Some Quickie Monday Vintage for the Mix

Aloha, everybody, 

I stopped by the card show to see what I can see, and I saw these...

I'd already collected these 1979 Topps All-Time Record Holders, but a couple needed upgrading.

The card this upgrade is replacing is still in very good shape, in case anybody out there wants it. 

Here's one I picked up for my World Series collection. Little did I know one of these was already coming my way courtesy Robert from $30 a Week Habit. 

Do you need this one, Matt? 

Here's one that's neither upgrade nor a double...

I need Games 1 and 3 to complete the 1970 WS subset. 

I just couldn't pass up this sweet 1955 Topps "Ripper"...

These dual-player cards from 1975 Topps are an easy and inexpensive way to grab Hall of Famers...

So I double-dipped...

Finally, a little something I picked up with my friend, Mark Hoyle in mind. Give a shout if you want this one. 

If not, 1961 Pumpsie will sit just fine in my binder...unless someone needs it? 

Aloha! 

Aloha, everybody,

I hit the card show last weekend, and after scooping up a few cards for my Perfect Game Project, I started scanning the binders and boxes on the dealers table for any other available gems. Here's what I came up with...

I grabbed this '72 Topps Willie Davis - without remembering I already have a copy. There's so much groovy going on in this card that I just couldn't walk away from it - well-loved or not. 

I love cardboard with World Series Heroes doing World Series shite, so I jumped on these...

 That's Johnny Bench about to drop the Big Red Hammer. I swear I can hear the roar of the crowd when I look at this card. 

Another WS card, another appearance from Bench. 

Brooks Robinson on Tattoine. What an image! 

Everybody knows BobWalkthePlank is Pirates HQ, but there's always room in my collection for the Sarge on a great card. 

I grabbed some cards to add to my "Defunct Teams" PC...

Bonus: Defunct, highly insensitive/probably racist, team logo. 

Chuck Stobbs, 1955 Topps

Here's a couple of suggested taglines for the back of Stobby's card: 
"Stobbs was one of baseball's first bonus babies." and "Southpaw Stobbs once had a 16-game consecutive losing streak."  

Willie Davis wasn't the only Dodger I found in the binders...

I added one more card from my favorite Brooklyn southpaw, Johhny Podres. 

And I grabbed this for a buck. Overpaid? Not in my mind. 

Finally, this little slice o' cardboard that didn't really fit any themed page in my binders, but I hadda have it. 

Monobrow stare? Check.
Funky name? Check. 
Too bad ol' Zup wasn't repping a defunct team, I woulda had the trifecta. 

Aloha! 

Rediscovered Vintage Dodger Goodness

Hey everybody,

I was recently sorting through my collection - for reasons that I think you will appreciate soon enough - when I came upon a shoebox that I hadn't opened in quite a while.  While it wasn't chock full of big money cards that I forgot I had, it did contain a fistful of almost forgotten cardboard, priceless to me.

I bought all of these back in the early 90's, the days that I first got seriously into collecting.  I picked them up from various dealers at various shows, although most were probably had from the famous Frank & Son's shows out here.  In those days my collecting goals were "always pay the lowest price for the best condition possible". 

Let's open with the oldest cards, from 1955 Topps, the year the Dodgers won their first, and Brooklyn's only, World Championship...
 

When people write about Dee Gordon, they never refer back to Jim Gilliam, the brilliant second bagsman for the Brooklyn squad.   

Gilliam also batted leadoff and led the league in triples once, and won the N.L. Rookie of the Year award. Gotta love the fashionable Dodger blue turtleneck - Dodger gear the team dropped after moving to sunny LA.

Podres, my favorite pitcher from Brooklyn.  He was the MVP of the 1955 World Series and shut out the Yankees in Game 7.  

If you've seen the Ken Burns documentary, BASEBALL, then you've seen one of my all time favorite sports clips.  It's in the "7th Inning - The Capital Of Baseball", which is a great stand alone segment from the series.  

The Brooklyn Dodgers had been to the Fall Classic numerous times, only to lose and crush the dreams of their devoted fans time and time again.  Podres and the Dodgers finally won in '55, and in a post game clip a reporter asks Podres if he was nervous during that final 7th game.  

Podres immediately responded, with his ever-present grin which we see on the card above, "Nervous? Nah. I was a real pro out there today." I just love Dodger southpaws.

Finally, from '55 is Joe Black. Joe was the first African-American pitcher to win a World Series game, back in '52.

Next up is my lone 1956 Topps Dodger. I only have the one, but it's not too shabby...

Furillo got a great PATP card.  

When we think about Dodger right fielders with rifle arms, we usually think of Puig or Raul Mondesi.  
Move over boys - Mr. Furillo's nickname was "The Reading Rifle".  

He led the league with assists from RF twice, and had double digit assists for nine straight seasons. 

Now the "newer" cards from 1957...

Erskine pitched a Dodgers no-hitter and struck out 14 in the '53 World Series. 

I wonder who's lurking on the mound back there? 

Finally today, a classic card from a classic Dodger.  Topps has used this shot countless times over the years, but at least, this is the first time it was put on cardboard. 

Not only was Hodges one of Brooklyn's big boppers, he was a heckuva first baseman.  When they invented the Golden Glove awards, Hodges won the first three.  

Next up: The Rediscovered LA Dodgers