Set-Building '61 & '63 Topps - Vintage Lot Pick-Ups

While wandering the endless digital card aisles of eBay, I came across a couple of vintage lots that I just couldn't turn down. They were two separate listings, one consisting of 1963 Topps cards and another with a bunch from the 1961 issue. Each lot averaged about $1 per card and after my recent experience at the local [card shop] mining for 1960 commons, this price point was instantly much more attractive than it had been before. Perspective!

As you guys know, I've been leaning more vintage anyways, despite my flirtation with some Bowman a few weeks (months?!) ago. Man, how time flies. I don't think I'll ever truly kick the new card vice, but I am trying OH so hard to maintain discipline and stick to old cardboard, graded or beautifully raw.

As it were, these cards were raw but the pictures sure did lead me to believe they were in fairly decent shape. Ha! "Fairly decent"...I am falling victim to one of my very own pet peeves - personalized grading terms. I love some of them that you see in the marketplace! But seriously, the cards in the pictures seemed to hover in the mid-grade spectrum. There's always a risk with buying lots when it comes to the condition of cards unseen...but I was feeling frisky. And for once, I really feel like it paid off!

Here are the two stacks:

Mr. Golden on top in honor of Night Owl

I call this the AL East stacking method

Not too shabby, right? I gotta say, there is something extremely satisfying for me about handling decent-sized stacks of these old cards and fanning them out like this. The colors of the '63 design are really cool to behold and provide some insight into just how revolutionary this issue must have been more than 50 years ago - particularly after '61 and '62. But man, is it TOUGH to imagine solid corners and edges along the bottom half! I feel for any of you who are seeking these in high grades!

But don't let that comment lead you to believe that I don't appreciate the 61's. This set has always been on my radar as a very "achievable" vintage release to chase. I managed to come across a great looking Billy Williams a year ago or so, so that was a big pick-up. The Mantle will probably be the final card, as usual, but that's okay. It's the building process that delivers the fun.

The excitement didn't end there, though. I carefully picked my way through the stacks to discover that the '61 pile in particular came with some 'hidden' gems that didn't make their way into the pictures or headline of the listing. For starters, how about a slick #1:

 

As many of you probably know, the first card in any vintage set is usually a solid find. When you go WAY back into the history books, this can equal a tremendous amount of value based on rarity. Since the #1 cards were always on the top of kids' stacks or at the front of the shoe box, they usually endured t he greatest amount of wear and tear due to rubber bands, grubby hands, etc. Many went missing or are in some pretty bad shape.

There I go again with the official condition terms!

This copy of Dick Groat is really nice, however, and I was elated to see it emerge from the package. A couple of print marks and touched corners might deter others, but the color and centering (for this set) are very nice. I was quite happy to slip it into the pole-position pocket of page #1 for the set! Sure, it's the only card on the page...but I dream big. To a fault.

Here's the back:

I did NOT know that Dick brought home the NL MVP Award the previous year? I suppose this is what garnered him the #1 slot? Does anybody know if Pafko pulled off the same feat in 1951? He also won the batting title? Amazing! A twitter friend was very kind and filled me in on another tidbit - that Groat's number was the first one to be retired at Duke University. Solid!

My fortune didn't end there! Here were some other great cards in my 'lot':

Team leader cards are always welcome - particularly ones with Hall of Famers! Remember...about a $1 for each of these...

So what's up with this Del Rice? Well, besides featuring a gloriously old-school catcher's mitt, this Rice is a high series card that is a little tough to find. I am sure that I will learn more about this obstacle as I progress through the set, but I'm happy to at least be able to check one off the list.

And finally:

 

DUPLICATES! When you're spending on vintage cards for older, more expensive sets, it's kind of deflating to pull two of the same card from a lot that is supposed to be nice and assorted. That means it will require one more purchase or trade to get it all done in the end. Ouch! Of course, if that one set of doubles happens to be Mr. Billy Martin....well, fine diddily-doo with me! This Martin card is awful from a photography perspective (fairly common for the set, though) but big on Yankees fan appeal. I'll have to decide which one I am going to keep for my collection and which one I will trade away fro more progress. I'm leaning towards keeping the copy on the right - what do you think?

I need to tally up my totals so far from the two sets. Don't get too excited (even though I am!), we're talking single-digit progress here towards set completion - but I am happy to finally kind of make a commitment. I expect it to take decades, but now that what I do have is paged and in a binder, I feel content from a collecting (OCD) aspect.  My favorite are the pages with as many as three cards on them - looking strong!

I am stoked to shore up the vintage collection just a little bit more with these two lots. I'll also try and get a NEEDS list started on my "Sets" tab in case anybody wants to start swapping. Actually, may be more logical to just list the few dozen cards that I actually have vice the hundreds that I don't...

