Vintage Pickups From Bryce

I got a Kik message the other day from my buddy, Bryce, showing me this sweet Carlos Gomez patch card that he was hoping to be able to pick up.  Bryce was a little worried, though, that he wouldn't be able to raise enough funds fast enough, before someone else jumped on the card.

I had a little money in my PayPal, so I was willing to help him out.  While looking on his page, I noticed that he had a few vintage cards that I really liked, so, instead of contributing a little bit toward his cause, I ended up putting him over the top of what he needed.

The above Roberto Clemente was the card that was the key to the deal, for me.  I knew I had my '64 Mantle coming in, so I figured if I could get this one as well, I would be well on my way with the '64 set, whenever I decided to start it.

The card is in great shape, regardless of the bad centering.  The corners are sharp, and there are no creases.  Bryce was really reluctant to let it go, but he knew I would give the card a good home.

I have picked up a few '61 Topps cards here and there, the Ernie Banks being a key one, so I was happy to see that Bryce had this Mathews available.  The '61 set is another of those early 60s sets that I want to get moving on, but will have to wait until I get some others completed.

Here is yet another set that I already have a good head start on, being that I have the Ernie Banks and Sandy Koufax in my possession.  This Killebrew second year card has soft corners, but is otherwise in pretty decent shape.  1956 Topps has grown on me, and I wouldn't be surprised if I get the urge to start building this one if I can get some others out of the way.

I was really happy with the deal with Bryce.  He has quickly become one of the people I talk to the most from Instagram.  He wrote me a really nice, long note that he included with the deal, and you all know that the notes are my favorite part of any package.

Thanks for the deal, Bryce!  I hope you enjoy your Carlos Gomez patch card as much as I enjoy these sweet vintage cards!

June 21, 2014 Raleigh Card Show Part 3 - 1959 Topps Pickups

The bulk of what I picked up at the show today was a great deal of set needs for my 1959 Topps set.  Check out this awesome Yogi Berra I got for $30.

In all, I got 19 cards for my 1959 set.  Most of them were in great shape.  This Robin Roberts, for $3, was the roughest of the bunch.

I got this Eddie Mathews for a steal at $15.  Not too bad, I think.

This Whitey Ford was probably the best looking of the bunch.  I got this one in a bulk deal, so I don't know what the individual cost of it was.  Much better than the $35 price tag, I assure you.

This Enos Slaughter isn't rough, but it sure is off center.  I had a Larry Doby that was just as bad and I ended up upgrading it.  I may do the same with this one, we'll see.

Hey, look, another Mazeroski.  He seems like he was a common pickup today.

I got a whole bunch of these group cards.  I already had quite a few of them, and I feel like I knocked out most of the remaining ones.

This Ashburn/Mays card might be the second roughest card in the bunch, but I got it dirt cheap and I'm ok with that.

This Podres/Labine/Drysdale was the last card I picked up before I headed for the door.  I had $4 left in my wallet and figured I might as well see what I can get for it.  I saw this card for $6 and offered the guy $4 and he took the offer.

I looked at a few of the team checklists today, but this was the only one I grabbed.  The back is unmarked and the card looks really cool.

The next two cards are more of the group cards, but the coloring on each really make them pop.  This Fox/Aparicio is a nice one of two Hall of Famers that I oftentimes forget about.

Stengel shows up in a few Topps regular issue sets quite a bit.  This one of him discussing baseball with the legendary Don Larsen is pretty cool.

Here we are with another old manager.  Billy Martin isn't in the Hall of Fame like the two guys I talked about in my previous post, but getting this card was really nice.  Especially since his early cards carry a little bit of a premium.  I honestly believe it is because of the name recognition in that he was the Yankees manager for a time (several times).

Finally, the sole semi-star RC that I picked up.  Johnny Callison was quite the second baseman in his day.  I had heard Brian Roberts (pre-injury) compared to him in the past.  I really like these RCs in 1959.

So, there you go, those are all of my set needs pickups from the card show.  My next post will be about my few vintage PC pickups.

1955 Topps #155 - Ed Mathews

Eddie Mathews (b. 1931 - d. 2001) is regarded as one of the greatest 3rd basemen of all time. He played in the majors from 1952 to 1968 for the Braves, Astros and Tigers. He retired at age 36 with 2,315 hits, 512 home runs and .271 batting average. He led the league in home runs twice (1953 - 47 and 1959 - 46) and hit 40 or more home runs four times. Mathews would form a potent one-two power punch in the Braves' lineups of the mid '50s to mid 60's with Hall of Famer Hank Aaron. Their combined home runs as teammates (863) moved them ahead of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig for most all-time by teammates. Mathews was traded to the Houston Astros before the 1967 season and became the eight player to reach 500 home runs when he connected off of Juan Marichal.

