Scan Dump 1

I've been accumulating stray cards here and there over the last couple of months. Sometimes I'll add cards to an eBay order to take advantage of reduced shipping or a multi-card discount. Sometimes I just pull cards I don't really need from discount boxes at card shows or buy stuff from Net54 guys on an impulse.

I've scanned a bunch and figure that now is as good a time as ever to post them, with or without comment.

This signed Bobby Thomson is from the 1982 G. S. Gallery set about which I have very little knowledge. I've seen references to Gallery being a dealer and that may be the case. The set had 24 cards of some of the bigger names from the 50s and 60s on its checklist.

Looking at the reverse side I was reminded that Thomson spent about three weeks with the Orioles in July of 1960. They were his last couple of appearances in the majors. Here he is with O's catcher Clint Courtney.

This early 60s Dutch Gum card of Bob Dylan came from a Net54 purchase. Seeing him in concert last fall was a kick.

This signed Billy Pierce phone card is the second in my collection. It was a Sox giveaway item.

The other Pierce phone card is from 1996 and I posted about it back in 2014.

And finally here is a rarity in my collection...a Topps Now card. I bought it from a reseller which is the only way to go with these things.

LOL...my man Crush Davis. I'm not really sure what prompted me to grab this other than my giddiness at him ending that sad hitless streak. As I think I posted (or tweeted back then) he is too good a guy to have had to endure the foolishness that came along with his futility.


I've got more scans but that will have to do for tonight. I need to go pick out my attire for this weekend's Orioles visit to Houston. 

Oh, and here is Bob Dylan along with the late, great Tom Petty doing Knocking on Heavan's Door live in 1986.  One of my very favorite songs.

Two More Oldies

Here are a couple more of my recent 'grab-bag' vintage pick-ups. Neat cards in so-so condition. I have a few cards from the 1948 Bowman set but Bobby Thomson is the first 'name' player I own. This is his rookie card and this was Bowman's 'rookie' effort in the production of baseball cards.

Bobby Thomson is known to every baseball fan for his 'Shot Heard 'Round The World' off Ralph Branca which won the 1951 pennant in a playoff over the Dodgers.

1934 Tommy Bridges Batter-Up

EDIT: This was posted while I waited for the park-and-ride shuttle last night and was an early and incomplete version. I had a paragraph on Tigers' pitcher Tommy Bridges which didn't make it in. LOL I'll fix that now....

Tommy Bridges pitched 16 seasons in the majors, all for Detroit, The last two were abbreviated stints after he did his WWII military service. While he was a full time starter Bridges was a workhorse who led the league in wins, shutouts and strikeouts at various times. He fell just short of 200 wins and was a six-time All-Star.

He was a part of two Tigers Series titles and four AL championships. Here is something from Wikipedia related to the Tigers' championship 1935 season:

Bridges had another strong season in 1935, going 21–10 with 23 complete games. He also pitched a complete game victory in the last game of the 1935 World Series. With the score tied 3–3 in the top of the ninth, Bridges gave up a leadoff triple to Stan Hack, but retired the next three batters without the runner on third scoring. In the bottom of the ninth, Goose Goslin drove in the winning run with two outs, and the Tigers won their first championship. After the game, manager Mickey Cochrane said the following of Bridge's gutsy performance:

"A hundred and fifty pounds of courage. If there ever is a payoff on courage, this little 150 pound pitcher is the greatest World Series hero."

In a nationwide poll Bridges was named the No. 2 sports hero of 1935, behind Notre Dame football player Andy Pilney.

 This is the first Batter-Up card in my collection.

Panini Golden Age Ralph Branca

I make no bones about the fact that the Dodgers are my 'other' team. I trace it back to discovering the brilliance of Sandy Koufax in his heyday. So I was pretty happy when I opened up my box of 2012 Panini Golden Age and found that this insert was in there.

Ralph Branca might not be Sandy Koufax (who is?) but he holds a special place in Dodger lore, of course. He is best known for giving up Bobby Thomson's 'Shot Heard 'Round the World' but he won 88 big league games and had four double digit win seasons for the Bums. He won 21 games in 1947 and he made the NL All Star squad in 1947, '48 and '49. And he seems to be an interesting and personable guy in his own right. I mean he became fast friends with Thomson and they made many appearances together in the years after that fateful game on Coogan's Bluff.

His website is pretty interesting. I'm going to track down a copy of his book as I have read a couple others in which he plays a prominent role.

The Panini set itself didn't knock me over but I do enjoy the trip down Memory Lane it brings. I got a couple of other neat inserts I'll show in the coming days.