Yeah, that's what I'll do.

 

Thanks for reading!

Ryan

 

The Quest for '60 - Visiting Vintage Heaven

A recent post by my friend William over at foulbunt.blogspot.com motivated me to finally make a pilgrimage to the hobby and collecting treasure that is the "Columbia Antique Mall" (also known as "Chic Antiques") in Columbia, South Carolina.

While the entire business covers a wide-range of treasures that fill two cavernous warehouses, my favorite part is the incredible sports cards & memorabilia collection that belongs to one of the proprietors, Conrad. Conrad has been collecting sports cards and memorabilia his entire life and has built an amazing catalog of inventory that focuses mostly on vintage baseball cards. His display cases are filled with stacks of vintage HOF cards. Each card resides within its own top-loader (and is typically penny-sleeved within, as well) and is adorned with a small post-it note that provides a "book value" and his price.

Yes, the "BV" is typically the "Hi Value" from Beckett and the cards rarely approach the necessary conditions to demand the high price, but this provides a good starting point for collectors like me to perform a quick condition assessment and see if we're in the ballpark for comparison with his price. It's a very convenient way to start the conversation or at least decide if you'd like for Conrad (or another employee) to take out a card for a closer look. It's important to note that Conrad is always willing to listen to reasonable offers below his listed price. This is crucial in mind and it can really add to your comfort level when you're assessing higher value cards. Condition, price and "worth" are all very subjective (as we all know), so this approach is very conducive to encouraging happy outcomes for both stakeholders.

Anyways, as luck would have it, I missed Conrad when I went to visit last week. He was enjoying some time on the golf course while I was enjoying some time around his vintage cardboard. While I was sad that I missed him, I think we were both pretty happy (and I was jealous of his time on the links!) with our situation. Determined to make the best use of my rare visit, I asked the very nice lady who was working (she is actually the shop's art consultant) if I could see Conrad's boxes of 1960 Topps cards.

That's right. Boxes. Here's one of them:

A few Moose among rows and rows of beautiful vintage cardboard

Yes, the shop has several glass display cases that are jam-packed with beautiful individual cards - but the true value of this cardboard heaven is the "back room" where Conrad has amassed dozens upon dozens of 5,000 count boxes that are both completely organized (by year, brand and in numeric order!) and completely filled with cards from the Tobacco era on up...it's amazing! Do you need some '67 Topps cards? No problem - BOOM - here's a few thousand cards to look through and find what you need. It's really something.

Again, the cards aren't in mint condition, but that's not the point. It's a BOUNTY of vintage cardboard that is well organized and reasonably priced for you to select yourself and TAKE HOME that day without the cost of shipping and knowing FULL WELL what you just paid for. With the LCS apocalypse in our rear view mirror and card shows being few and far between in my area, Conrad's shop is a godsend - particularly when I'm on a mission to complete my Dad's 1960 Topps set. I hadn't crossed off any cards from that list in some time - and time is precious.

I found 26 cards that day, whittling my NEEDS list down to 59 cards! I even had the luxury of selecting the 'best' conditioned copy when Conrad's stash produced more than one for me to consider. When it comes to searching for vintage needs, that has to be a rare treat. I only wish I had visited Conrad more often over the previous four years since we moved into the Columbia area. Here are all of the options I had to consider for card #129, the rookie card of Bob Hartman:

Let me know if you need a Bob Hartman, too!

Since Conrad was hitting the links that day, he had to think quickly on his feet when the art consultant called him for pricing. She hung up the phone and quoted me $2 per card.

In retrospect, I really should have taken it.

But no, I was trying to be conservative and careful - which I can't really feel too guilty about. The family budget is as meticulously constructed as ever with our new addition in March. So I countered the $52 price tag with just over a buck a card at $30. You see, I was focused on the fact that several of the cards I had selected were severely creased and a majority of the checklists I had pulled were completely (albeit sentimentally) marked on by collectors from days long gone by. The centering was also quite rough for many of the cards, in the tradition of 1960 Topps! Here are the team cards that pulled double duty as checklists:

Aren't they beautiful? You can see the creases but there's nothing that really detracts away from your enjoyment and viewing of the cards. Not to mention, Conrad informed me that these checklists (in addition to the Coaches cards that I'll show in a moment) can be a little tough to find. I didn't know that, but appreciate his knowledge. Here are the backs of the team cards:

I enjoyed seeing the variations in "marking" techniques on three of these four checklists!

