Ballad of Forty Bucks

(The title refers to a 1969 Tom T. Hall song called "Ballad of Forty Dollars." It's worth taking a listen, even if country isn't your thing. It's a great song.)

I've mentioned here before that I belong to a few Online collecting groups. One of those is Old Baseball Cards (OBC), whose terminology on particular sets I've mentioned in the past. Another of their phrases is "Dealer Scum." That's not an indication of how we feel about dealers -- in fact, we love dealing with the good and fair sellers out there -- but a term used for cards that are often more expensive. In this case, "scum" refers to the stuff that sits at the bottom of a barrel, not the dealers themselves.

I recently participated in a Dealer Scum deal with a collector from Maryland. He wanted $40 to help offset the cost of a larger lot, and I got these three cards from the 1960 Topps set:

Card #561 -- Al Kaline All-Star

Yeah, it's rough. But I'll be happy to cross as many high-numbered 1960s Topps cards off my list as possible. Though 1960 isn't as tough in the high #s as other years' sets, it's still nice to get them secured. I'll return to the All-Star subset shortly.

Topps sure got a lot of mileage out of the fact that Kaline won a batting title in 1955 at the age of 20. It was mentioned on several of his cards.

But that was only one of the cards I received. This was the second:

Card #316 -- Willie McCovey, San Francisco Giants

This card is significant for a couple of reasons. First, it's a rookie card of a Hall of Famer. Second, it was the first card of a brand-new subset that recognized the top rookies as picked by Topps. The subset would run through 1978 (except for 1974) and then be resurrected in 1987. McCovey was the first one numerically simply because he was the first baseman and the cards were arranged by position, but there wasn't a better player that could have been featured first.

The card was from a specialty subset, but the back was the same design as what the base cards had. Notice one thing on this card: McCovey never came to the Giants until July 30th. He only played 52 games, but played well enough to snag attention as the top rookie at his position, and win the league's Rookie of the Year award.

And here's the final card from the $40 package:

Card #563 -- Mickey Mantle All-Star

I like the design of the 1960 All-Star cards. The big two-colored "60" in the background and the fake "shadow" are goofy, but they're elements of their time and therefore charming. Plus, it's the biggest player in the set.

The condition is ragged, there's missing paper on the back and a tear on the bottom...but I still think it was worth the $40 I paid for the three cards. So let me toss out the question...would you pull the trigger on this deal if it was offered to you?

Names, Tags, Labels and Slang

My last blog entry featured a link to this page of hobby-related slang used by members of OBC, a group of "old school" style collectors that happens to include me. That list includes several "names" given to refer to certain sets.

For example:

1955 Bowman is referred to as the "TV set" for obvious reasons.

 "Horizontals" refer to 1960 Topps, although I argue that 1955 and '56 Topps should also have that name. Especially when you consider that not all '60 Topps cards are horizontal.

1962 Topps are called "Woodies." I suppose the label could also apply to 1987 Topps, but OBC officially stops paying attention in 1980. I didn't say that was right...it's just the way they do things.

"Burlap" refers to the outer edges that appear on 1968 Topps cards.

"Cool Gray" is a nickname for the 1970 Topps set, whose design has been mentioned as one that has aged a lot better than many expected.

 1971 Topps are called "Black Beauties," a name that is quite apt.

 "Psycho" is the name given to the 1972 Topps set, both as a result of its design and that little issue of the higher-numbered cards that keep many from completing it for an awful long time. Not that I'm bitter about it or anything...

And then there's the term "jiggler," which is said to refer to the 1962 and '63 Jell-O sets even though the term is rarely used. In fact, I don't recall ever hearing it used in any type of conversation.

Of course, OBC isn't alone when it comes to giving names to various sets. Right here in the Blogosphere, Night Owl is keeping a list of "define the Design" nicknames for several sets, both within and beyond the scope of what OBC deems its "window." There's one thing for certain...we collectors definitely use slang and jargon, which we can use to identify each other in our own unique geekiness.

Player's Been Traded -- 1960 Edition

I've featured a few cards in this blog over the year and a half I've been writing it that exhibit some of the means a young collector will use to make their cards as "current" as possible. Take this card for example:

In 1960, Andy Carey was traded to the Kansas City A's, which was something like getting sent down to the minors for Yankee players at that time. In fact, the deal brought Bob Cerv back to the Yankees, so it really was like an internal roster move.

As a result, his cards weren't needed to have a complete Yankees team set. Tom Tresh, on the other hand, wouldn't get his own card until later, so his name could be written on a piece of tape that covered up Carey's name.

Interestingly, I looked over Tresh's career...he wasn't active as a major leaguer until really late in the 1961 season. He appeared on a first series Topps card in 1962, and never was a regular in the outfield (as noted on the card) until 1963. It looks like a previous owner didn't yet have Tresh's card from '62 or '63 and fixed that problem in a big hurry.