Sports Cards Ate My Brain

 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.

To recap:  These are the cards I would take with me if I could take ten 9-card pages with me to Mars. I 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. The third page is made up of non-Brave, non-George Brett baseball cards. 1909 T206 Rube Geyer This card has to be included because it is my oldest baseball cards and is from one of the great sets.  This one has the common Piedmont back.  I got it at a pawn shop for $3.  For those of you who may be unaware, cards of all types were packaged with cigarettes in the late 19th and early to mid 20th century. 1968 Topps Game #8 Topps Game cards were inserted in 1968 packs.  This is my favorite one because it is an all-time great plus it is a Home Run.  This is one of the sets I'm trying to complete. 1969 Topps #237 This is Bobby ...

I picked up six 1968 Topps Braves cards that I needed. 30 - Joe Torre Joe had a decent season in 1967 with 20 home runs, 68 RBI and a .277 batting average but this was after a season of 36, 101 and .315. 55 - Felipe Alou Felipe hit 15 home runs with a .274 average but like Joe Torre his 1966 season was much better with 31 homers and a .327 average. 76 - Jim Britton/Ron Reed Jim Britton pitched 2 games in 1967 and spent 1968 and 1969 with the Braves.  His only other major league season was with the Expos in 1971. Ron Reed played 19 seasons in the majors and was with the Braves until 1975.  From 1965 to 1967 he also played for the Detroit Pistons in the NBA.  He average 8 points a game over his 2 seasons. 134 - Pat Jarvis Pat had a fine season in 1967 with 15 wins and a 3.66 ERA.  He later became the Sheriff of DeKalb County, Georgia for several years before corruption charges ended that career. 286 - Cecil Upshaw A rookie in 1967, Ceci...

Tommie Aaron was the brother of Hank.  He played for the Braves from 1962 to 1971 with the exception of 1964, 1966 and 1967 which he spent in the minors.  Was the International League MVP in Richmond in 1967. Tommie was the first Aaron brother to play in Atlanta as a member of the Crackers in 1965. Topps used the same picture in 1963 and then six years later in 1969 which is odd but the 1969 card is my favorite.   I still need the 1964 and 1971 cards.  The 1964 is a major need as I plan on completing the complete 1964 set after I finish my 1976.  The 1971 is a high number short print and will require a good price for my to get it. After years as a minor league manager and a major league coach Tommie succumbed to leukemia in 1984 at the age of 45.

I decided to organize my Braves collection by player since scanning and posting by year makes me try to come up with different things to say about the same player. I have literally do have cards from A and Z (Zuvella) to post about.  Some posts will be dedicated to one player if I have enough of their cards and they merit their own post. David Aardsma is the first major league player alphabetically but the first hitter listed is Henry Aaron.  Braves fans still consider Aaron the true Home Run King.  Turner Field is located at 755 Hank Aaron Blvd. That is until they move to Cobb County in a couple of years and I stop watching them.  (Yes, I feel that strongly about it.) I picked up most of my early Aaron cards by trade at my favorite card show and have gotten some in trades from other bloggers.  The condition of most is far from perfect but considering my budget and desire to complete years I'll worry about condition later on.  All of the cards on th...