1970 Topps Ernie Banks

I'm sure I owned an Ernie Banks card when I was little but whatever happened to it I cannot say. This is his 1970 card. His last Topps base card was 1971 but the card back has a paltry one line for his 1970 stats... And so this is the most complete of his cards during his playing career. 

Banks was voted into the Hall of Fame when it was still the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA in 1977.

This card had a little pencil writing and even some creasing, I think, on it (towards the barrel of the bat) which I didn't notice from the scan when I bought it off eBay in December during one of their promotions. I was able to us a special magic-like eraser to get rid of some of it, but I didn't want to press too hard. So I'll deal with it. 

How do you feel about cards that present one form of the player's name on the front and a different form of the name on the back? In this instance it's Ernie/Ernest. I think I prefer consistency and would rather they be the same.

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Lutheran Kruk's

Now... I sent out a bunch of batches of cards in January mostly to get rid of them to willing recipients. I never, as many of you know, do this to get cards back. As much as I do like getting cards in the mail (and really, any mail that isn't junk, bills, and stupid stuff, which basically means just baseball cards), I honestly believe I like sending cards out more than I like getting them! But Alex Luther is exceedingly generous and therefore sent me these 9 glorious John Kruk's in reciprocation for me sending him some cards.

Normally I separate all the cards out, but I think I got this, for the most part, pretty darn square & level when I scanned it so I thought I'd show these off as a unit.

Thanks Alex!!!!

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1971 Topps Pete Rose

So I got this card and then discovered I already had a 1970s Pete Rose card in my collection. I just hadn't scanned it yet. Whatever. So this will be a "double" Vintage card post of a should-be Hall of Famer.

The first here is the 1971 Topps card. This is a tough set because of the black borders. They show any and every little nick or discrepancy. I'm not a massive fan of the lower-case name and positions though I do very much like the overall design of the card. I don't know if it would have been possible in 1971, but the dot in the middle would have been better if it was a) white and b) had minute red stitches to make it look like a base-a-ball.

And the 1978 card. More hair. And the card back with the more stats is better than 1971.

Do you think we'll ever see another Player/Manager?

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9 Kruk's.... 9 Kruk's

This blog post is inspired by Edward Rooney...



9 Kruk's... 9 Kruk's...

I worked out a trade for some cards with Steve . He sent me these 9 Kruk cards and though to post office took their sweet time delivering them they arrived and they are wonderful.

A couple of 1988 Padres Kruk's!

Then the Phillies years...

I used to have this as my ID picture at my last job (printed it out from the Interwebs). So It's wonderful to have the real thing after I left that quasi-Hell-hole.

The Golden Rainbow (above) and base (below)...

Thank you so much Steve!!!

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The Manliest Card of All Time?

You need a card in your collection that reminds you of how feeble you are are a human.

That's why 1957 Topps Cincinnati Redlegs card number 165 for Theodore "Ted" Kluszewski exists. No matter what, you do not compare to him.

I do actually firmly because each of us needs this card in their collection. No collection can be considered complete without it.

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Marc & Nick Double-Team me

Marc B & Nick V double-teamed me recently with a nice group of cards. Marc sent me cards from Topps for 1994-2010, just random representative cards though many of them are featuring Hall of Fame players. It was done because I had commented on Twitter that I didn't have many or any cards from this era at all. So, it was a terrific act of kindness. Four Darryl Strawberry's were included. And, Nick put a veritable cherry on top with a custom card creation, too.

First, the Topps cards through the years!

Here we have 1994 through 1996 showing Jim Abbott, Wade Boggs, Kirby Puckett, Lee Smith, Len Dykstra, some Pirate and Brett Butler.

For 1997-1999 we have a lot of players including Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman, Tony Gwynn, Barry Larkin, and Jason Kendall. Kendall's in the Hall of Fame for having, probably, the best cards ever made (Bob Walk the Plank convinced me of this when he was blogging).

For 2000 to 2005, there is a nice selection, highlights being Tom Glavine, future HOF Adrian Beltre, and Harold Baines. And some classic steroid guys: Sosa and Canseco.

 For 2006 to 2011 there are more excellent cards including John Smoltz and Ken Griffey Jr. I just bought the Smoltz card a few weeks ago! If I had know. But having two of Smoltz's last Topps card is fine by me.

The Strawberry cards are grand. 1990 Score, 1993 O-Pee-Chee, 1997 Circa, and 2012 Topps Archives showing him as a New York Mets (right & proper), and as a Yankees and Dodgers.

The final card, courtesy of Nick V, was a custom 1959 Topps card of Sylvia Plath.

Thanks guys! These are some supremely awesome cards to add to my collection.

1967 Topps Whitey Ford

Whitey Ford! This lifetime New York Yankees pitcher was pretty good. A Cy Young, 6 World Series, 10 time All-Star, 2 time ERA leader, and World Series MVP, too. Pretty impressive.

So this card fits several categories in my vintage collection. It's an older card -- my first 1967 Topps card (maybe I had one when I was growing up but I didn't seem to find any when I reclaimed my stuff), a Hall of Famer, and also this is Ford's last Topps card as an active player. Sweet!

One thing I like about this card is that it lists "In Military Service". A lot of the guys back then had this on their cards, and I think of it in nostalgic terms, weirdly. Players these days salute those in the Armed Services, but they do not seem to actively participate themselves. Or am I wrong?

Whitey Ford was elected to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA in 1974, the same year as his teammate Mickey Mantle.

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