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.

 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 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.

 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.

  While looking through the pictures of my personal collection I came across the buyback cards that I've accumulated over the years. I don't have many of them and they seem random to me. Topps put a bunch of buybacks in products for their 75th anniversary.  This is a player I have never heard of but I like 1959 Topps so I'm happy to have this. This card I got out of a hobby box of 2008 Topps Heritage.  It fits in my PC perfectly as it is a Brave and I have a small collection of 1950's Crandall cards. Another Topps 75 buyback.  I have a regular copy of this card as part of my 1976 set build.  Maybe I should start looking for more 1976 buybacks. A 1984 Topps Paul Householder?  Rediscover Topps?  Why?!?! The final buyback comes from Bowman as part of the 70th anniversary.  At least this card is of a future Hall of Famer even if it is just a common card. Overall, I'm not a big fan of buybacks unless they are of a star player or from an older set....

Made another trade happen from Twitter and got 3 1976 Topps I need in exchange for a 1973 Steve Carlton.  That Carlton card documents one of the greatest pitching seasons ever.  The Phillies were 59-97 that year but Carlton was 27-10 and led the league in strikeouts. Wow! Here are the 3 lovely cards I got back in trade: That is Reds backup catcher Bill Plummer, Cardinals SS/2B Mike Tyson, and the team card from the Oakland A's.  This was the last great Oakland team from their dynasty.  They were the 3-time defending World Champions but lost to the Red Sox in the AL Championship Series. Thank you to the Baseball Card Kid for the nice trade. Please see my 1976 Topps want list for what else I need.

I've posted some For Trade pages and a 1976 Topps Want List page. I'm trying to complete the 1976 set. I'll be adding an 1980's For Trade and a Food Issue and Misc. For Trade list pretty soon.

Like the T206 set any true baseball card collector should have a 1952 Topps card in their collection. I bought one at a card show a few years ago that covered this base and also gave me a Braves card I needed for my PC. The dealer I bought this from had boxes full of baseball and non-sports cards for $3 each.  I also bought some Beatles cards from him. 1952 Topps is far from my favorite design and I like the 1952 Bowman cards better but, as I stated, I have to have one in my collection. This is not my first Torgeson card as I also have the 1951 Bowman. I would choose the Bowman card any day.

After my rant from the last post I'll start highlighting my personal collection. This will be one card at a time and I'll explain why the card is special to me. 1976 was the first year I bought a pack of baseball cards.  I bought the pack at a convenience store on the way back from my first Braves game.  My friend's little league team had reserved the left field picnic area at Atlanta-Fulton County stadium and he took me along. We got there well before game time and watched batting practice.  One of the kids on the trip was standing on a picnic table and got hit in the face by a line drive by Jerry Royster.  I retrieved the bloody ball but, of course, had to give it away.  The kid went to the hospital and, as I understand it, was given Braves and Dodgers uniforms. Dusty Baker had moved from the Braves to the Dodgers over the winter and he was signing autographs.  I had no real idea who he was but I had a piece of notebook paper so I got in the line.  H...

After they made the 1970-71 Basketball "tall" set Topps decided to go with standard sized cards for the next few years; until 1976 that is. The 1976-77 Topps cards are way too big.  They are hard to store except in a shoe box. Having said that, I somehow ended up with some cards from the set. John Drew was the Hawks leading scorer for several years in the late 1970's.  He was eventually part of the trade that got Dominique Wilkins for the Hawks. Not sure about this picture.  What was Topps thinking putting this on a card? My best card from the set is this David Thompson rookie card.  I don't think I ever saw Thompson play in a game.  I hear he was pretty amazing. Tell me what you think of oversized cards.