show your money makers

it has taken me awhile to get to this post for a couple of reasons, but when i first saw night owl write about his top cards in terms of monetary value as determined by tcdb, i knew i would eventually share mine, too.

one of the reasons i waited was because i wanted to get this card in hand:

that is, of course, a 1963 topps ken mcmullen rookie card. it also features pete rose. i already had one of these, but i wanted one that was authenticated. authentic altered is a-ok with me, especially when the front looks as great as it does. the altered part has to do with the back:

paper loss and pen marking. i guess the original owner was a white sox fan, and i am just glad the defacing was limited to the back.  i bought the card on ebay, and it got sent through their authenticating process which just means that i received what i purchased.

earlier in the year when i was hanging out with fuji, we talked a bit about tcdb and i mentioned i had an unauthenticated version of the rose rookie card and that i was looking to pick up an authenticated version and then send my other raw card in to see if it would come back authentic. and so, a few months ago i finally pulled the trigger on an authenticated version, but haven't sent my other one in yet. i am guessing that it is a reprint even though it was advertised as authentic back when i bought it many years ago and someday i will find out for sure.

anyway, here are the top 12 valued cards in my dodger collection, according to tcdb:

#1 - 1955 topps sandy koufax

#2 - 1952 topps jackie robinson

#3 - 1955 topps jackie robinson

#4 - 2008 topps red hot rookie exchange clayton kershaw

#5 - 1954 topps jackie robinson

#6 - 1963 topps ken mcmullen

#7 - 1953 topps jackie robinson

#8 - 2006 fleer greats of the game bat barrel autographs steve garvey

#9 - 1956 topps sandy koufax

#10 - 2021 leaf lumber off the end of the bat relic steve garvey

#11 - 1952 topps duke snider

#12 - 1953 bowman color duke snider

just like night owl, i looked up my 100th priciest card, and it's this one

that's a 1953 bowman color pee wee reese. i've got two of them thanks to my double play collection.

keep in mind that these lists are only as good as the data, and there are many cards that don't have dollar values assigned to them, including my certified vin scully autograph from topps mint or my many 1/1 cards featuring steve garvey and others. there are also some high end cards that i own that are not on tcdb (2022 topps dynasty steve garvey cards, for example) and then there is condition to consider as well.

with my dodger collection now fully entered on tcdb, i plan to begin entering my complete sets, mini-collections, and hall of famer collection next, which will surely impact this list (thanks to vintage mickey mantles and a mike trout rookie and so on and so forth). it will be interesting to see where the list ends up!

dressen for success

i decided just after new year's to complete my 1953 bowman color dodger team set. one of the five cards i needed at the beginning of the year was charlie dressen's.

i wound up winning an auction for this psa 2 card for cheap, and i picked up the other three non-duke cards i needed on comc.

that's billy loes, russ meyer, and george shuba.  duke came last, thanks to a bargain from fritsch cards.

glad to see they are still going strong.

anyway, the highlight of the dressen card is the copy on the back:

there is an "away in a manger" joke in there somewhere.  obviously, bowman meant that dressen was a cocky little manager, and while he was at the helm of the dodgers, he surely could back that up with on-field success. as the card notes, his dodgers won the pennant in 1952 after losing to the "shot heard 'round the world" in 1951, and he also led the team to the pennant in 1953. however, that turned out to be his last year managing the dodgers, as he wanted a multi-year contract and was denied. so, the cocky little "manger" was out and walter alston took over.  alston wound up managing the dodgers until the final days of the 1976 season, and never had a multi-year contract.

dressen's post-dodger managerial career is outlined on the back of his 1965 topps card

which was another recent pick-up for my set build (i'm close!). here's what that card had to say:

there are a couple of issues here. first, it should end with him joining the tigers in 1963, not 1953. second, his stint as dodger manager is referenced as being with the "old" dodgers, but his stint with the senators does not get the same qualifier. i assume topps was referring to the brooklyn dodgers as the "old" team, but the senators that dressen managed were the twins by the time this card came out, with a "new" version of the senators having joined the league in 1961. just a quirk that i would expect an editor to pick up on.  and, i realize that they are only recognizing his managerial stints, but it is worth noting that dressen was a coach and/or scout for the dodgers in 1958 and 1959, as well as in  1963 prior to becoming the tiger skipper.

dressen passed away during the 1966 season while managing the tigers, and they wore black armbands in his honor for the remainder of the season. no cards exist that i have found showing the armband, but there is this photo

of earl wilson with the armband on full display.

i am thinking that i will work to complete my 1953 topps dodger team set next, but i already have dressen's card (it's just a few of the high numbers, including the johnny podres rookie, that are left). that means that the only other charlie/chuck dressen card that i need for my collection is his 1952 topps high number card, so my guess is that the cards shown above are the last cards of his that i will add.