Sports Cards Ate My Brain

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.

My concept here is loosely inspired by last week's Big Bang Theory episode in which Sheldon registers to be selected for an expedition to Mars. I started thinking about what I would be able to take with me on such a mission and decided I could take no more than ten 9-card pages from my card collection.  I also decided that each part of my collection cannot have more than one page.  The cards must fit into a regulation page as far as height and width but I am taking liberties with how thick some of the cards are.  This means my 1956 Topps Ernie Johnson had to be left out but some thicker memorabilia cards are included. Here are my ten page themes. 1. Braves 2. George Brett 3. Other Baseball 4. Football 5. Hockey 6. Basketball 7. Soccer 8. Golf 9. Other Sports 10. Non-Sports cards Here are the nine Braves cards: 1957 Topps 117 - Joe Adcock This is a perfect card to me and represents why I love the 1957 design. Joe looks like all of the 6'4" 210 lbs...

I picked up a few 1960 to 1962 Topps Braves cards at the December show. 1960 312 - Charlie Lau Charlie was a back-up catcher most of his career.  He is more famous for becoming a hitting coach.  He worked with several stars on their stances, most notably George Brett. 515 - Stan Lopata Another back-up catcher, in 1959 Stan only hit only .104 in 48 at bats. 534 - Ken McKenzie Pitched in the minors in 1959 before being called up to the Braves in 1960. 1961 105 - Carl Willey Pitched out of the bullpen in 1960 with a 6 and 7 record. 1962 100 - Warren Spahn Warren had an average season in 1961.  Average for him, that is.  He went 21 and 13 with a 3.01 ERA and won his 300th game. 265 - Joe Adcock Joe had a great season in 1961 with 35 homeruns and 108 RBI.  1962 would prove to be Joe's last season with the Braves. 443 - Del Crandall Del only played 15 games because of injury in 1961. Next up will be a bunch of 1967 c...

The last 5 1959 Topps cards I got at the card show all feature the "normal" yellow background for a Braves card from that year. 347 - Bob Buhl After 2 straight 18 win season Bob was injured in 1958 and only started 11 games. 366 - Humberto Robinson Humberto pitched  19 games in relief in 1958 with a 3.00 ERA. 396 - Bob Rush After coming over from the Cubs Bob went 10 and 6 for the Braves in 1958 with 2 shutouts. 425 -  Del Crandall I technically have this card already but the other one has a 50th Anniversary stamp on it from the 2008 Topps Heritage set. 499 - Johnny O'Brien Johnny came over in a trade after the 1958 season.  While playing for the Pirates in 1956 and 1957 he pitched some games before switching back to the infield.

165 - Bill Bruton Bill had a knee injury in 1958 that limited him to 100 games in the regular season.  He recovered in time to hit .412 in the World Series. 188 - Juan Pizzaro Juan split the season between Milwaukee and Wichita in 1958.  He finished with a sub-3 ERA at both levels. 204 - Casey Wise The back of this card proclaims that "Casey gets on base plenty via walks."  This must have been his main method of getting on base considering his .197 batting average in 1958.  This DID raise his lifetime average to .186. 259 - Jim Pisoni A power hitting minor league outfielder, Jim did not play in the majors in 1958.  He only played in 9 games for the Braves before moving on. 315 - Joe Adcock Joe was the right-handed complement to Frank Torre at first base.  He smacked 19 home runs in only 320 at bats. 322 - Harry Hanebrink Yet another back-up infielder.  Hit a weak .188 in 1958 before being traded to the Ph...

