Another TTM Success From Vern Law

A few weeks ago, I went up to Winston-Salem for a couple of games and stopped by the LCS.  They had a bargain box where I found this 1952 Bowman Vern Law. I picked the card up for a couple of bucks then dropped it in the mail to Law for a TTM request.  The card came back signed and loaded with inscriptions.  It looks really cool.

Law may have felt sorry for my beat up 52 Bowman, as he included this nice 1966 Topps.  He loaded this one with signatures, as well.

I mailed to Law on August 21 and got the cards back on September 5, for a 15-day TAT. I paid his fee of $20/card.

TTM Success - Ike Delock

I added some more vintage to the autograph binder with this success from Ike Delock.  I was looking for some nice Bowman cards to get signed, and saw that Delock was signing, so I chose this 1952 because I liked his Boston jersey.  This marks the second '52 Bowman that I have picked up for the binder (behind the Bobby Brown).

I waned to add some of Delock's Topps issues as well, so I picked 1959 and 1962, since it has been a while since I added any cards from these years to the binder.

Delock (b. 1929) played in the majors from 1952-1953 and 1955 to 1963 for the Red Sox and Orioles.  He had a career record of 84-75 with a 4.03 ERA and 672 strike outs.  He was signed as a free agent by the Orioles in June of 1963 and released a little more than a month later.

I mailed to Delock on March 14 and got the cards back on March 21, for a 7-day TAT.

TTM Success - Joe Presko

Some of my favorite TTM subjects are the players from the 1950s.  Maybe it is because I never got to see them play, or maybe it is because I like the vintage cards so much, but I always love adding their stuff to my album.

I picked up the above 1952 Topps to send out to Joe Presko when I saw that he was signing.  I want to be able to pick up as many of the early 1950s cards for TTM while I can.  Presko's '52 Topps is a pretty nice card, and I am glad to add it to the album.  As of right now, I hve 11 signed 1952 Topps, which isn't too bad a total, if you think about it.

I also got this 1952 Bowman, which looks really great, as well.  This one might look better than the '52 Topps, but this isn't a competition.  Still, I like the Cardinals uniform and the 'artwork' of this card.

Presko (b. 1928) played in the majors from 1951 to 1954 and 1957 to 1958 for the Cardinals and Tigers.  He had a record of 25-37 with an ERA of 4.61 and 202 strike outs.

I mailed to Presko on March 14 and got the cards back on March 21, for a 7-day TAT.

Another TTM Success From Bobby Brown

Again, I try to refrain as much as possible from sending multiple requests to former players for TTM, but there are occasions where I feel it is necessary to do so.  In the case of Bobby Brown, I wanted to make sure I had a 1949 Bowman represented in my album, and when I saw Brown's '49 Bowman, I jumped at the chance.

Take a look at that card.  It is really nice.  It is his rookie card, and I spent about $17 on it, but I am glad I did.  It will definitely look great in my album.

I also sent along this 1952 Bowman, which turned out really nice as well.  By my unofficial count, I have something from every vintage year of Bowman except 1948.  I haven't considered the refreshed Bowman from the 90s-present, although, I do have a bunch of cards from various years.  I may consider addind other years at some point, but for what I am doing here, I was trying to get one signed card from each year of Bowman from 1948 to 1955.

There aren't any players left in 1948 who sign TTM.  Red Schoendienst isn't really a sure thing with signing, so I will likely have to buy a signed '48 from somewhere.  If I only have to buy one year, then that isn't too bad.

Brown (b. 1924) played in the majors from 1946 to 1952 and 1956 for the Yankees.  He had 452 hits, 22 home runs and a .279 batting average.  He won the World Series with the Yankees in 1947, 1949, 1950 and 1951.  I sent a ball to him in 2011 and got it back.  You can read that post here.

I mailed to Brown on March 11 and got the cards back on March 20, for a 9-day TAT.  The 1949 Bowman is the oldest baseball card that I have been able to get signed on my own.

