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....

 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.