TTM Success - Tom Qualters

I sent out the first batch of vintage cards on March 11, and I am now starting to see some of the cards trickle in.  This card was actually the first of that batch to come in, even thought I jumped ahead and posted the Mike Sandlock that came in a couple days later.  I had gone through my box of 50s and 60s stuff and thought it would be cool to see some of those signed.  None of the guys were stars, so I figured it would be easy to replace the cards when the time came to do the sets.

I'm glad I did this.  Everything that has come back so far (and there have been a bunch from this batch) has come back looking awesome.  I like how Qualters signed this along the line of his back.  The thin blue pen he used also made his auto really stand out.

Qualters (b. 1935) played in the majors in 1953, 1957 and 1958 for the Phillies and White Sox.  He had a record of 0-0 after pitching in only 34 games in his career.  His career ERA was 5.64 with 20 strike outs.  According to his Wikipedia page, Qualters was signed by the Phillies out of high school as a "bonus baby" for $40,000.00.  This means that since he was signed to such a large bonus, he had to remain on the Phillies roster, even at the young age of 18, with no professional baseball experience.  Some other notable bonus babies are Brooks Robinson, Al Kaline and Sandy Koufax.  Qualters also has the distinction of being the only pitcher to appear on four different Topps baseball cards without ever recording a single win or loss.

I mailed to Qualters on March 11 and got this 1958 Topps (my first) back signed on March 18, for a 7-day TAT.

Some Vintage Cards From My Brother John

I went to my parents' house several weeks ago and while I was in town, I went across the street to visit my brother, John.  He had some Orioles cards for me, like always and this time, he had a few vintage cards.

I like the design of 1958 Topps.  It is eerily reminiscent of the 1954 design, except on a smaller piece of cardboard.  Qualters only pitched in parts of 3 seasons in the majors (1953, 1957 and 1958) for the Phillies and White Sox.

This is not the Hall of Famer, Joe Morgan, but this Morgan was also a manager in the majors for a few seasons.  Funny that both Morgans were second basemen.  I also enjoy the 1960 set.  It has a nice unique look to it and in my opinion is one of the classic sets in Topps' portfolio.

Finally, here is the 1966 Floyd Robinson card that my brother gave me.  John thought that this guy might be related to Frank Robinson, but I haven't seen any evidence of such.  The 1966 design is very minimal.  It isn't one of my favorites, it is more of a 'mehhh' set.  It is a key set for me in that it contains the Jim Palmer rookie car.

So, thank John for these really cool vintage cards.  It has been a little while since I have picked up some vintage, so anytime I can get them is a good time.

1955 Topps #33 - Tom Qualters

Tom Qualters (b. 1935) was signed out of high school by the Phillies with a $40,000 signing bonus. At this time, players signed to those type of bonuses were called 'bonus babies' and were kept on the team's roster. Qualters pitched in one game in 1953 after his signing and allowed 6 earned runs. His nickname from the other players on the team was Money Bags. He was traded to the White Sox in the 1958 season, but sustained an arm injury that ended his career. He is noteworthy because he is the only pitcher to be featured on 4 different Topps baseball cards without recording a single win in his career.