I picked up a BUNCH of 1959 Topps Braves at the last show so I'll break them into three posts. The defending champion Braves reached the World Series again in 1958 but lost to the Yankees.  It would be 1991 before the franchise reached the series again. Like the 1958 Topps the 1959 feature a "normal" design for the Braves cards, yellow background with red name. 54 - Mel Roach As a backup middle infielder in 1958 Mel hit a nifty .309 in 136 at bats.  This is the only green example of a Braves card I have from 1959. 65 - Frank Torre The brother of Joe, Frank was the left handed part of the Braves first base platoon with Joe Adcock.  Like Mel Roach, Frank hit .309 in 1959 but in 372 at bats. 95 - Carl Willey It's pink!  A rookie in 1959, Carl had a nice 2.70 ERA in 140 innings. 104 - Del Rice A nice example of the "normal" Braves card from this set.  Del served as the Braves backup catcher. 128 - Bob Hartman Bob pitched for ...

I already have a good number of 1958 Topps Braves, including Spahn and Mathews, but I found 4 more cards I needed at the last show. 223 - Andy Pafko Andy provided a veteran presence on the 1957 World Champions.  The light blue background is not normal for a 1958 Topps Braves card. 247 - Casey Wise Played for the Cubs in 1957.  Once again this is not the "normal" design for a 1958 Topps Braves card. 313 - Bob Rush. Also played for the Cubs in 1957.  19 of the 26 1958 Topps Braves cards that I have feature a green background and a red bar at the bottom, making this the "normal" design for the year. 472 - Joe Jay More commonly known as "Joey".  Spent all but 1 game in the minors during the 1957 season.  Won 21 games twice for the Cubs in the early 60's. Next up will be the 17 1959 Topps Braves cards I picked up at the show.

Joe Adcock was the Braves mainstay at First Base from 1953 to 1962.  After 3 years in Cincinnati he came over from the Reds in a four team trade that also involved the Dodgers and the Phillies. On July 31, 1954 Joe hit 4 home runs and a double.  His record for total bases (18) in a game stood until 2002.  He ended his career with 336 home runs and still stands at 99th place all-time in that category. He got the game winning hit during the game in which Harvey Haddix, of the Pirates, pitched 11 perfect innings but lost in the 12th. Joe was also a very good fielder and led National League first sackers in fielding 4 times. He played one year with Cleveland and then closed out his career with 3 seasons on the Los Angelas/California Angels. I received the 1960 card at the bottom of the scan as a Topps Home Team Advantage Giveaway.  You got one card in a plain silver pack for buying a certain amount of Topps products.  It was an incredible surprise ...

The last of the baseball cards I got at the show are 5 cards from 1956 Topps: 131 - Bob Roselli Another backup catcher.  Had 9 at bats in 1955 but was featured in an early series.  Go figure. 185 - Bill Bruton Led the NL in steals for the 3rd straight year in 1955.  Set the table for the big boppers in the Milwaukee lineup. 244 - Bob Buhl A solid pitcher for several years with the Braves.  Was 3rd in the NL in ERA in 1955. 254 - George Crowe 15 HR and 55 RBI in only 303 ABs in 1955. 294 - Ernie Johnson ERNIE!  With Pete van Wieran's recent passing, all 3 of the Braves voices I grew up with are gone.  Ernie was a top flight relief pitcher for several years for the Braves and a key piece of their bullpen during their World Series campaigns in 1957 and 1958.  You young'uns probably know his son better from watching NBA games on TNT. I have 7 more cards to write about from this show but I'll keep them a mystery until the n...

I need many cards from the "big" Topps sets of the early 50's.  I picked up 10 cards from these sets.  Here are the first 5. I added my first 1952 Topps Braves cards: 97 - Earl Torgeson I prefer my earlier Bowman Torgeson's but it is nice to finally have a cards from this iconic set. 1953 Topps 185 - Jim Pendleton The Braves received Jim from the Dodgers before the 1953 season. 214 - Bill Bruton My favorite Bill Bruton card so far. 1955 Topps: 23 - Jack Parks Played 11 years in the minor leagues before making the Majors with the Braves in 1955. 103 - Charlie White Another backup catcher from 1955.  I see a theme! Next up will be 5 1956's.