As you can see, only one out of the four checklists escaped being inked. And the one clean checklist is the Senators cards which, is VERY cool, but is also one of the cards with a significant crease on the front. Not ideal, but not something out of the ordinary for these 55-year old checklists. And while the marked-up checklists aren't desirable from a value and condition perspective, they did give me a chuckle when I realized how elusive the 'star' cards were for our collecting ancestors. Check it out:

I am proud to carry on this set-build quest today, 55 years later!

Check out the All-Star portion of the list at the bottom of the card - no Eddie Mathews, Ernie Banks, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris or Hank Aaron (sad trombone sound) for the kid I imagine to have been tracking his progress decades ago...while our hero DID manage to obtain the two Willie's and the Al Kaline, I can still picture him mumbling as he ripped packs that fall (late summer?) and wondering if he would EVER pull what he needed. Good stuff.

Speaking of good stuff, let's see what else I managed to find. Here are those Coaches cards I was talking about earlier. Hard to find, these gems deliver a a unique opportunity to snag some vintage of legendary players at a severe discount to cards from their playing days. Are you a fan of Yankee greats like Bill Dickey (HOF), Ralph Houk, Ed Lopat or Frank Crosetti? Get 'em all on one card!

Floating heads - never a bad idea.

With the white borders, it's easy to see that centering is a challenge with all of these cards and there are plenty of dog ears and creases to go around, too. While it factored into my initial offer for the cards, it didn't really matter as far as my desire to set aside and hope to utilize in my quest. Here is the next batch, a couple of coveted high numbers:

SP's - not JUST your modern card gimmick!

Yes! These two come from the seventh and final "high number", short-printed (SP!) series released by Topps for the 1960 set. The entire series consisted of 66 cards, #507 through #572. This Amoros and K-Mac represent numbers 531 and 534, respectively. of the 59 cards remaining on my NEED list, nearly half of them (28) come from this 7th Series. Therefore, the severe cross-diagonal crease on K-MAC and Sandy's <80-20 centering didn't even matter when I decided to buy or not...but again, it did factor into my offer.

Onward. How about some 'stars' that revealed themselves in the troughs of those 5,000 count boxes? Were there any notable players? I would argue that EVERY player in an old vintage set is notable...but there were certainly some bigger names. Here you go:

While Senator Bunning is the only official Hall of Fame inductee in this trio, the other two can be seriously viewed on a level playing field. Gil Hodges has continued to flirt with induction for decades and Big Klu has certainly earned his spot in the lore of the White Stockings. Ted led the league in long balls one season and was a multiple All-Star selection and World Champion. Gil slugged four home runs in one game a decade before this awkward mugshot was released (1950) and also boasts a hat trick of gold gloves to go with his All-Star selections and World Series rings. Both players have their numbers retired by their clubs. Good stuff! Bad centering...but fantastic baseball cards.

How about some inserts?

Hey, there's the WINNING Hartman out of the multitude of options pictured above! The Pascual All-Star card is a great pick-up but has some surface loss in the lower right. This was probably the toughest card I had to accept that day, but in light of the circumstances, there was no way I could leave it behind when I am so close to the finish line. 

The Baxes card is really stunning! It's surface is clean, the edges are sharp and you can see that the centering 7 corners aren't too bad either. I like the red and blue color scheme that seems to work very well with the old-school tribe cap. And that GIANT ROOKIE CUP - awesome. Just awesome. In fact, there's even more glorious baseball history wrapped up in that Baxes card that I plan to share in a later post. Stay tuned! It will be Hoot...

The Moose card was a nice surprise in the box, too. Skowron is considered by most to be a pretty memorable star, even among the crowded memories in Yankee Stadium. I can't believe that my old man (a Yankees fan) had never gotten around to trading for the entire Yankees team set, but there you go. The checklist doesn't lie...and cool is it that I can now wrap it up for him? Gives me chills.

And now, for the Best Supporting Actors:

Has anybody ever referred to '60 as the Skittles set? If not, I'm coining it!

A few of these are pretty stunning cards. I was able to, once again, fish around through dozens of duplicates and compare until my OCD-collector's heart was content. What great way to spend a lunch break, right?! Though deemed to be "commons" by the harsh reference documents of our Hobby, the colors are vibrant and the creases are minimal...heck, there are even a couple of sharp corners in this batch.

And so there you go! I set these 26 cards aside and asked the art consultant for pen and paper so that I might leave a thank you, offer, and explanation for Conrad to consider. I also added an EPIC Hall of Famer vintage rookie card to the stack but I'll cover that gem later. 

As respectfully as I could and laying out the reasons for my math, I made my offer of $30 for the 26 1960 cards. I knew it was conservative, but I also didn't know how strongly Conrad felt about the thousands of cards he kept boxed up in the back room. Was every card an individual treasure to him or were these separated out from the display cases and tucked away for a reason? In essence, Conrad and I would be getting to know each other during this, our first transaction...

