Saturday, January 9, 2016

Binder Page Heroes - Harmon Killebrew Edition

Aloha, everybody, 

The start of the new year has seen a lot of bloggers rolling out their cardboard resolutions for 2016. While I'm not the kind of collector who sets many goals - at least not the kind with deadlines - I was inspired by Night Owl's post about the stuff he "wants to do" in 2016. One of the things on N.O.'s to-do list was to keep his blog series' alive, which spurred me to revive one of my own. 

Ladies and gentlemen, let's return once again to Binder Page Heroes, the series in which I showcase a page from one of my binders. 

This time it's a page featuring one player - someone I don't see getting a whole lotta love from the blogs. Which is probably because there aren't many Twins collectors in the blogosphere. But the man definitely deserves some prime time, so it's hats off to the Killer (no, not Jerry Lee Lewis)...


I'm a big Dodgers collector, but don't forget, I also love cardboard from baseball's heroes who played for other teams as well. In no particular order, these are my favorite Harmon Killebrew cards. Leading off are two from 1968 Topps...



You can blame my scanner for slicing off the edges of these. I love the old timey stadium tiers lurking there. Is this the Twins' home stadium? 
 
I like collecting these All Star cards, but I'm always let down by the puzzle backs. Gimme some substance! I wonder if this photo was taken in the same sequence as the one from the base card above?



A great batting stance photo, combined with a lousy color scheme which pretty much washes out the player's name. 

Coming up is one that Arpsmith would probably consider a McCovey card...


Back when I used to haunt the weekly card show, these 1975 Topps dual player cards were easy to find, and were a pretty cheap way to grab some vintage cardboard - with double Hall of Famers to boot.  Now I wish I had the foresight to have bought every one of those '75's I came across. 


Killer started out with the Senators before they moved to Minnesota and became the Twins. I'm glad Masterpieces featured him in the old Senators uni. 


Killebrew looks like he popped one up here. Nevertheless, these In Action cards are some of my faves. 

More "Killebrew in action"...



Next up is a beautiful swatch of old time, grey uniform...



The card is thick and feels substantial in hand. The flannel (?) has darkened with age and feels like baseball history. 

Last ups brings us to colorful 1972 Topps and a vintage bat shaft shot for Dimebox Nick. ...



 Killebrew was a Minnesota Twin for 21 years. He was an 11-time All Star and hit 40 or more home runs eight times.

Here's one for ol' Harmon, "Another Place, Another Time" from the other Killer ...



Aloha!






8 comments:

  1. My father would tell me ball players today have it easy as players from Killabrew's era wore wool uniforms under the sweltering summer sun.

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    1. Aha - I wondered if flannel was a possibility. I'll take your dad's word for it. Thanks for the info.

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  2. That is a great Killebrew page and that is a McCovey card :-)

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    1. Lol - I thought you'd see it through Giants lenses.

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