Mom With The Huge Christmas Gift - 1946 Tigers Team Ball

Well now.  My mom really enjoys being able to click on the little "Mom" hashtags at the bottom of my posts (or just search "Mom") and seeing all of the posts that end up being about her.  I'm perfectly ok with this, because it affords me some really cool stuff that she wants to see me write about.

This year's Christmas gift from her was a hige hit for me, as it was this team ball signed by many of the 1946 Tigers.  In the top photo, on the sweet spot, you see that I now own two baseballs signed by the legendary Hall of Famer, Hank Greenberg.  Wow.  Also on the sweet spot are Steve O'Neill (manager) and Frank Shellenback (coach).

I have already profiled Greenberg, which you can read here.

O'Neill (b. 1891 - d. 1962) played in the majors from 1911 to 1925 and 1927 to 1928 for the Indians, Red Sox, Yankees and Browns.  He had 1,259 hits, 15 home runs and a .263 batting average.  He won the World Series with the Indians in 1920.  He appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot from 1948 to 1953 and 1958 (7 ballots) but only received at most 4.9% of the vote.  He managed the Indians from 1935 to 1937, the Tigers from 1943 to 1948, the Red Sox in 1950 and 1951 and the Phillies from 1952 to 1954.  His overall managerial record was 1,040-821 (.559) and won the World Series with the Tigers in 1945.

Shellenback (b. 1898 - d. 1969) played in the majors in 1918 and 1919 for the White Sox.  He had a record of 10-15 with 57 strike outs and a 3.06 ERA.  He was banned to the minors due to the outlawing of the spitball in 1919 and went on to win a record 295 games in the PCL.

Hall of Famer, George Kell has a very nice signature on this baseball.  He joined the Tigers in May of 1946 for Barney McCoskey.  That means the ball was signed after May 18, 1946.  I profiled Kell on a former blog that no longer exists.  Oops.  I'm going to have to fix that.

Mom wasn't even aware that Virgil Trucks makes an appearance on this baseball, as the second signature on this side panel.  Also on this panel are Al Benton, Paul Richards, a signature that looks like George Rehfuss (but I can't find that name anywhere) and Anse Moore.

Benton (b. 1911 - d. 1968) played in the majors from 1934 to 1935, 1938 to 1942, 1945 to 1950 and 1952 for the A's, Tigers, Indians and Red Sox.  He had a career record of 98-88 with 697 strike outs and a 3.66 ERA.  He was an All Star in 1941 ad 1942 and won the World Series with the Tigers in 1945.

Trucks has been profiled on here more times than anyone else, so just search his name in the sidebar.

Richards  (b. 1908 - d. 1986) played in the majors from 1932 to 1935 and 1943 to 1946 for the Dodgers, Giants, A's and Tigers.  He had 321 hits, 15 home runs and a .227 batting average.  He won the World Series with the Tigers in 1945.  He managed the White Sox from 1951 to 1954, the Orioles from 1955 to 1961 and the White Sox again in 1976.  He had a career managerial record of 923-901 (.506%).  His 517 wins as Orioles manager rank third all-time behind Earl Weaver and Buck Showalter.

Moore (b. 1917 - d. 1993) played in the majors in 1946 (for the Tigers).  He had 28 hits, 1 home run and a .209 batting average.

Here is a better shot of the signature that I think is George Rehfuss.  If anyone can identify him, please let me know.

This panel features George Caster, Jimmy Bloodworth, Dick Wakefield, Dizzy Trout and Art Mills. 

Caster, (b. 1907 - d. 1955) played in the majors from 1934 to 1935 and 1937 to 1946 for the A's, Browns and Tigers.  He had a career record of 76-100 with 595 strike outs and a 4.54 ERA.  He won the 1945 World Series with the Tigers.

Bloodworth (b. 1917 - d. 2002) played in the majors in 1937, 1939 to 1943, 1946-1947 and 1949 to 1951 for the Senators, Tigers, Pirates, Reds and Phillies.  He had 874 hits, 62 home runs and a .248 batting average. 

