if it's iconic is it a keeper?

it was not quite a year ago when i completed the 1961 topps baseball thrills subset. the last card i needed was babe ruth's, and i picked it up as part of a partial set purchase. there were about 100 cards from the set in the purchase, including the ruth and this card

roger maris was number 2 in the set

while his mvp counterpart (and world series champion) in the national league, dick groat, was number 1.

i decided not to pursue the full set and wound up flipping the other cards as a lot on sportlots except for the ruth and this maris. i kept the maris even though it doesn't fit within the standard confines of my collection. i thought about putting it as the 1961 topps representative in my topps flagship year by year collection, but i currently have tracy stallard (who gave up maris' 61st home run in 1961) in that spot. i bought the stallard at my local card shop when i was just a kid and so i don't see moving it out of my collection. i suppose that is why i also have the "meaningful and just because" minicollection - for cards like this which don't have a home but are worth holding on to.

maybe i should start an "iconic card" minicollection. that would be dangerous!

thrilled to have this babe in hand

i finally picked up the last of the 1961 topps baseball thrills subset cards i needed to complete the 10-card run.  of course, it was the biggest card that was the final one i obtained:

i know the backs were written as if they were from the time that the event occurred, but i still find it incredibly interesting that this card was issued the year that babe's record would fall, thanks to roger maris, expansion, and a 162 game schedule.

i am not sure what is next - maybe the 1959 topps baseball thrills? there's no ruth in that set, but there are cards of willie, mickey, and the duke - plus hank aaron, ernie banks, and stan musial. yikes!

350 is a magic number - we're number 1s

a few weeks ago i noted that i was pondering the idea of adding a number type mini-collection to my collection. of the options i considered - 190, 272, 350, or none at all - i decided to go with 350. 

i am posting cards from the same year of each decade, and so far i've shown the 8s, 7s, 6s, 3s, and 2s. this post will be all about the 1s.

1961 topps #350

ernie banks failed to win his third mvp in a row in 1960, but he did lead the national league in home runs. i haven't shown the 9s yet, but this is banks' second turn at number 350 in three years. 

1971 topps #350 

billy williams makes it back-to-back cubs a decade apart. williams was second in the nl mvp voting in 1970, and led the league in runs and hits. as the card back notes, his consecutive game streak ended at 1,117 games and would stand as the league record until steve garvey passed him in 1983.

1981 topps #350

jr richard was as dominant of a starter as you will see. it seemed like he always shut the dodgers down, and the abrupt end to his 1980 season and career was startling and tragic. i believe the astros would have made an appearance in the fall classic in 1980 had richard still been pitching.

1991 topps #350

glenn davis brings us back-to-back 'stros! he was one of those semi-stars in the late 1980's that commanded some attention but not enough to get too excited about. he was a big part of the 1986 astros' success and wound up finishing in second place in the mvp voting that year. unfortunately, he was in decline by the time this card was issued, and had actually joined the orioles for the 1991 season.

2001 topps #350

bruce bochy drew the lucky straw in 2001 when topps decided to start the manager cards at #322 and run them altogether. i stop short of calling this a subset, however. bochy took over the reins for the padres following the 1994 strike, and led them to the pennant in 1998. he later won three world series titles with the giants, so he will probably be inducted in to the hall of fame at some point.

2011 topps #350

francisco liriano stormed out of the gate in 2006 as the card back says, and finally returned to a similar form in 2010. again, the card back tells the tale of him winning the comeback player of the year in 2010 which is sort of strange given that he pitched in a similar number of games in 2009, and the award usually goes to guys who missed much of the previous season. anyway, liriano was probably more deserving of 350 in 2007 (he got number 449).