June 2015 Raleigh Card Show - Day 1 Recap

I am wore out from a long day of selling stuff at the card show.  For a two-day show, I have already broken even, and still have tomorrow to go.  I was able to add to my inventory tonight when I busted my three jumbo boxes of Series 2 Topps, but those hits will come at a later time (the ones that don't sell, at least).

I was really happy with the turnout today, and I hope I can sell a few more things tomorrow.  I didn't take much money with me to spend, but I was still able to get a few deals.  The theme of today's show seemed to be "well loved vintage."

I didn't have a whole lot of time to browse, but I did stop by the Huggins Auction booth where he had some vintage cards for 50% off of his sticker price.  He had a bunch of Hall of Famers, so I figured I would take the opportunity to add to my collection, a few cards that I wouldn't be able to afford otherwise.

The above '52 Bowman Yogi Berra has a really nice front.  Pretty worn, and all, but it looks really nice.

The back, on the other hand, is rough.  The card would probably grade at less than a 1, but it is still a cool card.  I guess you could say that I have a soft spot for the "well loved" cards, and this one fits right in there. I paid $14 for the card, so I think I still did really well.

The next card I grabbed is actually a PC need.  This is a 1953 Bowman Color Bob Feller.  The front is kind of rough, as you can see many creases.

The back is blown all to crap, though.  It looks like the card was taped into an album.  I bet it was a kid from back in the 50's who was really proud showing off his collection.  I can use this card to fill a spot in my PC until I can find an upgrade.  I gor this one for $12.00.

The best of the three Hall of Famers, I got this Arky Vaughan for $24.00.  It is a 1933 Goudey, and the front is in really good shape.

The back has a little paper loss on the bottom right corner, as you can see.  It is still my first card of Vaughan, and I am glad I picked it up.

This 1976 All Star ballot was a really cool find.  That's exactly what it was, too, a find.  As my wife and I were walking out of the show for the evening, I saw this lying on the ground.  No one was around, and there was no way to tell whose it was, so it went home with me.  Check out all of the Hall of Famers on the ballot (you can click on it to enlarge, Mom).

Finally, I was able to pick up 5 high number cards for my 1959 Topps set for $3/each.  The above Stengel is probably the highlight of the bunch.

Anyway, I am really tired, so I am going to close this entry.  I would like it if any NC/SC/VA collectors were able to come by the show and say hello.  That would be really cool.  I will have some new 2015 Topps hits and inserts available in the morning.

Trade With Joey - Vintage and More In An Easy Deal

I got a nice package of stuff in the mail the other day from my good friend, Joey.  I sent him a bunch of Red Sox cards and a Phil Niekro Sweet Spot bat auto.  In return, Joey sent me a stack of vintage stuff (mostly Bowman) that he had. This 1955 Billy Pierce might be the best card in the bunch.  I took it out of the top loader and was amazed at the shape that the card was in.  There was still a great deal of gloss on the card, and the edges and corners were really sharp.

This 1952 Bowman Gerry Staley is also in great shape.  I love the '52 design.  Once I finish my 1948 Bowman set, I may consider doing another one of their sets.  It will be really tough to decide which one, though.

This Joe Adcock card was a little rough, but still was really cool.  Adcock was a great player in his day, but is always overshadowed by his teammate, Eddie Mathews and later by Hank Aaron.  He had a really good career, clubbing 336 homers, but his other stats don't really stand out.  Doesn't matter, though, this is still a really awesome card.

Finally, I got this quad relic card from Joey pretty cheaply since there is a good bit of damage on the card.  It is a quad bat card of Thome, Thomas, Juan Gone and Delgado.  One of the guys on the card is already a Hall of Famer and another (Thome) will be.  The other two guys could make a case for themselves, but I highly doubt they ever get in.  Oh well.  It still is a really cool card.

Thanks for the deal, Joey!  I really appreciate it and I know we will do a bunch more in the future!

Playing Catch-Up - Vintage Card Show Pickups

So, I still had a few cards that I wanted to show from 2 card shows ago; a few beat up old vintage cards that I thought looked cool...