Wakefield (b. 1921 - d. 1985) played in the majors in 1941, 1943 to 1944, 1946 to 1950 and 1952 for the Tigers, Yankees and Giants.  He had 625 hits, 56 home runs and a .293 batting average.  He was an All Star in 1943 and finished a career-best 5th in the AL MVP voting in 1944.  He had 200 hits in 1943, then left for the Navy.  When the cadet program he was in was canceled, he rejoined the Tigers in June of 1944 and batted .355 over 78 games.  He was recalled to the Navy in November of 1944 and served until January of 1946.  While in the service, Wakefield bet Ted Williams that he would beat him in home runs, RBI and batting average when the war ended, $1,000 for each stat.  He lost all three bets and never regained his form that he had prior to the War.  Wakefield was the first "bonus baby" ballplayer.  He tried out for several teams in 1941 and signed for $52,000, which led to a lot of resentment from other players, fans and the press.

Trout (b. 1915 - d. 1972) played in the majors from 1939 to 1952 and 1957 for the Tigers, Red Sox and Orioles.  He had a record of 170-161 with 1,256 strike outs and a 3.23 ERA.  He won 20 or more games twice in his career (1943 and 1944) and had the AL ERA title in 1944 (2.12).  His best MVP finish was 2nd in 1944 to Hal Newhouser, to whom he lost by 4 vote points.  Trout was an All Star in 1944 and 1947 and is the father of former pitcher, Steve Trout.  He appeared on the 1964 Hall of Fame ballot, but received only 0.5% of the vote.  I know he isn't likely a Hall of Famer, but he needs a better showing than that, come on.

Mills (b. 1903 - d. 1975) played in the majors from 1927 to 1928 for the Boston Braves.  He had a career record of 0-1 with 7 strike outs and a 5.36 ERA.  

The signature at the top of this panel is one I haven't been able to identify at all.  I thought it said Jack something, but I can't figure it out.  The rest of the signatures are Bob Swift, Johnny Groth, Roy Cullenbine and Johnny Lipon.

Swift (b. 1915 - d. 1966) played in the majors from 1940 to 1953 for the Browns, A's and Tigers.  He had 635 hits, 14 home runs and a .231 batting average.  He won the World Series with the Tigers in 1945.  He managed the Tigers in 1965 and 1966 to a record of 56-43 (.566 %).  He had taken over for Chuck Dressen as Dressen had a mild heart attack during Spring Training in 1965.  He stepped aside when Dressen was able to return later that season.  In 1966, Dressen had another heart attack, and Swift took over, but he, too, had to step aside when he fell ill at the All Star break with what was originally thought to be food poisoning.  It was revealed that Swift had inoperable lung cancer.  Swift died on October 17 of that year (Dressen had died also that season, on August 10).

Groth is the only living player who is on this baseball, and was profiled here.  He signs TTM.  I may get a few pictures of the unidentified signatures and see if he can help at all.

Cullenbine (b. 1913 - d. 1991) played in the majors from 1938 to 1947 for the Tigers, Dodgers, Browns, Senators, Yankees and Indians.  He had 1,072 hits, 110 home runs and a .276 batting average.  He was an All Star in 1941 and 1944 and won the World Series with the Tigers in 1945.  His best MVP finish was 10th in 1941 while with the Browns,

Lipon (b. 1922 - d. 1998) played in the majors in 1942, 1946 and 1948 to 1954 for the Tigers, Red Sox, Browns and Reds.  He had 690 hits, 10 home runs and a .259 batting average.

So, I got 17 of the 19 names for sure.  My guess is the other two guys may be clubbies or someone else.  We'll see what I can figure out.

Thanks so much for the ball, Mom.  You always know how to surprise me. This ball was pretty amazing.  I'm glad I was able to identify and profile so many of the names on the ball.

Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Hank Greenberg

Probably the most epic of all of my pickups at the National was my 116th Hall of Famer on a baseball.  Sundays at card shows are always the best days to go for deals, and the National was no different.  Nothing like taking advantage of vendors who don't want to load up a bunch of stuff for the long ride home.

