Brown and Red

First up is another card from a contest I won on Net54.

This 1933 Goudy Dick Coffman gives me about a half dozen from the set. (The best, by far, is this Paul Richards card). Coffman broke in with the Senators in 1927 but was soon traded to the Browns for whom he pitched until he was dealt back to the Senators in June of 1932 for pitcher Carl Fischer.

After that '32 season the Nats and Browns traded the same two pitchers for each other again! Coffman went on to pitch another three years for the Brownies. Finally, in November of 1935, Coffman managed to land in a better situation than toiling for two AL bottom feeders.

He was purchased by the New York Giants and spent three seasons as their #1 bullpen guy. He led the NL in games pitched and saves in 1938. He even garnered a few MVP votes. He pitched (rather unsuccessfully) in both the '36 and '37 World Series' for the Giants against the Yankees.

In 1940 he landed with the Boston Bees and then spent several seasons in the minors before he reappeared in the majors briefly with the Phils in 1945. In '46 he did some pitching and managing in the minors and then was gone from pro ball.

I'm posting an oversized image of the card's back to make it easy to read. The write-up mentions his Washington-St Louis travels and calls him an 'elongated young man, towering(?) 6 feet, 1 1/2 inches'.

Next up is another 1962 'type card' for the back of that set's binder. This is the Venezuelan version of the Wally Post #148. Topps had previously distributed versions of the '59 and '60 set in Venezuela. But the '62 set is the first that has Spanish language write-ups on the back.

Topps, as was their normal MO in these sets, only distributed partial versions in Venezuela. In this case the cards are from the first two series minus #197 and #198 which supposedly don't exist. There are no 'green tint' versions, either.

You can see the differences in the card backs below. Interesting that Topps kept the English wording in the stats block heading and the player position under his name.  This article on the PSA site mentions differences in ink and cardboard color but honestly I'm just not seeing much. Small sample size I suppose.

The 'regular' (US non-green tint) version from my set is on the left, the Venezuelan version on the right. That PSA article is right about one thing, these Venezuelan Topps cards are usually found in pretty brutal condition. I decided on the Post because it was in decent shape and it's among the better poses in the cheap group I was picking from on eBay.

I need to find a green-tint Post and look at them all side-by-side I think.

Non Sports from the Card Show

I've taken time off from posting but after picking up these non-sports cards at the local card show a week ago I'm inspired to get back into the swing of things.

These first two come from Topps 1956 Roundup set. There were 80 cards total. Eight Old West legends were included, each getting ten cards. 

There is some great artwork on the, front and back. 

The backs form a running bio of the subject. Note the "See Card No. 32" on the back of the Wyatt Earp.

Her's Wild Bill Hickok. This is the #1 card in the set. I didn't realize until now that I have the 'front' card of each of these gentlemen. The rest of each grouping of ten shows more action, not a portrait.

Others in the set are Kit Carson, Daniel Boone, Calamity Jane, Buffalo Bill, Jesse James and Geronimo. Speaking of Geronimo.....

I have a handful of 1930's Goudy baseball cards but this is my first one from the 'Indians' set. There are 260 in this 1933 issue. I'd love to see them all together in a binder. The back is pretty hard to read.....

....and there is no way that write-up would fly today. Interesting stuff to be sure.

The final card is from the 'Flags of the World' set, another Topps issue from 1956. I collect the cards that reflect my family's convoluted heritage and the Italy flag joins Germany, Portugal, Great Britain and France in the binder. Once I pick up the Mexico card I'll be done.

These four cards set me back a total of $7. I'll make that deal all day, every day.

Cardboard Art 1933 Goudey Paul Richards

Just a quick post on a busy Saturday. This card came in Friday's mail and it took some of the gloom off a pretty rocky day. I showed an internet image of this one a week or so ago when I featured Paul Richards 1960 Topps managers card (among others). 

I only have a couple of Goudeys and NONE of them can touch the 'cool' of this one. What a fabulous pose with Richards painted as he prepares for a game. When I came across the image online I knew I needed to pick one up for myself. I dug around and as I expected there were not a lot of cheap examples out there. I looked for and found the least expensive one in acceptable shape. It ran me about $18 I think, plus shipping but for me it's worth every dime.

This one has issues, especially on the reverse but the staining isn't too awful. It just adds to the charm as far as I'm concerned. It goes immediately into the 'grab this if the house is on fire' binder.

As for Richards he was in his rookie season in '33. He's had a pretty successful five year string in the minors and had gotten a handful of at bats with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1932 and then had his contract bought up by the Giants. After a few seasons as a platoon catcher with the Giants and Phils he returned to the minors and had another string of seasons in which he hit very well.

His hitting prowess in the minors never transferred to the majors but his handling of a staff and his defensive abilities got him back to the majors in 1944 with the Tigers and he backstopped them to the 1945 World Championship. He got some MVP consideration in 1944 and '45 despite hitting no higher than .256. 

Of course he went on to a long and distinguished career as a manager and team executive in his post playing years.