#550 Mel Stottlemyre

I’m a few weeks overdue with this post, but getting there is half the fun. Our old friend Bob, a.k.a. the Commish, sent me this lovely specimen of a high-numbered Mel Stottlemyre rookie card. If you’ve skimmed over my checklist lately, you know that th…

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Back again so soon. Ed’s dragging me to the finish line on this project, in this case spotting a pretty well-conditioned copy of this high-numbered Ernie Banks card at a hobby show for $20. It’s the most I’ve paid yet, but I’d say it’s worth the cost. …

Continue reading about #510 Ernie Banks »

That’s 590 down and 8 to go! I might not get my hands on the Mick’s regular base card any time soon, but a gen-u-ine World Series action photo beats some humpty-dumpty posed shot any day, if you ask me. Here’s another card that I’ve bought off of Ed fo…

Continue reading about #134 World Series Game Three: Mantle’s Clutch HR »

Another card that I bought off of Ed for low, low prices. Here’s an uncomfortable question: if a locksmith is a lock maker and a blacksmith makes tools and other items from iron and steel, what is a Dick Smith? Forget I asked.Fun facts about Dick Smith…

Continue reading about #579 Dick Smith »

Here’s the second of the troika of cards I bought with Ed’s assistance at the December Philly Card Show. I’m glad to finally have a vintage card of Curt Flood, whose struggles against Major League Baseball and the reserve clause helped bring a prematur…

Continue reading about #415 Curt Flood »

I’m back from an end-of-2011 break with three more cards for the collection, which is nearly complete! 589 down, 9 to go; I can hardly believe it! Though I wasn’t able to make it to December’s incarnation of the Philly Card Show, Ed once again served a…

Continue reading about #8 NL ERA Leaders: Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale »

Yogi! This is the second card from Randy, and Yogi’s iconic mug and old-school catcher’s gear does a great job distracting from the defacement inflicted on the card. I guess somebody wanted it known that Berra had quit playing by then.Fun facts about Y…

Continue reading about #470 Yogi Berra »

…No, I will not be referring to him as “Bob”, you xenophobic Topps person, you. Much to my surprise, this was one of two cards that arrived unannounced last weekend from all-around swell guy Randy. Only a dirty dozen left to collect!Fun facts about R…

Continue reading about #160 Roberto Clemente »

Back again! I would’ve popped in a bit sooner, but this quad-rookie card required four times as much work as a regular card, and I’m lazy. Why lie? The good news is that there are a couple more cards to post in the coming days, and each of them feature…

Continue reading about #533 Mets Rookie Stars: Dan Napoleon, Ron Swoboda, Jim Bethke, and Tug McGraw »

Back again! I’ve knocked another of the remaining big-ticket items off of the want list thanks to Ed’s bargain hunting skills. This lightly used Joe Morgan rookie set me back one cool sawbuck. Not too shabby.Fun facts about Joe Morgan:-Joe was born in …

Continue reading about #16 Astros Rookie Stars: Joe Morgan and Sonny Jackson »

Look at that, I’m back sooner than expected! I have Ed to thank for this one. He emailed me last week to let me know that he found Don Cardwell, and then called me on his way home Wednesday night to let me know that said card was burning a hole in his …

Continue reading about #502 Don Cardwell »

Believe it or not, this is the LAST card I have in the hopper to post! It could be a while before I get ahold of those 17 elusive cards that stand between me and completion, so the updates are going to be less frequent than they have been in recent mon…

Continue reading about #471 Billy Hoeft »

I told you this was a Giants-centric week! (Sorry, Night Owl.) Ed performed his ’65 Topps wingman duties well again, picking up this fine card for $5 at a card show in Virginia back in July. Dick Estelle is another extremely airbrushed-looking player, …

Continue reading about #282 Giants Rookie Stars: Dick Estelle and Masanori Murakami »

Wow, not only is this a crowded league leaders card, it’s also continuing a very Giants-centric week here on the ol’ blog. Ed picked up this card for me a few weeks back, and as you can see if you scroll down, I’m dealing with a little paper loss on th…

Continue reading about #4 NL Home Run Leaders: Willie Mays, Billy Williams, Johnny Callison, Orlando Cepeda, and Jim Ray Hart »

A few weeks ago (yes, weeks! I’m four cards away from being caught up!), reader George DeVerges and his father sent me this extra Jesus Alou card they found in their collection. Thanks, guys!There’s a joke based on the old Christian slogan “Jesus is th…

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Whaddaya know, it’s Stretch! This card set me back a cool five bucks, thanks to the bargain-hunting talents of Ed. If you’re paying attention to the sidebar, you’ll have noticed that I am now just 17 cards shy of a completed set, which brings with it s…

Continue reading about #176 Willie McCovey »

The last of the recent three-spot of cards from Ed is this gently used Mickey Lolich. I’ll probably look to upgrade this one when I can. Lolich is the author of one of my favorite quotes. The overweight hurler once said, “All the fat guys watch me and …

Continue reading about #335 Mickey Lolich »

