'52 Spahnnie

 

 

I've wanted to add a '52 Topps to my Warren Spahn pages for some time. I finally scored this one from someone over on the Net54 card forums. It's got some flaws, but don't we all?

The write-up on the back called him 'smooth and graceful', and he certainly was that. I only got to see him in person at the tail end of his career but it was still a kick to watch him (pun intended).

Spahn is one of those guys who doesn't seem to have ever had a 'bad' card. OK, maybe the '65 where he's a cap less coach isn't all that attractive, but it's still a '65 of one of the greats. BTW...he won 363 games despite losing three full years while serving in WWII in the U.S. Army in Europe. He was 22 when he entered the service. It's hard to believe he wouldn't have been a 400-game winner had he pitched during those years. But he sacrificed a part of his career as did many Americans, ballplayers and otherwise.

Gibby

Another bit of terrible news. 2020 just keeps getting worse.

I don't care how bad this card is. I'll never upgrade it. It's been mine since 1959. I love everything about it. Gibby's smile...he's happy to be a ballplayer... the pink frame...I love pink cards...and the fact that I've owned it for over 60 years.

My oft re-posted Gibson story:

I was fortunate enough to see Gibson pitch and believe me, he was a real badass on the mound. My favorite memory comes, ironically, from 1975, his last season and the final time I saw him perform. I attended this game in mid-August with a friend of mine who happens to be a lifelong Cardinal fan. As Gibby's career came to an end he struggled through a year that saw him saddled with a 3-10 record and an ERA over five. But on this day Gibson came into the game after the Cards had taken a one run lead in the top of the eleventh. I distinctly recall watching from seats behind the Cardinal dugout as he stalked out to the mound with that look that few pitchers had. My friend and I both saw it and said to one another 'Game over." And it was. Gibby blew away three Astros (looking!!) to wrap up the game. Awesome.

Rest In Peace. One of the greatest ever and the best right-handed pitcher I've ever had the privilege to watch.

 

My Kind Of Town

The neighborhood mailwoman delivered a big white envelope last week. It was from Jedi Jeff of 2x3 Heroes. Jeff is almost as sporatic as I am when it comes to posting lately but at least he's had an excuse...he's a grandfather again!. (I'm jealous..my kids and their spouses only add pets to their households). 

Jeff's gift was Chicaco and Baltimore-centric. It led off this this gem:

That 8x10 beauty immediately earned a place above my desk. I had a signed Billy Pierce photo there already but this is an upgrade. The old one wasn't nearly as clear or bright a photo. This one made and inmmediate improvement to my Wall of Fame....

Before:

After:
 

 

Better, right? I think so. 

Jeff included a couple of nine-pocket shhets filled with Orioles, some shiny, some special, most I've not seen before. Here are the two sheets but I hadn't realized until I scanned them that most of the pockets had two cards so double this goodness.

BTW...here's Earl's quote from the front of that Upper Deck card:

I bet he never admitted that theory to Jim Palmer.

That Ben McDonald is the legit version of his rookie card. The logoless ::cough:: 'error' ::cough:: is the card that made me give up on cards back then. The Schoop and Jones cards are unique enough to have bumped cards from my fantasy baseball binder.

Jeff included some signed 4x5s of White Sox guys, two that have a connection in the 1960 set. Gary Peters and J.C. Martin have their photos swapped on their '60 Topps cards.
 

That's the old Comiskey. I really regret that I never got to a game there.

 There also signed photos of guys with Sox-Orioles histories, like Greg Walker

Good stuff all the way around. And doubly appreciated in these times when adding new stuff without card shows is a challenge. To say nothing of our cancelled trip to visit our daughter in Chicagoland.

Thanks, again Jeff. Enjoy that new granddaughter. She's a cutie.

RIP Gale Sayers

 I had intended to post a wonderful gift package that arrived yesterday but I'll hold off a day or so on that. I just saw the headline announcing the death of Gale Sayers. He was 77.

I've been a football fan for as long as I can remember. Sayers, as I have droned on about many times here, was as dynamic a player as I've ever seen. For pure jaw-dropping ability he ranks up there with Jim Brown, Lenny Moore and Barry Sanders. His career reminds me of that of Sandy Koufax. He wasn't around long, but while he was, he was dazzling.

I'll re-post some of the Sayers items I've shown here before. And finish off with a video or two of his highlights. First, one of the best cards I own. His Philly Gum RC from 1966.

Trust me whan I tell ya this video is worth the time.

Card Show Report*

Well, the asterik should tell you how the 'show' went. Honestly, Darryl, the show promoter, did a good job with it. He mandated masks for everyone, reduced the tables by eliminating all but the ones around the walls of the room, and limited to crowd to 20 (or at least he tried). He told me that when he opened he had 45 folks waiting to enter. It's been a long time since we've had a show in the area so i was kind of expecting that. I waited until 10:30 to arrive.