2021 topps #350

d.j. lemahieu won his second batting title in 2020, making him the second player ever to lead each league in that category, just like the card back states. he was a decent choice for 350 this year, especially given how topps has once again been using card number 1 for standout stars the last few years.

i am tracking a few things in an effort to find any consistency with number 350, although there really isn't any. still, i am keeping track of the following occurrences, now through two posts:

number of reigning rookies of the year: 1 (kris bryant)

number of reigning mvps: 2 (frank robinson, robin yount)

number of reigning cy young winners: 0

number of reigning world series champions: 2 (keith hernandez, joe carter)

number of reigning pennant winners: 7 (frank robinson, steve garvey, robin yount, jack clark, keith hernandez, joe carter, clayton kershaw)

number of reigning league leaders: 10 (ernie banks - home runs; mel stottlemyre - complete games; billy williams - runs, hits; robin yount - hits, doubles; keith hernandez - walks; kenny lofton - sb; chase utley - runs; david ortiz - doubles, rbi; clayton kershaw - wins, era; dj lemahieu - batting average)

subset types: 2 (all-time all-stars, postseason highlights (2))

number of repeat players: 0

number of dodgers: 2 (steve garvey, clayton kershaw)

frequency of teams: cardinals (4), astros (4), cubs (3), mets (3), twins (3), dodgers (2), braves (2), a's (2), reds (2), brewers (2), yankees (2), white sox, giants, indians, phillies, red sox, blue jays, angels, rangers, orioles, rays, padres

i will have another post with another run of cards soon - stay tuned!

pitchers perfect

not too long after i mentioned i was working on the 1961 topps baseball thrills subset, i received an envelope from friend of the blogosphere mr. haverkamp. in it, he sent me this card to help me on my quest:

that is the harvey haddix card from the subset that documents his 12 innings of perfection thrown in 1959 in a game that ended in defeat and non-perfection. here's the back:

this card conjures up memories of armando galarraga and rich hill as far as near perfection goes. receiving this card in the mail was a thrill, and put me at only three cards away from completing the subset.

thanks jim!

of course, being three cards away made me look for the others i needed with a bit more fervor. i wound up adding the other card in the subset that deals with perfection:

that would be don larsen who was able to complete his perfect game in the 1956 world series. here's the back with the full scoop:

and not to be overlooked, i also picked up walter johnson's card from the subset:

he wasn't perfect, but he did pitch three shutouts in four days as the back explains:

with these cards, i am now down to needing only babe ruth's card. it has something to do with hitting 60 home runs in a season. it may be a while before i add that one to the collection. 

from my dad's collection to mine

a long time ago, i gave my dad a 1966 topps jim lefebvre card for father's day. i was a relatively new collector, and i found the card in my local card and comic shop's box of 1966 cards. i had asked my dad who his favorite player had been, and he said lefebvre. knowing that the dodger infielder won the 1965 rookie of the year award, i figured i would look for a 1966 card. anyway, that gesture, combined with my passion for collecting, encouraged my dad to begin a collection of his own and started us on a path of opening packs and boxes together each spring, and heading to a few card shows (including a national convention) over the subsequent years.

a couple of years ago, he formally gifted me his collection. i am not ashamed to say that i broke it up and used some of the cards to further my 1965 topps set build and a couple of mini collections, and i sold and traded some of the cards as well. there are some cards, however, that i used to create a new mini collection - cards from my dad - that features three of the pitchers that he collected:

1. sandy koufax

those nine cards, spanning from 1958 through 1966 fit nicely on a single page. my dad pretty much drew the line at the 1957 topps set (he only had one or two cards from years prior), so i am pretty sure he never owned a 1955 koufax rookie or his 1956 second year card. he did have a 1957 card of koufax, but he gave that to me several years ago when i was still working on my 1957 topps dodger team set. i have since upgraded it for the team set with this one

and moved my dad's old koufax card in to my '57 complete set build.

the 1958 card looks like it had been on display in a card shop window before my dad rescued it for his collection. he helped me understand that condition doesn't need to be king if all you are doing is trying to have fun with a hobby.

