1955 Topps #53 - Bill Taylor

Bill Taylor (b. 1929) played outfield for the Giants and Tigers from 1954 to 1958. He ended his brief career with a .237 average and 7 home runs. He was a member of the 1954 World Champion Giants as a backup for outfielder Monte Irvin.

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.

1955 Topps #52 - Bill Tremel

Bill Tremel (b. 1929) pitched 3 seasons in the majors (from 1954 to 1956), all for the Cubs. There isn't a whole lot of information on him. HIs career won-loss record was 4-2 with a 4.05 ERA.

1955 Topps #51 - Jim Hughes

Jim Hughes (b. 1923 - d. 2001) pitched in the majors from 1952 to 1957 for the Dodgers, Cubs and White Sox. His career won-loss record was 15-13 and an ERA of 3.83. He was a member of the 1955 World Series champion Dodgers.

(DECEASED 30)

1955 Topps #50 - Jackie Robinson

Another legend of baseball. The man who broke the infamous color barrier, Jackie Robinson!

Jackie Robinson (b. 1919 - d. 1972) played in the majors from 1947 to 1956, all for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was primarily a second baseman, but playedfirst base, shortstop, third base and outfield as well. He was the 1947 Rookie of the Year and won the World Series in 1955. Robinson's uniform number (42) was retired by all of MLB on April 15, 1997. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1962 on 77.5% of the ballot.

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No one can deny Robinson's cultural impact on the game. Many people don't realize how upset Negro League players of that age (such as Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson) were when Robinson was chosen to be the player who would break the color barrier. He interviewed with Branch Rickey for three hours and was asked to agree that, no matter how bad the racial taunts were, Robinson would agree not to fight back. Rickey believed that Jackie Robinson was the perfect choice for that monumental task, and Robinson didn't let him down.

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Many also don't realize that Robinson was traded from the Dodgers to the arch-rival Giants after the 1956 season. The trade was never completed, however, because Robinson announced his retirement from baseball through an article in Look Magazine in January 1957. He was another legendary Dodgers player who would end up not traveling west when the team uprooted from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. Robinson's health had been in decline due to complications from diabetes; he was nearly blind by the time he died. He died in 1972 at the age of 53 from a heart attack.

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(DECEASED 29)

(HALL OF FAMER 8)

1970 Topps Mailday

Because I felt like I had been neglecting some of my set building lately, I bought a few 1970 Topps off of Ebay. I took a look at the ones I needed and decided that I should try to knock a few of the remaining big names off of my list. All of the cards look great, they only appear off center because of my scanning program.
I picked up this sweet Ernie Banks for $15. Not bad, the back looks great, almost brand new, in my opinion. I was surprised that I still needed the Banks. Oh well, I have it now.

I kind of figured I didn't have the below Frank Robinson. Seeing as it is a high number, it made sense that I didn't have it yet. I was just biding my time until I saw a decent looking one at a reasonable price, and I got this one for $10. Definitely not bad.

I also picked up the below Willie Horton. He was a really good player in his day. I got him for $2.50.

Finally, I picked up a really sharp looking checklist. Unmarked, of course.

So, I knocked 4 more cards off of my list. I'm getting ever so close to completing this set. If it weren't for the high numbers, I'd have been able to afford to complete this a long time ago. Johnny Bench and Al Kaline are the two biggest names left.

1955 Topps #49 - J. W. Porter

J. W. Porter (b. 1933) played in the majors was a catcher, outfielder, first baseman and third baseman from 1952, 1955-1959 for the Browns, Tigers, Indians, Senators and Cardinals. He finished up his career with 124 hits, 8 home runs and a .228 batting average.