Tony Swings Across the Spectrum, From Number 13 to Number 1

Aloha, everybody,

Tony was the victim of the first steal of the game, so he made a second pick, Number 1. Tony strikes vintage once again! 

It's the 50's vintage lot...

On the bottom is a cachet (see comments for Tony's definition). One of you who knows more about these can explain it better than me, but it's usually something that harks back to a particular person or event, and is a limited release. It's stamped and postmarked on the day of release, usually in a post office that is relevant to the event or person on the cachet. 

This one commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Cleveland Indians, postmarked Cleveland, Ohio, and it's numbered 98/100. Bill Veek (former owner of the Indians) is pictured, but he died in 1996, so his brother Mike is the one who autographed the card. 

Hope this all beats basketball for you, Tony. 

Jon pulled the steal, which set up Tony's pick, which made DefGav the next in line. Gavin commented (on the previous post) he'll steal the 60's Vintage Prize from Jon, so that prize is locked. 

Jon, looks like you're up again. Tony didn't want basketball, and that prize is still lurking out there. Here are your choices, Jon:

Numbers 3, 5, 10, 11, 12, or you can steal...
Prize 1: 50's Vintage 
Prize 2: Wheaties Boxes
Prize 4: Clemens, Schmidt, Ripken
Prize 6: Young Stars, Rookies
Prize 7: 70's Vintage
Prize 8: Autos, Relics Lot
Prize 13: 60's Vintage (Locked) 

The game has picked up some stealing steam! 

Heads up: Lost Collector is on deck. 

Aloha! 

Cool Custom Baseball Art (and an OPWE update)

Aloha, everybody, 

I was recently treated to some samples of custom baseball artwork from an outfit you may know...Gypsy Oak. 

If you're not familiar with Gypsy Oak, or Jeff, the artist, I'll let his work do the talking...

On the face of this art stamp is Henry "Hi" Meyers. Meyers is an extra special player for me to receive art about, since he goes way back in the rosters of Brooklyn. 

He goes so far back that he's a pre-Dodger. Meyers played for the Brooklyn Superbas/Robins. His claim to fame was leading the NL in RBIs in 1919. Atta boy, Hi! 

Bonus: Meyers is portrayed in a cool blue checkerboard uniform. 

As the story tells on the rear, these art stamps are associated with Baseball History and Art Magazine. You can go online and check out a digital sample mag. It's worth the time. 

As you can see with the Meyers art stamp, Jeff is a very good artist. He also creates art cards, prints, and wood engravings of baseball greats from the centuries gone by. 

You can check out - and purchase -  more of Jeff's work at Gypsyoak.bigcartel.com . You can also see his work on Twitter: @Gypsyoak

Jeff was generous enough to also send these...

I'm not sure what these are, but the text leads me to believe they're game cards. I'm glad Campy got the Home Run card. 

Cool stuff, right? They're all great additions to my collection, with the added bonus of being custom artwork and repping Brooklyn. 

THANKS, Jeff. Your generosity is much appreciated. 

Here's the OPWE update: A batch of packages went out today, so if you see your zip code below, keep your eyes on your mailbox, as Cardboard Santa is on his way with some goodies.
60706
60175
46561
13601
26505
60445
10707
77251

There are still a couple more packages left to go! 

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

No Dodger Game? No Problem. Let's Go To The Card Show!

Hey everybody,

Dodgers and Braves fans had the day off from our nailbiting playoff series today, which was great timing, because that allowed me to run out to the second Culver City Card Show.

Check out the kids at the show! Good for the hobby.  :)

I call it the Culver City show, but here's the official name...

The first show, back in May, was a blast.  I picked up a lot of great cardboard, but the real highlight for me was the grand meeting up of four Dodger bloggers - Spiegel from Nomo's Sushi Platter, Greg from Plashke, Thy Sweater Is Argyle, Ernest from Dodgers Blue Heaven, and little ol' me. You can see photos from that show here.

This time we didn't quite have another Mount Olympus of Bloggers meetup, but it was my pleasure to see Greg there and hang out with him, browsing binders and piles of cool cardboard for a few hours. Here we are in all of our card collecting geekdom glory...

Ernest and Spiegel, we missed ya!

This pic was taken by our new friend (and new reader) lucky Andy, who made one of the great scores of the show. Unfortunately, I didn't get a pic, but he had a box full of binder pages FULL of vintage that he picked up for just $35.

