My HOF Collection - 1959 Topps #212 "Fence Busters" Hank Aaron & Eddie Mathews

Am I building the 1959 Topps set?!?!?!?!

I didn't mean to start.   I can't afford to, can I?   How could I ever be so....so, bold?

EH, to heck with it.  I'm a collector and a set-builder at that.   It may take me 40 years, I may never finish it....but nothing can stop me from starting a list, right?  Right.   Let's add this one to my short, but growing stack!

I picked up this card for less than $8 if I remember correctly.   A deal, if you ask me!   It's got the all too frequent snow of the 1958 and 1959 Topps sets, but when that snow gently surrounds the gathering of two Hall of Fame players like Mathews and Aaron - you just don't care!

"Fence Busters" indeed, this card pays homage to the HR and RBI category totals for the two sluggers during their 1958 campaign.   30 and 95 for Hank......31 and 77 for Edie.   The blazing yellow sun centered between the two players keeps the design consistent with the rest of the set, though this disk was where the player's photograph was inserted for the base cards.   For card #212, it creates a slightly bizarre, almost spaghetti-western kind of sunset effect....but this intimate portrait of two great ballplayers and teammates bests any grievances from the design or background color department. 

The card is in fairly decent shape, too!   Centering can be tough for '59's, but the white border is shared well by all four sides of the card.   The corners aren't too badly rounded either.   Here's a glance at the back:

The back is in great shape, with no stains or marks to impede appreciation of another gem of a vintage card back from Topps:

"...a terror to opponents when World Series time rolls around..." Ha! Until the Yanks in '58!

"...belted a torrid .393 with 3 homers and 7 Runs Batted In..." - I need to use "torrid" more often!

"...last year...posted a .333 against the Yanks..."  - wait, WHAT?   :)

"Eddie is the best bunter on the Braves."   - (sad trombone sound)

Not the best highlight for a "Fence Busters" card but, hey.  We're all about reporting the facts.   Mathews did more fence busting in '58 than Aaron, but is clear where the majority of the hobby and fandom zeal was aimed.   No problem!   It is at is always will be....Interestingly, as a side note, the cartoon baseball player at the bottom of the card doesn't depict any fence-busting, either.

Nerd-details aside, this is a great card and I am thrilled to add it to my HOF collection as well as my infant 1959 Topps set.   Keep your eyes peeled for a NEEDS List, my friends!

Thanks for reading and keep collecting!

Ryan

My HOF Collection - 1969 Topps #480 Tome Seaver

I decided that I didn't have enough "vintage" Tom Seaver in my collection.

Alright, I didn't have anything before 1978.   The rest of his cards are absolutely fabulous, don't get me wrong.   But there's something special about cards of these stars from their younger years.   Vintage cards are extraordinary in their own right - but vintage cards of a Hall of Fame hurler like Tom Terrific are a rare treasure for a collector like me.

I jumped on a chance to snag this Seaver on the Bay of E for what I thought was a pretty good price.   There were more affordable versions in lesser condition, but I thought this one struck a good balance for me when it came to one of my preferences for decently-centered cards.   And after doing some research, I quickly learned that finding this particular card in well-centered condition is a challenge.

Without further ado, here she is:

She's a little 'low' top-to-bottom and it's easy to see the wider margin on the left-hand side, but overall this was a reasonable card with very little bidding.   A couple of last minute snipers drove up my final purchase price, but at slightly m ore than a blaster, I was thrilled to win this card for my collection.

The '69 design is very basic and this photo of Tom is not helping at all - but what are you going to do.   It is a nice close-up mug shot of a young ace staring wistfully into a promising yet still unknown future....

In 1969, Seaver had just wrapped up an amazing sophomore season by eclipsing the 200 K mark (205) for the first of many times while going 16-12 over....get this, 278 innings pitched!!!!!   He would subsequently take it easy in '69, deciding to only go to work for 273.1 frames....but increase his K total to 208.   OH, and win the Cy Young.   Yawn.   Ho-hum!   The "Miracle Mets" would also take the pennant in 1969 and win the World Series by defeating the Baltimore Orioles

Whoa.   This 1969 Seaver card keeps getting better and better.   What about the back?

Ah, yes - love it.   Right off the bat we can see an umpire from the Jetsons add his flavor to the very same '68 K-total stat I mentioned above.   Love it.   Mr. Seaver's bio data appear right next to a really cool retro-Topps logo.   The write-up highlights some of Seaver's tremendous accomplishments during his first couple of seasons but the final mention has definitely grabbed my attention - his "15th inning" pitching that saved the Senior Circuit's 2-1 victory!

I must do some follow-on research to dive deeper into that story.......yes.......

For the card itself, the color is great on both sides and the corners are in pretty good shape, too.   Overall, I found the card to be a slight pleasant surprise, condition-wise, when it showed up.   Too often, a raw card purchase on the Bay is very risky and can result in a 'card in hand' that varies dramatically from the image you peered at in the middle of the night, on your iPhone screen.

I'll take my successful escape.

I'm very excited to add my first vintage Seaver card to my collection!

Thanks for reading and keep collecting -
Ryan