I received a call the following afternoon and Conrad was very gracious as he chuckled.

"You should have taken the $2/card price and run away!"

I smiled and asked him what he was thinking...he went on to go through each of my 26 cards and explain their relevance within the set. The rarity of inserts and the hard-to-find nature of the checklists, coaches cards and SPs. His math began by adding up the maximum (remember, Beckett "HI") value for each card as a point of reference - this reached over $200, my friends, so my $30 offer obviously looked a little wimpy in contrast. Of course, the cards I was buying wouldn't come close to that value - and he recognized that. We began to discuss a middle ground. I reminded him that several of the rare/high dollar checklists were actually marked on, effectively rendering them down to the basement levels. He kindly agreed and continued to work with me on the price, though he did remind me that it was important to consider rarity. I nodded my head in agreement and reassured him over the phone, "I definitely understand what you're saying, Conrad."

I could go on, but I'll spare you the agony. In the end, we agreed upon a price of about $75 for the lot - just a little bit under $3 per card. On one hand, it was a little painful to see my original offer tripled...but my conversation with Conrad and the undeniable value associated with being able to cross these cards, some of them quite tough to find, off the list of this very special collecting mission made it easy to acquiesce in the end.

We had a deal.

During my search, I had a very pleasant conversation with art consultant regarding Conrad's collection and the man himself. She revealed that Conrad loved a good cup of coffee - black, nothing special. So, after we agreed on the price, I assured Conrad that I would stop by as soon as possible complete the purchase and that I would have a steaming cup of coffee for him. He gave another warm chuckle and we exchanged our goodbyes.

A great experience!

In the end, I feel like a still got a great deal. I feel like I gained some perspective during this process and learned a little bit more about this part of the hobby that I love so much. Vintage, set-building and some great conversation. What could be better? Hopefully, Conrad will still greet me as a friend and fellow collector the next time I bring him a cup of coffee. I think he will. 

What do you guys think? Was it a fair deal for both sides in the end? Do you have any similar tales of vintage hunting and lot-purchasing of old "raw" cards? Let me know what you think and feel free to check out my "Set NEEDS" tab to see if we can help each other!

Thank you for a great experience, Conrad! Here's hoping that our next chance to sit and talk cards isn't too far away. Besides, there's that gorgeous '76 Mike Schmidt card..and my insane idea that I am building the 1959 set...and...

Thanks for reading!     

Ryan

Hobby Conversation: "Graded Greats" Delivers Vintage Excitement

Over the past few weeks, I've enjoyed a robust hobby conversation with Chris Geiss, co-founder of Graded Greats. After "meeting" via twitter (as @ryanspitch and @GradedGreats) when I decided to give their Graded Greats Series 2 product a try, we quickly discovered a shared passion for card collecting. In particular, Chris and I have an affinity for vintage cardboard and have apparently been on parallel journeys into the world of graded cards, vintage or otherwise.

As readers of this blog know, I often strike a schizophrenic balance between both ends of the cardboard appreciation spectrum. One end offers what many consider to be the most organic hobby experience - collecting without the burden of concern for cards' 'value', 'condition' or even thematic organization. The opposite side involves concepts such as investment, market reports, registries and grading authorities - a hobby vernacular that has only come into mainstream focus during the past ten years.

Please note, I firmly believe that enjoyment of the hobby exists at both ends and at every point in between. While my dabbling in all of the above has created a more complex collecting approach that I am continuously refining for my own collecting pursuits, I've learned a lot and met some wonderful people along the way. And my education certainly continues.

Graded Greats caught my attention because their product presented the possibility for me to bridge the gap between both ends of my hobby spectrum. Could they truly capture the fundamental excitement of opening a pack of baseball cards and combine it with the value-driven but predictable peace of mind that comes with purchasing graded vintage cards?

In a subsequent post, I'll review my experience with their Series 2 product and compare my thoughts with the philosophical dribble hobby experience I've subjected you to above - for now, though, I'd like to share with you a brief conversation that I had with Chris about his own collecting story and where he feels Graded Greats might fit into our wonderful hobby:

RyansPitch: What was your first introduction to the sports card hobby? Any fond memories of your first card or set?
Chris Geiss: My first introduction to cards occurred when I was about 5 years old. For some reason, I recall the '77 Topps football set but I more clearly remember the '81 Topps baseball set and busting those rack packs! I went on to collect through high school and opened a shop while in college for about 4 years. I also participated in a lot of shows during that time.

