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 was one card short of my Kaline goals from the Beckett Marketplace so I switched to Ebay and found the 1969 base card I needed. Card number 410 completes my run from 1957 to 1973.  What about 1974 you ask?  It's around here somewhere so I will have to search for that. Maybe sometime I will decide to buy his cards from before 1957 and purchase some more All-Star and multi-player cards of Al but I am satisfied with where I am. This completes my fun money run on my Braves and Tigers collections unless I win some lottery money or another Stimulus check comes out. I hope you have enjoyed my pursuit and will look forward to what I post in the future.

 I found a dealer that had two more Kaline base cards I needed plus a bonus to add to my collection. 1965 Topps #410.  Another fake swing card but this gets me closer to the complete standard size Kaline collection so no more complaints. 1968 Topps #240.  Here is a much more natural pose even if it is in the middle of nowhere.  And another one checked off the list. 1968 Topps Game #27.  I love this set and this gives me Mays, Aaron and Kaline so that is a great outfield. So now I am down to a 1969 and the ones listed on the Beckett Marketplace say the dealer is on vacation until July so I may have to hit Ebay to see what I can find.

 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.

 My second order from my ridiculous ebay gains netted me two more PC needs. 1965 Topps is in the lower middle of my favorite Topps designs but I do like this clean Kaline at a good price. The second Kaline from this order gives us this pop-tastic 1972 Topps.  Another set in the middle of my favorite designs. At this point I only lack the 1966, 1968 and 1973 Kaline base cards, one of which will be coming in the next mail post. Thank you to Mac's Collectibles in Springfield, MO for these two fills.

 In 2018 I bought one hobby box of Allen & Ginter at a card show.  My best finds at that show were the two Acuna and two Ohtani Topps Chrome RCs from the two boxes of Topps Chrome I bought; or so I thought. Flip to 2021 and I run across the Brooklyn Back Mini (09/25) Cryptocurrency card I got out of that A&G box.  I knew it had value as a Brooklyn Back but holy $#%$ I was not expecting what I found on Ebay. Deciding that I needed to get tires, tune-up etc. for my car I listed the card with a ridiculous (to me) Buy It Now amount and sold it within an hour.  A week and a half later, after shipping and delivery, I got a nice amount of funds in my checking account. I got the car repair done this past Saturday but also have made four card purchases in the Beckett Marketplace for some PC fills. The first to arrive in the mail is some more Al Kaline's to try and complete my run of his standard sized cards. Here is a lovely 1959 Topps All-Star card of our favorite De...

 The second part of my stimulus purchase I reserved for some Al Kaline fills: 1960 Topps.  I really enjoy the change of pace in the 1960 Topps design.  I'm not usually a fan of a horizontal set but this one works for me. 1962 Topps is probably my least favorite 1960's design and these fake swing poses never impress me. 1964 Topps.  This is a set I could see my self trying to complete after I finish my 1976.  Since I have been pretty passive in finishing the 1976 set that will probably be a while. These three cards now give me an uninterrupted Kaline Topps run from 1957 to 1965.  I need the 1966 and 1967 to fill up to my 1968 so I will probably be looking for those sometime this year.

  I filed early and got a decent tax refund so I decided to buy a couple of more vintage cards for my PC. First up is this lovely 1957 Topps Al Kaline that fits nicely into my vintage Kaline collection.  It is now my oldest card of him.  Since I'm not a fan of the oversize Topps cards from before 1957 it is likely to stay my oldest Kaline. My collection was missing a Goudey card so I picked up this card that checks that off the list and is an addition to my vintage Tigers collection.  It is now my second oldest baseball card. A big thank you to Medina Sport Cards in Medina, Ohio for having these two great cards at good prices.

My second package from Monday is all Al Kaline. 1959 Topps is one of my favorite sets.  I have an Eddie Mathews from this year also. The 1961 Topps design is a little basic for my taste but this was picked up cheap so not going to complain. 1963 Topps has grown on me over the years.  This is the only Hall of Famer I have from this set. 1967 Topps is another classic design.  We love a good spring training photo with random people in the background. Overall I liked this purchase and the other one and will use the marketplace again when I decide to buy some more vintage Tigers.

I decided to delve into the world of the Beckett marketplace for the first time to start my Tigers vintage collection. My father was a Tigers fan since he grew up outside of Detroit in the 40's and 50's. I ordered from two dealers on the site. Here are the cards from the first package. These first two are form 1953 Bowman Color.T  Bill Wight and Johnny Pesky were both traded from the Red Sox to the Tigers in the 1952 season.  These are my second and third Bowman Color cards after my Braves Jack Daniels card. The other two cards are these lovely 1958 Topps.  This is my oldest Kaline cards and a second year Jim Bunning.  I love 1958 Topps and have a few nice Braves from this year also. Before these 4 cards my oldest Tiger was my 1960 Norm Cash so I'm happy to get cards from when my father was younger and may have seen these guys play in Tiger Stadium. Overall I am happy with this purchase and even got a 15% off code if I purchase from this dealer again.