There was a nice Greenberg auto at the BBC Exchange booth, but they wanted $2,000 for it.  I couldn't drop that much on a ball and live to tell about it, so I just admired it every time I walked by and looked for other baseballs to add.  Finally, I was looking at some balls in a huge shelf and saw this Greenberg at a much lower price.  I asked the guys at the booth what the lowest price for the ball would be, they responded with an even lower price after calling the owner on the phone.  When I told them I would think about it, the owner of the ball must had heard, and then offered his final lowest price.  The price was far too good to pass up, so I worked it out and purchased the ball.  I had to do some self-financing, but this is why I went to the National.  I went to find stuff that I normally couldn't find at home, and I bought this ball because it would have been much higher on Ebay.

The ball is an old baseball in itself.  It is a Ford Frick ONL ball.  The vendor told me that as far as he knew, it was signed in 1954 when Greenberg was a GM with the Indians.  The ball had a full LOA from PSA, which assured me that it was legit.  The LOA says that there is evidence that other signatures were removed from the ball, but I can't tell, even with my glasses on.

Greenberg is a really tough ball to get, and aside from Jimmie Foxx, he might have been at the top of my HOF ball want list at the time.  This ball supplants my Carl Hubbell or Mickey Mantle as the best HOF ball that I have at the moment.

Normally, when one spends a large amount on something like this, there is a good bit of buyer's remorse.  I can tell you that I have felt none of that with this baseball.  My birthday is in September, and I look at it as a birthday present to myself.  I work anywhere between 45 - 50 hours a week, my bills are always paid on time, and my family never has to want for anything.  I was able to take a little chunk of money and have a ball (pun intended) at the National.

Greenberg (b. 1911 - d. 1986) played in the majors from 1930, 1933 to 1941 and 1945 to 1947 for the Tigers and Pirates.  He retired with 1,628 hits, 331 home runs and a .313 batting average over his 13 seasons.  He won the World Series with the Tigers in 1935 and 1945.  He was the AL MVP in 1935 and 1940.  Greenberg led the league in home runs in 1935 (36), 1938 (58), 1940 (41) and 1946 (44).  His final season in 1947 was instrumental in turning Ralph Kiner into the home run hitter that allowed him into the Hall of Fame.  Greenberg was a 4-time All Star (1937 - 40).

Greenberg would later become the general manager of the Indians (and part owner with Bill Veeck) in 1949.  He would remain as GM and part owner until 1957.  He later joined Veeck at part owner of the White Sox for a few seasons.

Greenberg was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1956 when he was named on 85% of the ballot (his 9th).

COMC Pickup - 2011 Obak Hank Greenberg

With the posting of this card, I have finally caught up on all of the mail and trades that I received prior to and following my vacation.  I was filling my cart on COMC a while back and decided that I wanted to add a Hank Greenberg card to my fledgling Greenberg PC.

Since I am a big fan of the old-time Tigers, I have developed a liking for Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg.  He was a monster in the brief career that he had and is oftentimes overlooked when discussing the all-time great sluggers in history.

The Obak set is a really nice set, as can be seen from the scanned card.  I really like the sunset in the background.  In all, a very sharp looking card.  I still want to bust a box of these at some point.  Maybe sometime soon.

I've got a few more trades pending, so I'm hoping I don't go through a dry spell on here while waiting on stuff to come in.  I can tell you that I went through Sportlots and COMC yesterday and am awaiting the arrival of some cards that will close the door on one set that I'm working on, so stay tuned!

COMC Pickup - 1961 Golden Press Hank Greenberg

As you all know, I'm a huge fan of the Hall of Fame.  Many of the older Hall of Famers are interesting to me.  One player in particular, Hank Greenberg, is probably right up there with Jimmie Foxx to me.  Greenberg was a monster in his day, much like Foxx.  Greenberg played from 1930, 1933 to 1941 and 1945 to 1947 for the Tigers and Pirates.  He mentored Ralph Kiner during his last season, which was spent in Pittsburgh.