I saw this Marty Marion and picked it up because I wanted to have a card that went with the TTM success I got of him a few months before he passed away. I like the old Browns cards and I also really like the 1952 Bowman set. I have a friend who wants to sell me some, so I need to get some money together so I can relieve him of them and maybe start considering putting that set together.
I got another 1952 Bowman, this time it was of Eddie Joost. I wasn't as lucky trying him for TTM. I got a return to sender and he died maybe a week later. I like the navy blue A's colors here, a far cry from today's green and yellow.

Here is a 1951 Bowman Joost as well. I really like the A's colors on this one. I love the old bowman cards and how they are pretty much works of art. Anyone can look at the 1953 Pee Wee Reese and agree with me.


Finally, I got this 1964 Topps Tony Oliva RC for $2.00 from the same vendor. Oliva was a solid major leaguer. I doubt he ever gets into the HOF, but he was solid nonetheless. I love the 1964 set and will definitely try to put that one together sooner than later.

Remembering Bob Feller

It was with great sadness that I learned tonight that Bob Feller has passed away at the age of 92. He was battling health issues for the last year, most recently being entered into Hospice care due to complications with Leukemia and Pneumonia.
Feller is considered maybe the greatest pitcher of all time. He had a career record of 266-162, ERA of 3.25 and 2,581 strikeouts. He threw 3 no hitters and 12 one hitters in his career and is responsible for the second fastest pitch ever recorded at 107.9 MPH at Griffith Stadium in 1946. Feller led the league in wins 6 times; strikeouts 7 times; ERA one time and shutouts 4 times.
He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1962 with 93.8% of the vote (missing out on 10 ballots). He had been the longest tenured living Hall of Famer, having been in the hall for 48 years. The new longest tenured member is now Stan Musial, who was elected in 1969.Bob Feller missed the 1942-1944 and most of the 1945 seasons after enlisting in the Navy immediately following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Imagine what his career numbers might look like had he not had to enlist. He was awarded with 5 campaign ribbons and 8 battle stars. He is the only chief petty officer in the Baseball Hall of Fame. When Pete sent me the message tonight, I was upset. I discovered Feller while branching my collection out to vintage cards last year. I was able to get his auto from the Bob Feller Museum. I'm glad I went through them to get the ball, as my money went to a great place. If anyone is interested, check out www.bobfellermuseum.org , I hope I get a chance to visit there one day. I hope everyone has a chance to take a look at just how great Bob Feller was. He was one of the greatest baseball players of all time and was also one of the greatest Americans of all time. If you aren't familiar with Feller, I highly recommend you do some reading up on him; I'd definitely start by checking out the museum webpage. He definitely will be remembered. He will always be one of my favorite players, even though I never got to see him play. I still appreciate the impact he had on the game, and on my life. He is definitely a sports figure one could look up to. Rest in peace Mr. Feller. I feel like crying, but I know that he wouldn't want people to cry for him, he'd want them to appreciate the full life that he lived.

Happy Birthday Bob Feller

Bob Feller turned 92 yesterday. Wow!! Happy Birthday to one of the greatest pitchers of all time. He is still one of the best ambassadors of the game and a truly great American. I hope he has many more birthdays, even though he was diagnosed with Leukemia earlier in the summer. As he celebrates his birthday, enjoy the 1948, 1950 and 1952 Bowmans that I have been able to pick up.

Trip to Columbia Part II, Bob Feller Pickup

You knew it was coming. I went to a card shop/antique store that specializes in vintage cards, so you KNOW that I had to find myself a Bob Feller Bowman.

I, for the low price of $25.00, picked up this SWEET 1952 Bowman Bob Feller.
Once again, Bowman delivers with an awesome painting of Feller. I'm really digging these old Bowman cards. I hope you all enjoy them too.

The back looks similar to pretty much most of the Bowmans from that era. Love the ad for a $1.00 cap from my favorite team by sending in wrappers, etc. If I had a $1.00 hat today, it would be most likely made of toilet paper...