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Mathews is the only player who played for the Braves in Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta.
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Mathews' 1952 Topps rookie card is the second-most expensive card in that set to (duuuh) the Mickey Mantle.

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Ty Cobb said of Mathews "I've only known three or four perfect swings in my time. This lad has one of them.

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Mathews was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1978 (his 5th ballot????) with 79.4%(really?) of the vote. I sincerely believe that this is proof that Mathews is one of the more underrated Hall of Famers there is.
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Mathews was picked to be the first athlete shown on the cover of the first issue of Sports Illustrated in 1954.

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Mathews managed the Braves from 1972 to 1974 and was managing when Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run.

(HALL OF FAME 12)

(DECEASED 83)

(MANAGER 16)

Here is my Eddie Mathews autographed ball that I got a couple months ago. Thought it would be cool to showit along with his '55.

Card Show Pickup - Eddie Mathews Autographed Baseball

I picked up my 18th Hall of Famer autographed baseball at the card show. Braves great, Eddie Mathews. I've been wanted to get one of his baseballs for a long time now, and the vendor made me a sweet deal. It looks great, which is always good, haha. I'm wanting to get Warren Spahn really soon too, so he may be one of my next purchases. We'll see, though.

Eddie Mathews seems to be a kind of forgotten player. He hit 500+ home runs in his career, but may have been overshadowed by his teammate, Hank Aaron. Not bad company.

Hidden in my Collection - 1964 Topps Ed Mathews

I got this card from a guy who used to come in the shop all the time; he was looking to unload some vintage stuff and quoted me a decent price. It was a little more than I wanted to spend, but it was for this card, as well as several other vintage cards that I may get around to posting as part of my 'Hidden' series.
I'm a big fan of the 1964 set and definitely want to build it sooner rather than later. I think they are very sharp looking cards. I liked the Mathews, because at the time I didn't have too many of him. As it stands now, I have his 1955, 1956 and 1964 Topps and his 1955 Bowman. Not too bad. From what I could tell, his 1952 Topps rookie card is the second-most valuable card in that set (behind the Mantle, of course). I have a lot of friends who are Braves fans, so I have taken an interest in their players. Mathews was a heck of a player for sure, and I just imagine a lineup featuring Mathews and Hank Aaron as well as a rotation that featured Warren Spahn. It's no wonder they won the 1957 and 1958 NL pennants and the 1957 World Series.

Trip to Columbia, SC - Part 1

This past weekend, Max, Chris and I took a drive in the new car to Columbia, SC in order to see my brother, and to go to a Greenville Drive game. Chris and I left Greenville, NC Friday evening and picked Max up from NCSU in Raleigh. We, then made our way south to Columbia. We stopped in Florence, SC for dinner and then ended up at my brother's apartment around 11:30PM.

We woke up Saturday morning and decided to check out two of Columbia's card shops and ride around the city. One of the card shops is actually an antique store (see my post from a couple months ago, this is where I found the 1953 Bowman Musial). Not to be outdone on this trip, and having Max with me this time, I picked some equally as cool stuff. Here is the first card I got from there:
A 1955 Bowman Eddie Mathews. I LOVE the TV Set design. Silly? No way man. It looks awesome. I love this set, 1962 Topps and 1987 Topps. The wood design is great. It just has a certain appeal to me, and I do enjoy it.

Mathews was a great player. Too bad he is no longer with us. Interesting fact: Often overlooked, his card is the second most expensive card in the 1952 Topps set. Still not close to the Mantle, but a VERY expensive card. BV ~ $6,000-$10,000. Ouch.

I'm going to stick with cheaper options, like above. Check back tomorrow for the next vintage pickup from the antique/card shop.

Hall of Fame Day (Mail Day IV)

Woo Hoo! The hits keep on coming, I got 2 more 1955's in the mail today. Yogi Berra and Eddie Mathews. Not too bad, a little paper loss on the Yogi, but not too bad considering. Please leave me some comments. If you guys haven't noticed, when a comment is left for me, I usually try to respond in the same comment, so if you sent me one, odds are you have a response afterward. Thought I'd make sure that was out there!! Royal Rumble sunday, come and watch it!!!!