2. don drysdale

that is a complete career run of big d's topps flagship solo cards, including the 1957 rookie. i heard lots of references growing up to koufax and drysdale from my dad. he saw each of them pitch in person, and to be honest i am not sure which of them he favored. 

3. nolan ryan

my dad saw ryan pitch in person as a met once, which i am jealous of. i had the chance to see him pitch against the angels in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but never took advantage. what's worse is that ryan was dominant in his two starts at the big a in 1989 that took place while i was doing something probably much less exciting about 20 miles away.  anyway, i really am fond of this collection. i have no idea what my dad paid for his 1968 ryan rookie, but i do remember looking at it with a sense of awe when he added it to his collection back in the early 80's.  the last box of cards i recall opening together was 1990 topps, and that was pretty much the end of his collecting days. so, after he handed these cards over, i mined my own defunct player collection of ryan and added the 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994 cards. i find it very serendipitous that the result is 27 cards that fit squarely in three pages, and i think it is fitting that the collection is a combination of our efforts.

i am really happy to have these cards and plan to keep them together like this in my collection. i also have a 1966 topps jim lefebvre card in my 'meaningful and just because' mini collection. just look what it spawned!

i haven't seen my dad in person for 20 months, but we have plans to meet up in july. i am definitely looking forward to it! happy father's day tomorrow to all for whom it holds meaning!

just for the thrills of it

i've decided to go ahead and complete the 1961 topps baseball thrills subset. it's a 10-card subset in one of the later series of the set, and includes some interesting players and accomplishments. i coveted the lou gehrig card from a young age, and finally added it to my collection in the early 2000's. the most recent card i've acquired from the set is the mickey mantle card, but i still have a few to track down.  here are the cards i have

403 - brooklyn-boston play 26-inning tie

i have one of these in my dodger team set since leon cadore is featured

of course, the dodgers weren't the dodgers in 1920, they were the robins. still, a 26 inning tie is something to be marveled at, even 50 years ago. while it is still possible, it is highly unlikely that there will be a 26-inning game today given the fact that extra innings begin with a runner on second. i don't care for that rule.

404 - hornsby tops nl with .424 average

nevermind that it looks like hornsby is playing at wimbledon, this was one of the first cards from this subset that i obtained

hornsby's .424 average is the highest in the post-dead ball era. he is still the only national league player to win five batting titles in a row - tony gwynn came close by winning four in a row in the 1990's.

405 - gehrig benched after 2,130 games

like hornsby's card, i coveted this one from the day i first learned about it until the day i picked up this copy. i don't exactly recall when i added this card, but it was around 2000 or so.

i find it interesting that these backs feature text that was meant to reflect the real-time occurrence of these events. it is somewhat sad to read this one knowing that it wasn't going to be just "a day or two" - gehrig would never play in another game.

406 - mantle blasts 565 ft home run

i wrote about this one not too long ago...

so i don't have much to add, other than i recently checked to see what the longest homerun hit in the "statcast" era was, and it looks like there have been a couple of 505 foot dingers.

407 - jack chesbro wins 41st game

quick - who did chesbro pitch for?

i wouldn't have known it was the yankees except for the fact that he won 41 games and as such was someone that i read about as a young fan. chesbro is the only man to win as many as 41 games after the 19th century. there was only one other (ed walsh) to win 40, and the next highest total for a pitcher since 1900 is 37 by christy mathewson in 1908.  speaking of whom...

408 - mathewson strikes out 267 batters

i am a fan of christy mathewson, but this card confused me when i first learned about it, and it confuses me still

267 strikeouts was something that a national league pitcher had not accomplished since mathewson in 1903 when this card was issued (sandy koufax broke mathewson's league record in 1961 as a matter of fact), but that is not the point of this card. it is strange to me that this was considered for the subset when mathewson's american league counterpart that same season, rube waddell, struck out 303 batters. i guess the thrill is greater in new york than it is in philadelphia.

