Sports Cards Ate My Brain

 I sometimes find it difficult deciding if I like 1959 Topps better than 1958 or vice versa.  The are both two of my favorite base designs. It is also hard to figure out which is my favorite card from this year but I will give it a try. I'm sure you are noticing a trend among the variety of players I am nominating for each year.  Spahn is one of the players I am actively pursuing a collection of.  This card gives us the standard 1959 yellow border for the Braves players.  This card is in rough shape but still stands out. Fathers' Day weekend reminds me of why I decided to collect Al Kaline cards.  My dad grew up outside of Detroit and was a Tigers fan.  He took me to a game in Tiger Stadium in 1980  when we were on a family trip up in Michigan.  This is my only Tigers card from 1959. Another example of the standard yellow border for Braves cards, this card is from the third player I am actively pursuing cards of. My lone AL All-Star cards fro...

 Our next stop in reviewing my collection is 1958.  I have a good chunk of the Braves team set from this year.  Here are my top 5 cards from 1958 Topps: Another of my recent Kaline pick ups is a nice portrait.  The red background pops. The pink background stands out on this card.  It is my only Bunning card and I need to get more for my Tigers PC. The trade of Red from St. Louis to Milwaukee helped the Braves reach and win the 1957 World Series. This card features the color scheme of most of the Braves cards from this set.  I like the dark green background with the red stripe at the bottom. This card differs slightly from most of the Braves cards with the lighter green background. I have five nice Hall of Famers from this set. Tune in tomorrow for my favorite. ======================================== This is such a great set the choice is a tough one but I have to go with the Spahn.  It was my first card of him from his playing days and is in that grea...

 1957 Topps is one of my favorite designs and, if I am ever a millionaire, I would put a set together. Here are the candidates for my favorite card: This is the earliest card in my small Spahn PC.  At some point I am going to start looking for Bowman cards of Warren. Joe Adcock was a potent bat in the middle of the Braves order. My Kaline collecting has been well-documented this past year and this is a nice start to it. Another good start to a small PC.  A truly great player.  Considering he and Adcock and Aaron were in the lineup is there any wonder the Braves went to two consecutive World Series? Until I got this card I hadn't realized that Tanner played for the Braves.  I just knew him as the manager of some terrible Braves teams in the 1980's. I also have several other Braves cards from 1957 that did not make this list. So who do you like from these five? ====================================== All of these cards are great but I love the Adcock the most....

 I'm not a huge fan of the 1952 - 1956 Topps cards but I have collected a few of the Braves cards: My top 5, in chronological order, are below: One of only two 1952 Topps cards that I have and my only Brave. Another nice card of Del Crandall.  This may be my favorite set from this era of Topps. I like this card even though I don't like the cluttered nature of the design. We end with two from 1956. Sorry 1955, you got left out. So who am I picking? Not in consideration, but from this era, we have this bonus. Joe Cunningham turns into Wally Moon when unfolded. ================================ While 1953 is my favorite design my favorite card is the Ernie Johnson.  I grew up listening to him on the radio or on Braves games on TBS.  I'm sure he would be proud that his son was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a broadcaster.

 We move on to my Bowman collection, with the exception of two Tiger cards it is all Braves. I've seleted one card from each of the years I have one from and then will narrow it down to my favorite. This is here by default as my only 1949 Bowman.  I just picked this card up recently. 1950 gives us Buddy Kerr.  I chose this because the other 1950's I have are all boring portrait shots. I have to go with Del Crandall for 1951.  I have a nice collection of the Braves All-Star catcher and this is an error card also, though the name was never corrected. This 1952 Bob Chipman is a little rough but I like the stadium background. I got this lovely Johnny Pesky earlier this year along with another 1953 Bowman Color Tiger card. My only 1954 so it is here by default but I still do like this card even if it does look like someone hand cut the signature and glued it on the card. I do not have a 1955 because I hate the fake TV design.  I'm sure I will eventually pick up somet...