 

And I only ventured about three feet into the room. That's not unusual for me. I normally only hit Darryl's tables and sometimes one or two others that have vintage stuff. Yesterday I poked my head in, Darryl handed me his 1967 Topps boxes, and I spent about two hours at a table in a corner the hotel  sorting through them. I'd finally gotten around to getting my 67s organized and correctly checklisted. I had my wants and needed upgrades listed and I went to town on those boxes. I came away with about 130ish commons which knocked a real big hole in my wantlist.

Some of those commons filled holes in that page I've posted above. I randomly picked it to scan and I'm glad I did. It contains a number of players I was interested in during the mid- to late 60s. Ron Fairly, Sonny Siebert, Art Shamsky (until October '69), Rich Rollins and Bobby Murcer all fit that bill. Of course Mike Cuellar is an all-time favorite of mine. 

And then there's Ray Washburn. He's the guy who told my younger brothers to 'go to hell' when they asked him to sign a program for them in the Astrodome. From a previous post I made:

In the 60's and 70's the Astrodome had a restaurant they called the Domeskeller (sp?). It ran along the outfield wall under the bleachers. They had picnic style tables tables and wire windows you could watch the action through. Before games fans (mostly kids) would congregate there during batting practice as pitchers did their running on the warning track. They would sometimes sign through the opening in the wire. 

Anyway, one Sunday afternoon in 1968 my younger brothers asked Ray Washburn of the Cardinals to sign their program. He clearly and loudly told them (and me) to 'go to hell'. We told my folks when we got back to our seats. My mom was pretty upset as I recall but I think my father was more amused than angry. Either way Washburn's career slid off the rails after that season. Karma.

Even with my limited view it looked to me that the dealers in the room were doing good business. Darryl likely lost money on the room by having only half as many dealers but he's got another show scheduled for next month. I think he's undecided on going through with it. We'll see.

That's all I did at the show. Darryl himself had hardly anything on his table (he usually has several full of vintage) but he was too busy policing to sell anything anyway. I sure hope things get better soon. This (very much needed) mask and distance business is getting old.

Second Thoughts

 Despite appearances, I'm not intending to turn this into a '67 Topps blog. In fact, I'm wondering if I should really attempt the set at all. That Seaver rookie is reaching astronomical price levels and I'm just not sure I want to drop that much on a card. I'll have to give it some thought. Most likely I'll seek out a low grade copy and try to keep the cost down that way. We'll see.

Meanwhile, here are a couple new-to-me '67s that arrived over the last few days.This Mays card, IMO, is one of his better ones. I like the portrait shot here for sure. This is actually an upgrade over a battered copy I've had for as long as I can remember.

 These next two are both Mets and were purchased as a way to fill out an order on eBay. I bought six or seven cheap modern baseball and football cards from him to fill some fantasy sports binder needs. He offered both a % discount and free shipping with a ten-card order so I filled it with these two and a couple others I found of University of Houston alums. 

 I just recently posted Ed Bressoud's 1960 Topps card over on that blog.  He was with the Cardinals when the '67 set was issued and it was his final season as a big-league player. He only had 75 at-bats. He later became a minor-leagie manager and dod some scouting.

 

 

I liked Cleon Jones...right up to the second he caught Dave Johnson's fly to finish the '69 Series. Now, every time I hear his name that moment returns to me and I'm just a little sadder. Good ballplayer, though. And this '67 is a sweet card, made even better with that Topps Rookie trophy.

Now I'm gonna go cheer myself up by watching some football. My primary fantasy team is a monster!

Football Is Back

And I for one am happy about it. Not much going on for me hobby-wise so in honor of the Chiefs whipping up on the Texans here is the second-to-last card I had on my needs list for my '61 Fleer build.

Hall of Famer Johnny Robinson's rookie card has been a pain to find in nice shape at a decent price. I really can't figure out why it's such a costly card. Then again, I guess I've already answered my own question... HoF+rookie.

You'll note that the Chefs were originally the Dallas Texans. So this evening we have the NFL kicking off with the current vs former 'Texans' clubs. I gave up my Texans season tickets this year. I'd owned them since the first day they were available back in 2001. I simply got tired of throwing good money towards a franchise that doesn't seem to be intent on winning.

Add to that the fact that in 2019 they awarded a grant to one of Houston's biggest private health clinics, one that serves many in the minority and gay communities in Houston, most for little or nothing. But when the owner found out about who his board had awarded the grant to he refused to allow the founder/CEO on to the field to accept the check. they mailed it to her. She happens to be one of my wife and I's closest friends, an incredible woman, and a Texans season ticket holder herself. That soured me on the organization.

As I type this the Houston Texans are getting their asses kicked by the former Dallas Texans. I'm not upset. 

the last card for this fun set that I needed was the Don Meredith rookie. I landed it last week. The seller finally shipped it yesterday. I can wait. It'll be fun to put this thing to bed.