RP: Would you describe yourself as a baseball fan who collects cards or a collector who enjoys baseball? As a collector, how has your collecting approach evolved over the years and what are you currently collecting?  
CG: I guess I would describe both myself and my co-founder, Cody, as collectors who are also fans of the game. We both played on the same legion baseball team and spent plenty of time talking about baseball and every other sports as well. From a collecting perspective, Cody and I are both fans of the "old" stuff. Even during the 80's, we were always intrigued by the classics.

RP: We seem to share an affinity for vintage cardboard - can you describe your affection and/or attraction to the classic, vintage elements of our hobby's offerings?
CG: I enjoy vintage because it never changes and I believe it will always be sought after. There aren't going to be anymore Mickey Mantle 1960 Topps cards produced but Mike Trout will continue to sign autographs and have more of his own cards created for years to come.

An exclusive peek into the Graded Greats stash...

RP: How were you introduced to graded cards and what was your first 'slab' purchase?   
CG: I was introduced to grading several years ago and was instantly impressed. They looked so nice in the slabs!! The first graded card that I added to my collection was not a purchase; rather, it was a '86-'87 Fleer Michael Jordan that I sent in myself for grading...and it came back as a "7"!

RP: What's your favorite graded great in your own collection?
CG: My personal favorite is a PSA 10 1993 Topps Derek Jeter rookie card because I can still remember pulling it from a pack 23 years ago but didn't submit it for grading until last year.

RP: George Lucas came up with the concept of the Millennium Falcon while chowing down on a hamburger - please set the scene for us regarding the genesis of the Graded Greats box.
CG: In all honesty, it wasn't something that took forever. Cody and I had bounced around ideas about getting back into the and how to do it. We tried buying into case breaks and thought that maybe that was the answer for us. Then one day on a phone call, we had the idea of "buy-back" graded Hall of Fame cards. We hung up the phone with a mutual agreement to think on it and reconvene later. When we continued our conversation, we both presented each other with the same idea for naming our concept - Graded Greats! After a few laughs, we put together a plan and decided upon some key elements for our product:

• our base product would always be at a good price point
• packaging would be top notch and deliver a little something extra (the experience)
• we would only deal with Hall of Fame players

During a subsequent meeting, we decided to add some vintage packs to the graded cards and this has proven to be a very exciting element for our customers.

Graded Greats' original Twitter "teaser" 

RP: For anyone who might be unfamiliar with your product, what does each Graded Greats box contain?
CG: Series 1 and Series 2 boxes contained 3 graded Hall of Fame cards and one additional 'vintage' item (pack, raw card, relic, autograph). Each box was individually stocked with carefully packed pouches and sealed with its own unique serial number in that particular batch. It's our goal to ensure that the end result delivers a great balance of "ripping" or unveiling excitement with an appropriate level of return on value - regardless of the unknown potential in items such as unopened packs, etc. 

RP: According to your site, only cards from the "top 2 grading authorities" are included in your product. Which firms did you select, how did you determine these two finalists and what do you like/dislike about each company's product (slab design/quality records/etc.)? Any suggestions for these companies?
CG: We chose PSA and Beckett because of name recognition and the trust that we perceive them to have built with the hobby and its collectors. 

RP: Opinions might differ, but from your point of view, what's been the greatest graded card you've dropped into a pouch and mailed off to a customer? Greatest pack?
CG: The greatest graded cards will truly be dropping into Series 3 boxes, and could easily be chosen from any of the ten raw, vintage HOF cards that we've submitted to PSA for grading. Personally, I would go with the 1966 Mantle! As for greatest pack, that would certainly vary by personal preference as you suggest. We've sent out a lot of '78, '79 and '80 Topps packs - all of which carry a high "unopened vintage-wax" value.  

RP: As some collectors build their own graded card collections, what are some of the best methods that you've encountered for storage, transport and display of these collectibles?
CG: We have seen a lot of methods for storage during our 'hunting' trips. I've seen some collectors customize walls in their collecting spaces by notching out perfect spaces for PSA slabs. If you want to display them without modifying the family homestead - there are a lot of other modular, mobile and cost-effective options! If you're acquiring graded cards for investment purposes, a small fire-proof safe is a simple way to keep them safe, come what may.

Slabbing & Vintage Hunting - Precious Cargo!

RP: What can customers expect from Graded Greats in the future and specifically, Series 3? Ryan's Pitch is always happy to facilitate the announcement of exciting news!
CG: Series 3 has already sold out in similar fashion to Series 1 and Series 2 but we are working hard to make final preparations for a few new products coming up in the near future! One of which, I'd like to go ahead and announce right now - Wax Museum TV:

Essentially, we're trying to capture the excitement of online group breaks with a vintage twist. Participants' entry fee will guarantee them a pack from a sealed wax box from a vintage release. Each pack will be paired with a raw vintage card of HOF player that the participant will receive in addition to what they pull from their pack. On top of that, we will make things interesting by attaching other "chase cards" to random common cards in that particular set. Theoretically, we might determine beforehand that card #361 from the '76 Topps set ( the Tigers checklist card, by the way) will be "exchanged" for a premium card (graded HOF, star player auto, etc.). Therefore, a participant could actually walk away from a '76 break with an exchanged premium card, a Winfield RC and their pack's paired raw HOF card. An entirely new spin on group breaks! Be sure to follow us on twitter (@gradedgreats) and on Ustream (gradedgreats) for updates and information. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or are simply interested in joining the hobby conversation - we're looking forward to having a lot of fun!