That wasn't all he got lucky on.  His son, also named Andy, pulled a sweet and shiny Topps Yasiel Puig card, which he promptly gifted to his dad.  That Puig card is a real beauty.  Here's Andy...

I'm sure you want to see the cards I picked up today, so let's get to it!  I picked up enough cardboard for two posts, which I'll split into Dodgers and everyone else.  Here come the Dodger cards, in no particular order...

75 Topps Highlights.  This card is great because of all the extra Dodger lurkery.  In addition to workhorse Mike Marshall, we get the HOF long time skipper Walter Alston, catcher Steve Yeager, and not so great, short lived Dodger manager Bill Russell. 

Iconic Dodger card, and yet, I never owned one until now.  I've always loved that blurry, shaky background of humanity contrasted against the quiet hero, like a baseball superman. 

I really have to thank Greg for this pick up.  I had this 1933 Goudey in my hands earlier and put it back into the box. I was telling myself I didnt want to pay $6 for such a beat up card, but Greg hipped me to what a nice card and good price it actually is.  He was right, I love this card.

ASIDE: I know some of you on the other side of the country list prices that you see at shows like dimes and quarters, stacks of vintage for $8 and so on, but unfortunately, I never see those types of deals out here in L.A.  We pay the Hollywood markup prices out here.

BTW, I didn't know anything about Bud Clancy, so I looked him up.  His claim to fame came in 1934, when in typical Dodger fashion, he became the first first baseman to not record a put out in a 9 inning game.

Harris' claim to fame is having Sandy Koufax come in to relieve him. 

Can't go wrong with 60's Dodger clubbers.  I'm slowly but surely getting enough of these 1960 Dodgers to seriously chase the team set.

As soon as I spotted this baby, I hadda have it!  What's not to like?  Three Dodger pitching legends on one beautiful slice of cardboard...SOLD !!!  I just can't have too many Koufax's or Podres'.

Here's a great oddball that's in great condition.  I love that Osteen is on the double-play card, and not laser-shot-single-up-the-middle. 

 Another card that I didn't think about for 2 seconds.  I'm chasing this subset, so I'm now one step closer to completion. What an awesome card for a Dodgers fan. Anybody out there know who the lurkers are?  Norm Larker and Dan Demeter batted on either side of Furillo. 

Finally, 1959 Topps brings us another great trio of Dodger pitchers.  I love Podres' smile. He always seemed like a regular Joe to me.  He smiles like he's having a great time being a baseball player.

That's it for part one of my card show haul!

Next post: Cards from everybody else.  Check back for some very nice vintage.

Prizes, Trades and Gifts Are What Makes The Cardboard World Go Round

Hey everybody,

Gotta get in a post about more great cards that graced my mail lately...

First up is a thanks, (but no pics this time).  HUGE THANKS go out to Patrick, the mastermind behind The Card Hobbyist.  If you like a blog that also features cool games with da shite prizes, Patrick's place is definitely in your wheelhouse.  As a matter of fact, I'm happy to say this is the second time I won a contest over there.

But why no pics?  Two reasons:

1. I won basically the same A & G Dodger cards in a box break at Tribecards a couple of weeks ago and I've already  posted them.  Yes, they were essentially doubles, but they were also doubly great because they were 2013 Dodgers, and they contained a second Puig RC!

2. Since they were doubles, I gave the cards from Patrick right over to my son, who was stoked to have his own Puig rookie.  Thus, those particular cards were not scanned are now stashed away securely in his binder. No pics, but double thanks for the great prize, Patrick.

The next batch does have pics. These are the result of my first trade with Nate, who is kinda new on the blogs.  Nate's site is Big 44 Sports Cards.  Nate's a stone Pittsburgh collector, so that means, you best have some Pirates or Steelers for trade.  But no Penguins, Nate?  To each his own.

Heck, I don't collect hockey myself, but here's a note for all you hockey collectors out there. I would love a hockey card from one of the baddest L.A. Kings to ever wear the uni...Tiger Williams.  I grew up on Tiger in the days the Kings wore the Purple and Gold of the L.A. Forum.  Did you know Tiger holds the all-time record for most penalty minutes?  Yeah, back in those days, the Kings were doormats of the league, but Tiger wasn't one. Tiger was bad- ass personified.

So I shipped some black and gold Pirates to Nate, and he sent over some cool stuff to me...

You can never go wrong with golden sparkle Kershaw

And you can't ever go wrong with Cobb on cardboard.  Here we get a fantastic portrait of the Georgia Peach. That sly glance of Cobb's says everything, but reveals nothing.  Also, limited number.  Sweet card that I hadda have.

