticket pricing scale for games against the Dodgers and Giants. This was the first I'd ever heard of that practice.

This Red Man card was an impulse buy from a dealer who had some very reasonable 1964 Philly Gum football cards. The sets (Red Man produced then for four consecutive years) are not difficult and in most cases not expensive either. They make for an easy way to add vintage stars to your collection. I guess they compare to the 1964 Topps Giants in that way. The ones without the 'tabs' along the bottom are even cheaper and who misses the 'tab' anyway?

I never really set out to become a Spahn collector but through the years I've really gained and appreciation for both him and his cards. I've joked in the past that Spahn cards are just collections of different angles...his cockeyed cap, crooked smile, bent nose and prominent ears make them unique. Add in the classic Braves unis and it's hard to pass up a Spahn card in a bargain bin or online at a good price.

It occurred to me as I typed this that this card is a 'night card'.You paying attention, Night Owl? My scanner did weird things with the back of this card. In hand it is just the usual color of 50's cardboard with a ghost-like hint of 'bleed-through' from the ink on the front. But my scanner gave me this:

I'm going to need to inventory my Spahn cards. I doubt I'll ever become a Spahn 'completist' in the same way I am with Billy Pierce but there are worse ways to fritter away one's retirement savings.

1955 Red Man Joe Coleman

It appears that Joe Coleman not only appears on a Red Man Chewing Tobacco card, but he uses the product as well.

Neat little set these Red Man cards. This is the only one I own other than the three Billy Pierce examples I posted earlier this month. Coleman is one of only two Orioles to appear in the set's four year run. The other is Sam Mele who was shown as an Oriole in one version of his '54 Red Man and as a member of the White Sox in another. I read someplace that the Oriole version is more common but I think that is a mistake. I can't find one on line for any price and yet the ChiSox Mele is readily available. I need to do more checking.

Joe Coleman won 13 games for the Birds in 1954, second to Bob Turley's 14 wins that first year of the relocated franchise. He won 52 games over 10 seasons with the Athletics, Orioles and Tigers. He is the father of the Joe Coleman who pitched in the majors for 14 years beginning in 1965 and who twice won 20 games. He is also the grandfather of Casey Coleman (the 2nd Joe's son) who last pitched for the Cubs in 2012 and is still in their system.

Red Man Tobacco Billy Pierce cards... got 'em all finally

1952 Red Man Billy Pierce

I'm perplexed by scanning technology (well, truth be told I'm perplexed by lots of things, like why anyone would eat creamed corn or watch the Pro Bowl, but those are separate topics).

I bring up scanners because these three Billy Pierce Red Man Tobacco cards I picked up on eBay have some real flaws. But my scanner tends to gloss them over. Oh, you can see the crease in the '52 card above but it's much more pronounced in hand. But the scans of my BALTIMORE Colt media guides make them look like someone took a chainsaw to 'em when in actuality they are just soooo damn pretty.

But anyway, back to the Pierce cards. I have had a 'saved search' for them on eBay for years. I didn't check it that often but when I did I found sadly miscut examples or overpriced graded and slabbed ones. A month or two ago I found a dealer who I bought from several times in the past was offering all three of the cards.

Each is flawed to some extent but none of them are butchered. And the total for all three shipped was about $17. That was hard to pass up.

1952 back

All three cards have the same image of Pierce with different tints and the '53 (see below) has a ballpark background. That one is by far the best of the bunch as far as condition goes. It has the 'tab' or 'stub' removed but that's of little consequence in my eyes. The lack of serious creases and the background make it my favorite of the three.

1953 Red Man Billy Pierce

1953 Back

1954 Red Man Billy Pierce

1954 Back