here's the full subset checklist, with the cards i own in strikethrough text

401 - babe ruth hits 60th homer

402 - larsen pitches perfect game

403 - brooklyn-boston play 26-inning tie

404 - hornsby tops nl with .424 average

405 - gehrig benched after 2,130 games

406 - mantle blasts 565 ft home run

407 - jack chesbro wins 41st game

408 - mathewson strikes out 267 batters

409 - johnson hurls 3rd shutout in 4 days

410 - haddix pitches 12 perfect innings

half of the set features yankee players. go figure. anyway, i have six of these cards which means i am over halfway there! i'll share the others (assuming i complete this endeavor) in the future.

hey mickey

i don't remember if it was a seller at a card show, a fellow blogger, or someone else who said it, but many years ago, when the only mickey mantle cards i owned were from the 1970's and/or later, i was told "everyone should have a mantle from his playing days". since that time, i have purchased both of his cards in the 1965 topps set (and i even had a third version that was graded as psa 4 which i sold last summer), plus his final tribute from the 1969 topps release, but i didn't have one from the 1950's until a month or two ago.

i've said it  a few times over the last year - now is not the right time to be building a vintage set - but i am choosing to persevere. 

i added a 1957 topps mickey mantle card to the set build and my collection.

i've been watching auctions for this card for almost a year. initially i was certain that i wanted a psa graded version, but softened that stance around the new year. i started looking for a reasonably centered card with the right kind of love, and i think i found it here. there is surface wear and there are wrinkles; there is corner wear - but not deliberate or conspicuously even corner wear - and the slight paper loss exposes nothing but vintage card stock underneath. 

here's the back, by the way:

the card mentions the triple crown without saying "triple crown", and we are treated to his incredible 1956 stats on the last line. plus, there's a brooklyn dodger angle to the cartoon trivia question to boot. i am pretty happy to have this card, even though it means that i now turn my full attention to the rookie card of brooks robinson.

one thing that i noticed while i was looking at '57 mantles almost every day for a year, is that the topps artists airbrushed someone out of the background. you can see it on this cleaner copy of the card:

there behind the end of the bat is someone trying to get off of the field. i've tried to isolate it here:

maybe it's the ghost of the babe. whomever it is, it is interesting to me that they were "removed" from the image rather than just left alone.

i should mention that one of the other reasons that i went with the card that i did (here it is again)

is that it was part of a personal mantle collection being sold by a longtime collector. as such, i added a second card from that collection to my purchase, this 1961 topps baseball thrills card:

i don't know if it's true or not, but 565 was a number that i learned pretty early on in my baseball fandom. here's the story:

i have three or four of the baseball thrills cards from this set, and i've toyed with the idea of completing the subset for quite a while. maybe i will and maybe i won't, but it's nice to have this card either way.

when i was maybe 12 or 13, the idea of owning a 1972 topps steve garvey card seemed like a pipe dream. for one, cards were much more scarce back then before the internet opened up a wider marketplace. the other thing was the price and i didn't see how i would ever pony up $40 or whatever for the card. i remember telling my brother that "it's just a piece of cardboard". as my collecting continued and matured, certainly this mantle card became something like the 1972 topps garvey on a grander scale. except it's not just a piece of cardboard, it's a '57 mantle.

1960's represent!

sometime around the year 2000, i began putting together "sampler" sets of topps sets from 1952 through 1969. i had no intention of ever completing any of those sets, and i figured it would be a fun idea to pick up a card from each team and each subset for those older sets.

i finished the task in a few years (it was a low priority), but then decided to scrap the collection as i began putting together the 1965 and 1957 sets.  now, i've decided to put together a "representative card" mini collection that will make it easier for me to see a great card from each topps flagship set from 1952 on.

i'll show off the cards occasionally, along with a reason for choosing that particular card. i won't use a card that is in my dodger collection, or any other collection for that matter, so i should wind up with a good variety.  here are the cards that represent the 1960's in this mini collection:

1960 - whitey ford

this is the last of the horizontal cards in this collection, and it's a good one. i used to have an al kaline card from this set, but gave it up to the travelling box several years ago that suspiciously went missing shortly thereafter. anyway, i picked up the ford card for my sampler project in a lot of vintage cards. very inexpensive card of a yankee hall of famer!