Greenberg was more than a power hitter.  He had 200 or more hits in three seasons.  He hit 40 or more doubles five times; hitting as many as 63(!!) in the 1934 season.  When he ended his career with 331 home runs, he had hit 30 or more in 6 of the 9 full seasons he played.  he led the league in homers 4 times, the same amount of times he led the league in RBIs.  he batted higher than .300 in 7 of his 9 full seasons.  Of course, he also won the AL MVP award twice, winning in 1935 and 1940.

Greenberg was a part of four Detroit World Series teams, winning in 1935 and 1945.  In 23 World Series games, Greenberg had 27 hits, 5 home runs and a .318 batting average.  Greenberg was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1956 (his 9th time on the ballot) with 85.0% of the vote.

The 1961 Golden Press set consists of 33 cards that originally came in a booklet.  They were perforated to easy removal.  I looked closely at my card and, yes, you can see where it had been attached to its respective booklet.  At 33 cards, this might be another easy vintage set to put together.  I might have to make a note of it and see what I can do.  I got this card off of COMC the Sunday after Thanksgiving and paid $2.13 to a BV of $5.00.  Not too bad.  The card has a little creasing on the front and some scuffing on the back.  I like it though, it definitely makes a nice addition to my fledgling Greenberg PC.

I got my 2011 Topps Diamond Die Cuts Today

After several days of not getting any mail, I finally got a good bit today.  I got some sportlots pickups, a trade and my first of two packages from Topps for the 2011 Diamond Giveaway.  In the package from Topps were my Diamond Die Cuts, my 2011 set that I won and a free pack of cards from the 70s or 80s.  I was lucky enough to get a pack of 1988 Topps.  Whoopeeee!

Onto the Diamond Die Cuts.  I really like these cards.  I started off 2011 by unlocking a DDC of Bob Gibson and Thurman Munson.  I flipped and flipped those two cards and ended up with 6 of them:

 

I was offered all kinds of things for this Hank Greenberg, but once I had gotten it for the Gibson, I held onto it because Greenberg was a beast!  I am glad I kept it, that's for sure.  The cards were a lot thicker than I thought they would be and they came with a protective film over them.  I left the film on all but one of the cards.

Another Hall of Famer I got was this really cool Reggie Jackson.  I like the old school A's jersey.

I don't remember, but I traded something for 3 Orioles DDCs.  I ended up with Nick Markakis, Adam Jones and Mark Reynolds.

 I think what I traded was a 1952 Topps of someone.  I know, I should have kept the 1952, but I really wanted the Orioles.  Since Jones and Markakis wer eincluded in the trade, I went ahead and pulled off the deal.

I took the protective film off of the Reynolds because it was kind of wadded up at the bottom.  The cards look great, but for now, I'm going to keep them the way they are.

The one DDC that I'm SURE I will sell of trade is this Ricky Romero.  I tried to trade it on the Diamond Giveaway trade page, but no one was biting for what I wanted.  Oh well, I know there has to be a blogger or someone at the card show who will want it.

So, in my mind, the 2011 DDCs were very awesome.  I am very disappointed that the cards are so much harder to get in this year's Golden Giveaway.  I used 33 codes and didn't get a single card this year.  Fail!!

Some Card Shop Pickups

I went to the Greenville card shop a couple weeks ago to pick up some trade supplies and decided to dig through their dollar box to see what I could find.  I ended up with a couple cards that I thought looked really nice and were of players who I really admired.

The first card is this 2004 Sweet Spot Classic Hank Greenberg.  Like I said in my previous post, I really enjoy the Sweet Spot Classic and Legendary Cuts sets.  Anytime you can get a Hank Greenberg card for a dollar is a good day, so I was glad to add this to my collection.  Greenberg was a beast.  I was reading recently in a book called "The Only Game in Town"  and learned that Hank Greenberg taught Ralph Kiner some pointers early in his career that led Kiner to become to power hitter than he was known for.  You always think of Greenberg as a Tiger but he did end his career at a Pirate.

Another card I got was this 2005 Legendary Cuts Jim Palmer.  This one would have looked great autographed if I had it with me when I went to Fan Fest, but oh well, it looks great anyway!

I love digging through the bargain boxes at local shops and card shows.  You never know what you will find and can usually find some stuff from some of those older sets that may be forgotten but look great!