Here’s another card from Ed, and it’s one I’d wanted for a long time. Either it’s just random chance that it took so long for me to obtain it, or there are a lot of Knicks fans out there who are hoarding Dave DeBusschere. He joins a list of two-sport a…

Continue reading about #297 Dave DeBusschere »

It’s been a busy week, but I found time today to check back in with this awesome card from Ed.What you see here is an action shot depicting Mike Shannon’s two-run homer off of Whitey Ford in the sixth inning of the opening game of the 1964 World Series…

Continue reading about #132 World Series Game One: Cards Take Opener »

Today’s entry wraps up the donation made by Greg Mader. Thanks again!As you can see, Bill Freehan sets a great target, even though he’s not making eye contact with the pitcher. That’s a good way to get your fingers broken, kiddos.Fun facts about Bill F…

Continue reading about #390 Bill Freehan »

Wow, this is another one of those two-player rookie cards in which one player looks old enough to be the other’s father. For your information, the baby-faced Billy Ott was actually 23 in 1964, when this photo was likely taken. Warner, who looks a littl…

Continue reading about #354 Cubs Rookie Stars: Billy Ott and Jack Warner »

How’s that for a headline that’s short, sweet, and to the point? Here we get a great view of the #30 jersey that Mel Stottlemyre wore for his entire 11-year career with the Yankees. His son Todd also wore #30 for much of his career with the Blue Jays, …

Continue reading about #133 World Series Game Two: Stottlemyre Wins »

One pleasant surprise in the nearly four years that I’ve been doing this blog has been the boundless creativity of my readers. Greg Mader sent me a “pack” of five cards back in April, this Bobby Richardson card being one of them. There were three other…

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Hey, it’s another card I bought with my own hard-earned money! This one was actually an upgrade. Max sent me a well-used copy a few years back, mostly as a lark. As you can see, some bored young card owner made some cosmetic improvements to poor ol’ Wa…

Continue reading about #217 Walt Alston »

Are you ready for this bad boy? I’ve tried to complete most of this set by trade, but as we get down to the big-ticket cards I’ve got to be on the lookout for good deals. Ed was out at the Baseball Card Outlet nearby in Baltimore when he saw this Hank …

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And now we come to the end of another handful of cards provided by Ed. Thanks again, pal! Looking back at Chico Cardenas’ uniform vest, those fat black stripes around the armholes seem kind of clunky up against the thin red pinstripes. But what do I kn…

Continue reading about #437 Chico Cardenas »

As far as rhyming baseball names go, Larry Sherry is funnier than Don Hahn, but not quite as funny as Greg Legg. Of course, your mileage may vary.Fun facts about Larry Sherry:-Larry was born in Los Angeles and signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers out of hi…

Continue reading about #408 Larry Sherry »

That’s an interesting expression on Tommy Davis’ face. He looks like he’s halfway between a grin and a grimace, doesn’t he?Fun facts about Tommy Davis:-A native of Brooklyn and a high school basketball teammate of NBA Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens, Tommy…

Continue reading about #370 Tommy Davis »

El Tiante! As you can see here, Luis has always been 50 years old. He was born with a stogie in his teeth.Fun facts about Luis Tiant:-Luis was born in Marianao, Cuba. He pitched in Mexico in his late teens and early twenties before signing with the Ind…

Continue reading about #145 Luis Tiant »

This card gives us a really close-up look at the Athletics’ kelly green undershirt/gray vest/yellow insignia combination. It’s easy to forget, given the explosion of gold and green polyester that the A’s wore in the 1970s, but this early incarnation wa…

Continue reading about #35 Ed Charles »

When I opened up my queue last night to see which card was next, there were only 16 left to write up. I can’t tell you how energizing that is; I thought I would never catch up! The next six cards all came from recurring character Ed, who I ca…

Continue reading about #12 NL Strikeout Leaders: Bob Veale, Bob Gibson, and Don Drysdale »

Well, I’m back from vacation. Did you miss me? No need to answer. This card wraps up the fiver from John Reid. Thanks again, John!Fun facts about Larry Brown:-Larry was born in Shinnston, WV and signed with the Indians at age 18 in 1958.-His older brot…

Continue reading about #468 Larry Brown »

Housekeeping Update: This is probably the last update before July 4, as I’m going on a much-anticipated vacation. Enjoy the holiday!Ah, it’s been a while since we’ve had a truly well-worn card to enjoy. The condition of this card also complements the w…

Continue reading about #457 Bob Kennedy »

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the umpire ruled Joe Pepitone off of the bag whenever he caught the throw. You can’t just set up shop smack in the middle of the infield grass, Joe!Fun facts about Joe Pepitone:-Joe was a Brooklyn boy who…

Continue reading about #245 Joe Pepitone »

Tommy John’s name is synonymous with the elbow ligament replacement surgery that was patented by Dr. Frank Jobe. I realize that Dr. Jobe has benefited financially from his medical breakthrough, but I can’t help but wonder whether he’s bitter over it. W…

Continue reading about #208 Tommy John »