1969 Topps Set Pickups From The Antique Shop

When I wasn't buying high-value vintage cards or stuff for friends at the Columbia antique shop, I was knocking cards off of my 1969 Topps set wishlist.

I picked up 41 cards that I needed for the set.  After this trip, I need 178 cards to complete the set.  I couldn't believe that I still needed this Brooks Robinson for the set.  I thought I had added it a while ago.

There were a bunch of stars that I picked up,  This Don Drysdale was a nice pickup.  It is far from mint, but it is still a nice addition.  This is actually Drysdale's last Topps card, as he would retire due to chronically sore shoulder during the 1969 season.

This Bob Gibson is nice, but will probably be upgraded at some point.  I didn't notice that it had a big crease near the bottom right corner.  I know not to expect my vintage sets to be mint, so I may ot even upgrade it at all.

I picked up several of the All Star cards that I was missing.  I added this Brooks (again, I thought I had an extra of this from my PC), Willie McCovey, the below Ron Santo and a Bob Gibson.

So, I made a nice dent in the 1969 set.  I am happy with what I spent, and I hope to keep chipping away at this set this year.  It would be really nice to close it out BEFORE the National, that way I can pick up other stuff, but I don't know.  Events are piling up already for me this year, and budgeting is going to be tough.

Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Ron Santo

The last of the baseballs that I picked up with my Christmas money came in the form of this Ron Santo signed baseball.  I was able to pick it up with the Christmas money that I got from my grandma, and the ball turned out to be quite a steal.  It is a William White ONL baseball with a PSA auction letter.  I got the ball from Ebay, but the seller picked it up from a frequent shopping destination of mine, Collectauctions.  I actually looked at the lot that this ball was included in, but I declined to bid on it.  I ended up with one of the balls anyway!!

Santo (b. 1940 - d. 2010) played in the majors from 1960 to 1974 for the Cubs and White Sox.  He was Chicago through and through, following up his playing career with a longtime place in the Cubs' broadcast booth.

In his playing career, he had 2,254 hits, 342 home runs and a .277 batting average.  He was on 9 All Star teams and finished as high as 4th in the NL MVP voting (1967).

Santo was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2012 (posthumously) by the Veterans Committee.  He probably should have been elected a long time ago, especially since he passed away due to diabetes complications in 2010.

Santo is the 121st Hall of Fame signed baseball in my collection.  Hopefully, based on the voting results to be announced Wednesday, I will be able to count ball number 122 soon!

Thank you for the Christmas money, Grandma!

Instagram Trade With Michael S.

I completed a trade over Instagram with a guy from Texas named Michael when I sent him some set needs from 1958 Topps in exchange for some vintage Orioles and cards that he originally thought were 1969 Topps, but turned out to be 1968 Topps.  Honest mistake.  Luckily, I haven't tried to build the 1968 set, so any and all cards from that year are welcome.

The above 1967 Topps Frank Robinson is a PC need that I had yet to pick up and I was glad Michael added it into our deal.  The 1967 set is really growing on me and I have gotten quite a few star cards that I really like.

The 1968's that Michael sent me were more than common fillers.  There were a couple Hall of Famers and some other stars, like the above Mike Cuellar.  This one is in really good shape.  I think I have one, but I'm not completely sure, but I'm still happy to have this one.

Another star card I got was this Gil Hodges.  At some point, I imagine that Hodges will be in the Hall, but at this moment, he isn't.

Finally, one of the Hall of Famers I got was this Ron Santo.  I don't have very many Santo cards.  I was really happy when he was elected to the Hall, but it was a shame that it came a year too late, as Santo passed away before he could enjoy enshrinement.

So, thanks for the trade, Michael!  I hope you finish your 1958 set soon!

More From Drew

Here are some of the cards I got from Drew as part of my birthday package.  Drew sent me a few 1969 and 1971 Topps as well as some Orioles, a Jimmie Foxx and a Tim Lincecum.

In all, I got 4 1969 Topps that I needed for my set.  I've got  along way to go to completing the set, but I've started nicely.  It will likely take me several years to wrap it up, so any piece I can get to knock it down is always welcome.

Here is one of the 1971 cards I got, Ron Santo.  Santo is newly elected to the Hall of Fame, and rightfully so.  He played his entire career as a diabetic and lost his legs to the disease later in life.  It definitely is too bad that he did not live long enough to enjoy being elected to the Hall.

Finally, a personal favorite of mine, Jimmie Foxx.  I have done a lot of reading and discussing about the career of the Beast.  He is one of the greatest power hitters of all time, and I have held a World Series ring that he was a part of winning.  So cool.  One day, I will own a Jimmie Foxx signed baseball.  Just you watch!  I am taking donations, by the way!

So, thanks again Drew for the awesome birthday present!  I really appreciate all the cool stuff!

Congratulations, Ron Santo

I was very happy today to learn that Ron Santo was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame via the Veterans Committee.

Santo's election is long overdue.  It is a shame that he passed away almost exactly a year ago due to complications due to cancer and diabetes.

I know it looks like I ripped this card off of Chris' post over at On Card Autos, but I traded this card to him way back in 2009...

Looks like I have another signed baseball to chase.

Congratulations, again, to Ron Santo, his family and all Cubs fans everywhere!