Binder Page Heroes - Strictly Vintage

Aloha, everybody, 

Welcome to another installment of Binder Page Heroes, the ATBATT series where I pull a random page from the binders to share with you. Today it's a Vintage Edition. 

Leading off is 1954 Bowman...

I chose "The Barber" to lead off in honor of Arpsmith. I just sent a PWE to his California address, but it turns out he's moved to Kansas. 

I'm hoping he'll see this Giants card, click on my post, and read this note: Keep an eye out for a forwarded PWE, and send me your new address! What am I gonna do with all my unwanted Giants cards? 

Back to The Barber. Maglie earned his nickname from his brush back pitches which were close enough to give you a  shave. He's the only pitcher to have played for all three of the golden age New York clubs (Yankees, Giants and Dodgers). 

As a Dodger he pitched a no-hitter at Ebbits Field and was the Dodgers' pitcher when Don Larsen pitched his perfect game in the World Series. 

Bonus: Maglie has a stadium in Niagara Falls, NY named after him! 

Enough with the Giants. Moving on to 1952 Bowman...

Great art and the cardboard's in great shape. Yes, I still love you when you're 64. (There's a Beatles reference for Defgav.) 


Here's a '62 Topps that shows those Angels have been claiming LA for a long, long time...

I keep this '65 Topps card around because of the large Senators pennant. Gotta have at least one of these in my collection. I just wish I had one from a better Senators player. 

How about a Cub who went on to be a World Series Hero for the Dodgers, and then returned to the Cubs...

Johnson, an ex-Kansas City Monarch, hit two home runs in Game 7 of the 1965 World Series to clinch the championship for the Dodgers over the Twins. Topps gave him his own card for this feat, which is also in my collection. 

Sweet Lou is still around and frequently participates in pre-game ceremonies at Dodger Stadium with former players. I saw him once in the stands and he signed a baseball for me. He even signed "Sweet Lou Johnson". 

1957 Topps...

7x All-Star and 2x AL Batting champ, but he's a Red Sox.

Here's another Washington Senator, this time on 1959 Topps...

Since Fidel's been in the news lately, it's worth a mention that Pedro hailed from Cuba. 

Here's card #1 from 1960 Topps...

One of the great AL pitchers in the 50's, Wynn is another ex-Senator. 

Last up is a card from the Milwaukee Braves. 

From the back of the card: Red won the 1950 All-Star game with a home run in the 14th inning. 

It seems collecting cards from defunct teams is another facet of my collecting that I never properly realized until this post. I've happily just added hundreds more cards to my collecting goals. 

Aloha! 

Deciding What to Collect - AND Trade Bait

Aloha, everybody, 

Since the beginning of the year I've been thinking about the reasoning behind my collection and the meaning of this blog.

One of the beautiful things about our cardboard community is that we hold a rich variety of collecting philosophies. Some of us want every card ever produced for one team, or one player. Some of us focus on autographs and limited edition, high end product, while others chase rookies and pre-rookies.

The last time I blogged about this, I referred to myself as a shotgun collector, with fairly open interests. Since then I've made the decision that 2016 will be the year I work on collecting vintage Dodger team sets - from 1957 until 1980.

 Certainly I understand it's impossible to complete that task in a year, or perhaps over a lifetime of collecting. But we all know, it aint about completing the task, it's about the juice we get from the chase. 

That's where you all come in. I'm humbly asking that you consider my wantlists for these team sets (updated last week) whenever we trade. A few of the checklists are impossibly long, but I'm close to completing a few. With a little help, I should be able to close those out this year, while chipping away at the others.

Of course I'm still happy to receive cards from the other scattershot angles to my collecting, but I'm hoping some of you out there have some older cards that fit these new needs. 

I've got extras of a (small) few of these cards, so I'm hoping that might serve a need or two for you vintage set collectors out there. 

That said, here's some trade bait that's looking for new homes (with more to come over the next few days)...

 2001 Upper Deck Hall of Famers Robin Yount bat relic. These had a hobby pull ratio of 1:24.

1968 Topps Killebrew. 

And a wildcard throw in...

Who loves Pac-Man? 

Aloha!

Did Somebody Say "Tradition"?

Let's Go...

Batter up...

We're taking...the...afternoon...off!

It's a beautiful day for a ballgame...

Those are the opening lines to a 60'ish song they used to play before every Dodger radio broadcast when I was growing up.  And I listened every chance I got. That song always meant Vin Scully, the Boys in Blue, and an escape into the wonderful thing that is my favorite team playing ball.  

Night Owl's great Opening Day post reminded us today that Baseball is indeed, Tradition.

For about 10 years straight it was my tradition to attend Opening Day.  Not so this year, but as the song says..."I'm taking the afternoon off"...and I'll be watching every pitch from the comfort of my living room, and Vin Scully will be right there too.  Aint life grand?

I hadn't yet come up with an idea for my Opening Day post, but good ol' Night Owl inspired me.  While our favorite teams deal with baseball tradition between the chalklines today, I'll deal with tradition as a cardboard blogger should...

Presenting some mighty fine cardboard baseball tradition: 1954 Bowman.

What better day than Opening Day to enjoy the Dodger Blue running throughout Labine's card? We've got the magnificent blue Brooklyn cap, blue silk Dodgers lettering, the Big Dodger in the Sky providing a great blue background, and don't forget Clem's baby blues. 

How 'bout a little more traditon, you say?  Here ya go...a little bitta tradition from today's opponents...

We're gonna cheer...

and boo...

and raise a hullaballo...

at the ballgame, tooooo-daaaaayyyy !

Here's to tradition !   PLAY BALL!