RP: Sounds amazing, Chris. I appreciate you taking the time for our conversation and applaud your company's efforts to think outside of the box. Our hobby can become somewhat stagnant at times so it's refreshing to see something new and have an option that incorporates different collecting approaches. Best of luck with Graded Greats!
CG: Thanks, Ryan! We're always up for discussing our latest ideas, products and our passion for hobby in general. At the end of the day, we're collectors who are lucky to be doing what we love and are very excited to share that love with fellow collectors.


Thanks to Graded Greats and Chris Geiss for a great discussion. I hope you guys enjoyed it, too! What are your thoughts on their products, ideas and overall strategy/approach? How do you feel about graded cards, vintage packs or group breaks in general?

Please feel free to leave your thoughts below or reach out to me via twitter (@ryanspitch ) or email (ryansdugout@gmail.com).

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

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

Vintage? Vintage.

I love a good mystery and, while I usually pretty adverse to risk in all that I do - I decided to take a little risk on some mystery batches of vintage cards recently.

You guys know me - I love old cards.   Stars or commons, graded or raw, sharp corners or water damaged - I love all types of old cardboard.   Several "lots" of vintage cards came into focus for me on the Bay of E that really caught my attention.   Some of the card were visible and I was able to recognize some quality names like Hodges, Aaron, Jackson and Robinson.   I also spied a pretty solid spread of card designs across a three-decade spectrum - everything from a '54 to a bunch of '65's and stuff in between.

I was intrigued and the minimum bid was low...and, well, I probably had a beer or two as well.

I ended up winning a few and, for $40 total - this stack of top loaders (eeeek! and some just LOOSE in the bag) showed up at my door:

Okay......

......some more....hey, a checklist!

I'm going to go through these a little bit more when I get a chance to run some stats and start showing them off.  

Here's hoping I do okay - at the very least, I've been able to fill out a couple of pages for my vintage set pursuits!

Keep Collecting,

Ryan

My Yankee Collection - 1948 Bowman #14 Allie Reynolds Rookie Card

Here is a look at one of my favorite cards from my Yankee collection - Allie Reynolds' "Rookie" card from the 1948 Bowman set:

Vintage-y Goodness, served up Bronx Style!

The 1948 Bowman set was very limited, at only 48 cards.   This Reynolds card is #14 from the set.   This card is noted as Reynolds' rookie card because the '48 Bowman release was the first major release after the end of World War II.   Therefore, the majority of cards in the set are noted as players' first cards, even though many had played for years - like Reynolds, who came up with the Indians in 1942.   The card's dimensions are 21/16" by 21/2" and the entire set is in black & white.   I managed to find this card in great condition at an unbelievable price!   At 64 years old, this Reynolds is completely crease-free and has some great edges with sharp corners.   As was common for many cards back then,it suffered from a slightly uneven cut but the card really doesn't suffer in its appearance.   Would I care anyways? :)   Here's the back!

What the Michael Pineda Trade Will [Probably] Never Be...

  
Here you have the very basic back of those early Bowman releases.   But I still dig them!   The usual biographical numbers are followed by a great summary of Allie's early career and a mention of the great trade that brought Mr. Reynolds to New York - more on that below.   And don't forget to ask for Blony Bubble Gum, The Gum with THREE different flavors :)   Ha!   How sweet is that little ad?   Can you imagine the uproar if card companies loaded up the backs of our modern-day releases with ads?   Here's a quick glance at what this card looks like in a top-loader, just for some size perspective:

I love, love, love this card!   It's a vintage Yankee rookie card of a great player.   I can't swap it for a house....or a car....or even Madden '13, but it's a great piece of history to me and it's in great shape.   I hope I have the chance to find some other good deals on some other cards from this set.   Any time you can take home a card from one of those "First Page" sets (sets on the first page of the price guide)......I think you have something special.


Here's some more about Mr. Reynolds:

Allie Pierce Reynolds was one of the most dominant pitchers in the American League during his playing days.   He began his career with the Cleveland Indians, who were tipped off to his hurling prowess by the baseball coach at Oklahoma A&M - where Allie attended college and lettered in numerous sports until graduating.

