On the Lighter Side...

Here's a "gem" of mine that was picked up at The Nationals:

It was sent to me after I got back from Baltimore, however. At the show, I ran into several of my OBC buddies including Larry "Guru" Tipton, who is legendary in the group for his condition guide. While at the show, he "scored" a collection of cards that were...shall we say, water damaged? After the show, he was kind enough to share cards of this "find" with members of the community.

In fact, he even inagurated his OBC-styled grading service called Guru's Grading Service (GGS). After lovingly grading and labeling many of the cards, he sent them to fellow OBC members as a way of spreading his good fortune.

I already have a 1961 Topps Hank Foiles in my own collection, so I'm not likely to free this one from its slab. Which may be a real treat for my nose.

Ballad of Another Forty Bucks

Last month, I featured the details of a deal that I recently completed and promptly had the most successful post on this blog in a long time. Well, here's hoping the iron strikes again...

The opportunity to make another "dealer scum" deal arose with the same trader (Ed Schott of Baltimore). For another forty dollars, Ed sent the following cards:

1961 Topps #200 -- Warren Spahn, Milwaukee Braves

 At first glance, this card looks really nice. However, the bottom edge is uneven, showing that it's been trimmed. The condition was made clear before the deal was made, which is important whenever money changes hands. As you can see, the condition presents well but little things like trimming need to be brought up ahead of time to head off future problems when (not if) they are discovered. As a seller, you really don't need to get a reputation because you don't notice details. Even if it isn't your fault.

I say that now, because the other card from 1961 is certainly trimmed:

1961 Topps #226 -- New York Yankees Team Card

There's no question this card was trimmed, as all four edges show uneven borders. However, this type of card makes some collectors a little squeamish. Personally, I'd rather have a hole in the card than one in the binder. I can always upgrade later.

Trimming is about the only thing that isn't apparent on the next card:

1958 Topps #351 -- Braves' Fence Busters

In 1961, three of these players -- Aaron, Mathews and Adcock -- would team with Frank Thomas (on the Pirates in 1957) to become the first tandem to belt four straight home runs, in a game against the Reds. The mark has been equaled six times since, but has never been broken. Topps was noting their power three years earlier.

Not only that, but it was a chance to add a card featuring two Hall of Famers into my 1958 Topps binder.

1954 Bowman #154 -- Don Newcombe, Brooklyn Dodgers

I also enjoy sliding another 1950s Brooklyn Dodger into the binder as well. And this one cuts my 1954 Bowman wantlist to 92 cards, but a quick count shows I still need 10 of the 14 Brooklyn Dodgers including Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese and Roy Campanella.

Fortunately, I'm not a fan of the Bums (even though I respect their impact on the game). The fact is, I'm a fan of this guy's team:

1954 Topps #50 -- Yogi Berra, New York Yankees

The flip side to being a Yankees fan is that I really need to adjust my expectations about how much I spend on the cards of the players who wore pinstripes over the years. This card -- beat up as it is -- accounted for about half of my $40 purchase.

So I ask again: would you have made this purchase? Or would the trimmed cards have made you reconsider?

A Little Prespective on Hall of Fame "Stats"

I was listening to another argument about who should and shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame recently, after the news broke that Ron Santo was going to be inducted. It reminded me of something I noticed a few years back when I added this guy's card to my 1961 Topps set:

This card was printed about midway through Sandy Koufax's career. He had six major league seasons behind him, and six more before he called it quits after the 1966 World Series. Now, take a look at the back of this card:

Halfway into a Hall of Fame career, Sandy Koufax had a losing lifetime Win/Loss record. He was 36-40, despite playing on two teams that won the World Series. This isn't the stat line you expect to see in the middle of what we now consider an illustrious career.

Of course, it was what Koufax would do over the next six years (129-47, two more World Series rings, 3 seasons with 300+ strikeouts, 3 unanimous Cy Young awards, 4 no-hitters including one perfect game) that would get him into Cooperstown. Few dispute that he wasn't the most dominant pitcher in baseball between 1961 and '66, but the career stats shown above aren't what you'd expect to see out of a top-notch performer midway through a career.

Player's Been Left Out -- 1961 Edition

I've featured cards on this blog before where the original owners used any means at their disposal to "upgrade" their cards to signify a trade. However, sometimes a player isn't featured in a set, so you end up with cards like these two from the 1961 Topps set:

This is card #28 and pictures Hector Lopez. He was a member of the Yankees between 1959 and '66. Since he actually hadn't been traded, I'll assume this card was a duplicate, since the tape names Marshall Bridges. Bridges pitched for the Yankees in 1962 and '63 but never managed to get on a Topps card. As a result, the original owner needed to make one.

This is card #40 and pictures Bob Turley, who was sold to the Angels after the 1962 season. The tape mentions Hal Reniff, who was with the Yankees in 1961 but didn't appear on a Topps card until the following year. I'm also assuming this was a duplicate that was adjusted to get a card for a Yankees team set.