 I've decided to go year by year (or Era by Era) and decide which card is my favorite. We start with my pre-Bowman collection. I've posted my T206 card a few times.  It's not a Boston Brave or Detroit Tiger so someday I will probably replace it to fit better in my PC. I've gathered three lovely Goudey cards that fit nicely in the PC and hope to get more. And these three Play Ball cards are a great, inexpensive option for pre-war cards. Before I reveal my favorite which one do you like? ========================================= We had two guesses for the Fred Marberry. Close but I like the Joe Mowry the best.  The blue and yellow color combo with that "Lou Gehrig Says..." puts it over the top.

With my fourth Ebay money purchase I decided to fill a couple more holes in my PC.  While I had gotten a 1933 Goudey out of the way I found a couple of 1934 examples to add to my Braves and Tigers collections. First we have card #59 of Boston Brave Joe Mowry.  The "Lou Gehrig says" on these cards is a major plus as I could never afford an actual Lou Gehrig card from this time period. This is card #70 of Detroit Tiger Pete Fox.  Having a Brave and a Tiger from this set is very satisfying. Another player that I could never afford from his playing days but is a need for any Tiger collection is Ty Cobb.  This same dealer had the 1960 and 1961 Fleer cards available so I took the plunge.  These cards are in fabulous condition. 1960 Fleer #42 1961 Fleer #14 Having these PC needs filled leaves a great taste in my mouth.  These cards come from 1,000,000 Baseball Cards in Manchester, Missouri and was my second purchase from them.  I will definitely look out for ...

 The third purchase from my Ebay gains is a mixed bag of PC needs. 1973 Topps Kaline leaves me with just the 1966 and 1968 cards needed to complete the run from 1957 to 1974.  While not a big fan of these posed batting shots I do like this, obviously, Spring Training photo of Al in sunny Florida. This nice 1962 Topps is a good addition to my Mathews collection.  I need to look for 1961 and 1963 cards to complete a run from 1957 to 1964. I looked to see what Aaron cards this dealer had and came across this 1968 Topps Game insert.  This pairs nicely with the Willie Mays card I have from this set and it's always welcome to get another Hank in my collection. These cards came from DugoutZone in Ellicott City, Maryland.

The last part of my stimulus card funding went to Warren Spahn/ 1957 Topps was the first "standard" size set from Topps and since I don't really like the bigger cards this is as early as I plan on going on my Topps Spahns.  Might go for some Bowman if I win the lottery.  1957 is one of my favorite designs. 1960 Topps is another one of my favorite sets and a great way to start the decade.  This and the 1957 give me a six year run of Spahn cards from 1957 to 1962. If we get another stimulus check there will be more purchases to fill some of my PCs.

When I got my large stimulus check I made a large purchase on Beckett Marketplace from a single vendor. I was going to scan the cards and do this post much sooner but had some family issues in March that delayed the scanning. Part one of that purchase fills some set holes and fit in with my vintage Tigers and Braves collections. 1939 Playball 115 Ralph Kress This is actually my second 1939 Playball cards but my first Tiger.  Playball cards are extremely affordable compared to other sets from this area and I will probably purchase more before the end of the year. 1940 Playball 57 Max West The only 1940 Playball card in my collection fits with my Braves PC.  I used to have a Johnny Evers card from this set but sold it about 10 years ago. 1949 Bowman 213 Red Barrett My first 1949 Bowman card gives me at least one Braves card from every vintage Bowman year. Part 2 of my purchase features some fills from my player collections.  Hopefully I will post them in a more timely ...

Daniel at It's Like Having My Own Card Shop was looking to add some Barry Bonds cards to is quest to get 762 different cards of the slugger. I had recently gone through all of my purge boxes and had taken out some cards of many great players including Bonds. The result was that I had around 40 cards that he needed. Since I am limiting my PC collecting he agreed to send me three lovely cards that I needed. This 1962 All Star card takes it's place beside the base Aaron as my oldest Hank Aaron cards. I didn't have an Aaron card from the 1968 set but this is a good start as it commemorates Hank leading the league in Home Runs in 1967.  It's easy to forget that Jim Wynn had some good years when you look at the other players on this card. Here is a 1970 Topps 1969 Home Run Leaders card to go along with the Aaron All Star card I already had.  Like Wynn on the previous card, Lee May stands out as the oddball player here. I seem to recall that Daniel and I completed a trade abo...