Mail Day - Virgil Trucks Rookie Card and More!

I came home from work today to find a nice bit of mail waiting for me.  The most important pieces being the 1948-49 Leaf Virgil Trucks short printed rookie card that I have had my eye on for a long time as well as a letter from Mr. Trucks himself!

First off, I had (again) saved up a bunch of expense checks from work and used them on some Ebay purchases the other day.  I thought about buying a high-end signed baseball, but instead decided to buy this 'reasonably' prices 1948 Leaf.  It was the only base issue Trucks card that I did not have from his playing days, so I had been waning it for some time.  Thing is, A: The 1948-49 Leaf set is really hard to find, B: this is considered his rookie card and C: this particular card was short printed.  I have seen versions of this card graded PSA 3 going for $480 on Ebay.  I got this one for much less than that.

As you can see, there is a bit of paper loss on the back.  The missing words are: "52 defeats."

Also, I sent Mr. Trucks a Christmas card along with a donation to his church as a thank you for all he has done for me and for fans everywhere.  His response was very nice.  He also included 5 autographed Diamond Signatures cards for me to "give to kids or use as [I] wish..."

I have started a page on this blog showcasing my Virgil Trucks collection.  Please give it a look and let me know what you think.  Mr. Trucks is one of my all-time favorite players and I am happy to be able to show off his cards and memorabilia.