Reynolds in Cleveland -note "War Bonds" Ad behind him!

He fought his way through the minor leagues during difficult financial times for the country and was on the verge of retiring from the game out of frustration until he was called up to Cleveland and established himself as an ace for the Indians while their usual #1, Bob Feller, was serving overseas in World War II.   It should be noted that Reynolds took the enlistment physical but was determined to be ineligible for service due to family medical history and some injuries he had suffered while playing sports in college.   Allie Reynolds led the AL in strikeouts in '43 and made a total of 100 starts for the Indians.   Of those times he took the mound as a starting pitcher, Reynolds tossed 41 complete games and had nine shutouts!  

By 1946, Feller had returned to the squad and the club's player/manager Lou Boudreau needed to fill a defensive hole at 2B for the Indians.   He had set his eyes on the Yankees' 2B, Joe Gordon and informed the Yankees' front office man, Lee MacPhail that New York could have any pitcher he wanted - with the exception of Mr. Feller, of course.   Lee sought some counsel from 'ol DiMaggio who advised Lee:

"Take Reynolds.   I'm a fastball hitter, but he can buzz his hard one by me any time he has a mind to."

 

Timing....is EVERYTHING!

The rest is history and Allie Reynolds became an ace for the Yankees on a staff that included Ed Lopat and Vic Raschi.   By 1949, Allie was the star of a team that won five consecutive league championships - the first squad to ever do so.   For his first 6 seasons as a Yankee, Mr. Reynolds averaged over 232 innings, 17.5 wins and 14 complete games!   He also became the second pitcher in major league history to hurl two no-hitters in one season, joining Johnny Vander Meer who had accomplished the feat in '38.   Notching two no-no's in one season is still the record though the two have been joined more recently by one of my all-time favorites - Virgil Trucks ('52) as well as Nolan Ryan ('73) and Roy Halladay ('10).   Not too shabby, huh?

Allie Reynolds hailed from Oklahoma (like another Yankee legend, don't you know?) and was a member of the Creek Indian Nation.   As was the standard in those days, any ball player of Native American heritage usually garnered the nickname "Chief" from his teammates at some point.   This was no different for Mr. Reynolds, who earned a version of that as "Superchief".   It is pretty widely known that Allie wasn't comfortable with his nickname, usually citing the honor and reverence that was reserved for the title of "Chief" within his Creek Indian culture.   The stories behind this label aren't crystal clear but teammate and eventual AL President, Bobby Brown once noted:

"But for some of you too young to remember, the Santa Fe Railroad at that time had a crack train (call the Superchief) that ran from California to Chicago, and it was known for its elegance, its power and its speed. We always felt the name applied to Allie for the same reasons."

That's quite a compliment.   In fact, I think the only other compliment that I might be MORE impressed by would be some kind words from 'ol Casey Stengel......wait, WHAT?   Stengel had words of praise for this guy?   Why yes, yes he did:

"Reynolds was two ways great, which is starting and relieving, which no one can do like him...He has guts and his courage is simply tremendous."

That's good stuff!   And so were Superchief's career accomplishments, although they never managed to earn him a spot in the Hall of Fame:

• Six Time All-Star (1945, 1949, 1952, 1953 and 1954)
• Six Time World Series Champion (1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953)
• Lifetime Stats: 182-107, 3.30 ERA and 1,423 K's

Maybe most impressive was Reynolds' performance under pressure in the post season.   He was 7-2 with a 2.79 ERA over 77 innings and was the "clinching" pitcher in the '50, '52 and '53 Series.   He made six relief appearances in the World Series and earned either a Win or a Save in every single one of them.   And just to drive the point home - he batted .308 in 26 World Series at-bats.   Yo!   Allie went on to become a very successful business man in the oil industry after retiring due to injuries suffered in a crash of the Yankees team bus during the '54 season.   He passed away in Oklahoma in 1994 at the age of 77.  

Allie "Super Chief" Reynolds was indeed a legendary pitcher for my favorite team back in the very first days of baseball's golden age.   His accomplishments are impressive as is the way in which he apparently lived his life.   I'm really glad....no, honored to have his rookie card as a part of my New York Yankee baseball card collection.

Thank for reading!

What is "iconic"?

That was one of the topics du jour in the twitter-sphere of Ryan's Pitch, today.

Rick Klein (@rickklein) put forth a great discussion piece on Cardboard Connection that cited his desire for Topps to return to its roots with the flagship release.   With no frills or parallels or inserts or whatever, Rick channeled his childhood roots as he cited this phenomena when explaining his stance:

"For all of baseball card history, until the 1990s, the star cards were the chase cards. You pulled a Willie Mays, a Nolan Ryan, a George Brett, a Ken Griffey Jr., and that was the value in your pack. They made the pack or the box worthwhile."