1961 - tracy stallard

this was the very first 1961 topps card i ever owned. i bought it from my local card and comic store when i was 9 or 10. i had recently read about roger maris breaking babe ruth's record and was excited to own a card of the pitcher who was victimized for number 61. a guy standing next to me at the counter as i presented the card for purchase said "hey, tracy stallard. isn't he the guy who gave up home run number 61 to maris?". i was nervous that this information might cause the store owner to jack up the price as if he didn't already know who stallard was. i paid a quarter.

1962 - brooks robinson

i still need the 1957 topps brooks robinson rookie, so this is the oldest card i own of the human vacuum cleaner. it was also part of a vintage lot purchase in the early 2000's. brooks was a big deal to me as far as collecting was concerned, thanks to his 1971 topps world series highlight card and his 1978 topps record breaker card.

1963 - al kaline

it's not a 1960 card, but here's kaline nonetheless. i picked up this card at a card show in the twin cities from kurt's famous vintage bargain bin. the crease across kaline's forehead meant big savings for me. i first learned of kaline around 1979 when i was doing research on players who wore number 6, like steve garvey.

1964 - duke snider

there was a time when i decided to complete topps runs for notable dodger players such as don newcombe, gil hodges, and duke snider (you'll see another example shortly). when i disassembled my player collections around the time that i started the sampler sets, cards like this duke migrated to the samplers. i'm still waiting for topps to make a 1965 duke card, even though he'd be a giant on that one.

1965 - bert campaneris

speaking of 1965, here is the first card i owned from that set. spurred by my interest in the a's thanks to billy ball in 1982 and given my fandom of catfish hunter, i was on the lookout for a's cards back to 1965. the local card and comic shop had long boxes of singles from old sets, and this campy was the first one i chose from the 1965 box. the kc cap and huge rookie "cup" trophy made it an obvious choice.

1966 - ted davidson

this was another card picked up for the sampler set, but it was done so with purpose. davidson was from my neck of the woods, and i even went to school and played little league with his son. however, i had no idea that his dad had pitched in the big leagues until another friend told me a year or so later. ted had even thrown batting practice to the little league all-star team one year - but it was (unfortunately for me) the year before i made the squad.

1967 - maury wills

here's another card from my efforts to complete topps runs of certain dodger players. this card also happens to be the first named topps maury wills card (his 1960 card is a world series highlight focused more on luis aparicio), and it's a high number to boot. 

1968 - tom seaver

this card was the crown jewel of my 1968 topps sampler set, although i obtained it in the mid-1990's. a few years before the internet and ebay, i traded my star wars figures and vehicles for baseball cards. a coworker of mine was a mets fan who had collected cards, but was turning his attention to toys. my brother and i had a serious cache of star wars figures, vehicles, and play sets from the original trilogy that were just sitting in a closet at my parents' house. i made my coworker throw in a 1989 upper deck ken griffey jr card in addition to his mets cards (which also included a 1971 topps nolan ryan card). i had no regrets, although i probably should have some now.

1969 - aurelio rodriguez

to be honest, i am not sure when i acquired this card - whether it was during my sampler days or before. i know i wanted to own it as a kid when error cards were all the rage and this one was touted as a prime example, even though it was an uncorrected error. when the gary pettis card came out in 1985, this rodriguez card was once again in the spotlight as they both featured people other than the supposed player, but not a different player. in this case, that's a bat boy on the card, while the pettis card featured gary's younger brother. it was a tough call between this card and the reverse negative larry haney card as far as representing 1969 was concerned, but in the end, the angel won over the pilot.

which cards would represent the 1960's in your collection?

up next, the 1970's represent! stay tuned...