I tend to agree, for the most part, and I have found myself suffering through the same thought process as I've torn through wax for the past year or so.   I would fight an inner struggle to thumb quickly past base cards (ANY base cards) in the hopes of finding that strikingly rigid relic card or seeing some beautiful ink surface from behind the preceding, boring base card.

Seriously, self?!

Then, of course, I would feel the shame and return through the piles to pay my respects to the cards upon which the foundation of our hobby is built - the base cards.   "We are cards, too" I can almost hear them screaming.   And they're RIGHT.   Turn them over when you get a chance and just READ.   Even if it's one of the simpler designs like Gypsy Queen, read what's there.   The stats, the facts and, if you're lucky - the cartoons (Archives, Heritage).   read the words, gain the knowledge and behold - there's the value in your baseball card.   Flip it back over and look at the front design.   Is the picture cool?   Do the colors work?   Can you find an airbrushing or printing error?   Enjoy it.   Critique it.   Share it.

And now...........collect it.   Trade it.   Put it on a dart board (Red Sox).   Check the number off your list and add it to the others.   Send it to the player in a TTM request or slide it gleefully into a 9-card page.   There's the value in your baseball card.   You might not be able to flip it for your car payment on the Bay of E - but you can get something out of it.

Let me get back to the twitter conversation...........

SO, Rick, along with several other collectors, industry players like Beckett's Chris Olds and even Topps themselves (@ToppsCards) bantered back and forth about how Topps might be able to satisfactorily meet Rick's request.   It is a healthy debate and very logical, too, as all seem to respect the fact that Topps IS a business and would need to be profitable while heeding Rick's recommendations.

What is iconic?

Rick made another excellent point in his article, referring to the Topps designs of years gone by, albeit mostly from the years of our (us 30 somethings +) youth along with those wonderful vintage editions.   He cited how easily all of us could recall the designs in our minds, with specific cards for certain years and how those designs thrive today in our collective hobby conscious as "works of art" and artifacts of sporting sentimentality.  

How much of this is due to our own hearts and memories clouding our judgment?   Have we simply not allowed enough time for current cards to achieve the same status in our mental display cases?   Perhaps....but then again, the obvious excitement surrounding this year's Archives release is undeniable.    I am a victim myself!   I vowed to stop at the flagship and Gypsy Queen releases this year but fell like a middle-schooler for Erin Andrews when I picked up a few 'sample' packs of Heritage and Archives.  

Now a "Fox" in more than one way...

Yes.   Gratuitous........

I've said it before - well done, Topps.   So, what is it about seeing today's stars in yesterday's designs that makes it all so exciting?   Is it the gimmickry of it?   Is it the allure of 'something new as something old'?   We may never know.   But ask yourself this - would you be as stoked to see McCutchen in the 2002 design vice this:

....or this?

Oops.  An insert......okay, score one for Topps.   But hang with me!

So, what do you think?   What does iconic mean to you?   Will the 'surfboard' design of 2012 flagship develop into an iconic design - eventually?   Have we, as a hobby, lost our ability to appreciate beautiful designs if they aren't accompanied by the chance to pull on-card autographs, jumbo relics or maple syrup glaze parallel SSSSP's?

Perhaps, but in the meantime - here's my two cents:   I don't believe iconic designs are behind us.   The iconic designs of my youth are exactly that - the iconic designs of my youth.   The '87 mini inserts from this year's release made me tear up a little while they very well might cause a 12 year old kid today to mutter, "What the heck is this?"  It's true, fellow geezers.   The iconic designs of the golden age and beyond are iconic for the legendary players they picture, I believe....and they're just old....and can be kind of tough to find.   2012 base cards will be old one day and probably hold some value for collectors who are riding bikes today that will remember watching Pujols or Cano or Kershaw as children.   One thing that WON'T be the same, however, is the scarcity.   We may never see that phenomena associated with present-day releases so I think that is a unique contributor to the allure of designs and plain old base cards from vintage (50's and 60's) releases.

For the record - here's MY iconic:

EPIC

Where was I 6/24/83?!? I don't know.....

And THIS.....this just doesn't seem epic to me.   Not yet.   But perhaps one day?

Golden Mouuuuus

Overall, this is a great question and a healthy debate.   Topps truly can't stand to lose too much from trying to find an answer, either.   There will probably be a 'swing and a miss' from time to time, yes.   But they might as well try, though.   You KNOW that we will all be there to at least pick up a few packs!

Let me know what you think and thank you for providing the discussion point, Rick.

Thanks for reading and before I forget - GO YANKEES, BEAT THEM SOX!!!!!!!!!!