Finally, comes a great gift I received a while back.   A gift - unexpected and out of the blue.  This was no simple PWE.

Supercool Bert, from Swing And a Pop-Up, came through once again and sent me another fistful of cardboard from the 1987 Hy-Grade "Baseball's All-time Greats" set.  Bert has now helped me to get the chase to under 10 cards.  I can't believe it!  Just 9 cards to completion.  Check my "What I Collect" page if you have any extra Hy-Grades lying around.  You just might have those final 9.

This Hy-Grade set is very cool.  It's big limitations are the simplified green border and cardstock thinner than Topps.  But the upsides are a checklist of baseball history and royalty, and the photography is mostly great.  It features quality early color photo technology and lots of close up photography.   In addition, the players are often shown in their primes and we get more than a few legendary stadiums in the background. 

Since the Dodgers are opening a 4-game series against the ELIMINATED team from the bay, let's start off with a Dodgers/Giants face off.

 You're gonna feel like you're walking down a wing in the baseball Hall of Fame...

How's about all that cardboard?  Pretty good, thanks to my fellow collectors.

Trading with 30-Year Old Cardboard and Lost Collectors

Hey everybody,

Here comes a short but sweet trade post about a coupla small...but very sweet trades.

First up is a trade with A.J. over at The Lost Collector.  A.J. posted some vintage, and lucky for me, he had a couple of 58 Dodgers for trade, Jim Gilliam and big bat Carl Furillo.  I already had the Gilliam,  but I needed that Furillo.  

Sure, it's a bit chewy, but this card got me to a count of 10 out of the 30 - yes, 30! - Dodger cards in 58 Topps. I'll post later about the 10 I have, with the hopes some of you out there might have some of the remaining Dodgers that I'm still missing.

What else did I get from A.J., you may ask?  Well, wonder no further, and behold the additional goodness that he sent my way...

It's more Dodger vintage!  Yes, he's listed as a damn Yankee, but he's wearing an L.A. cap, and the Yanks name seems to be kinda scuffed off.  In a weird way, I like that.

BTW - the other day GCRL posted about Bob Welch's extremely long arm and in looking at Williams' card, I notice he's got a super long arm also. Yikes! It's like that arm that creeps out of the crashed UFO at the end of  the 1953 movie version of The War Of The Worlds.

But that trade still wasn't finished - Check this out...

Yup - it's my first Hideo Nomo jersey card.  I know, I know, some of you guys have something like a thousand Nomo cards, swatches, relics and autos...but not my humble little collection.  A.J. helped me to lasso my first Nomo relic. This card is a well-designed and well-named little gem.

The other trade was really more of a gift, which makes it extra cool.  Brian over at 30-Year Old Cardboard  posted some 2013 Topps Dodgers and I requested this one...

Good ol' Paco here is an up and comer with the Boys in Blue. He debuted against the hated ones from the bay, and did his job, retiring the first batter he faced in the majors.

I wasn't able to find anything immediately in Brian's want lists, but being the great guy that he is, he went ahead and sent the card over to me anyway.

I'm planning on sending a surprise over to you in the coming days, so keep your eyes open, Brian.  I know you sent this card as a gift to me...and it's in that spirit that I'll be sending a little something over to you. 

All in all, Acouple of great trades.  THANKS Brian and A.J.!  I'm looking forward to our next trades.

THANKS also for reading, everybody. 

Binder Page Heroes Vintage Style

Hello, everybody! Welcome to ATBATT's first post of 2013.

Although I didn't post in the opening couple weeks of January, I was certainly keeping active by reading everyone's posts and dropping the occasional comment.  One cool development I've noticed in our community is a movement toward vintage cardboard being discussed, chased and traded.

Nothing like a great vintage Dodger on great vintage cardboard

Carl Furillo is an unsung hero from those great old-time Brooklyn teams.  Sure, Jackie, Campy, Pee Wee and The Duke get all the attention, but steady Carl Furillo more than held his own.

This interest in vintage might be due to the disappointment a lot of us felt after the "relic scandals" of 2012. Who wants to pay a premium price - for a pack or a single - chasing cards with chunks of table legs or scraps from horse blankets being passed off as bat and jersey relics from our favorite players?

Maybe this renewed respect for vintage is just a part of a natural cycle in our hobby.  Fads like triple patch relics will come and go, but we'll periodically return to our hobby roots and the joys in cards that are not only about baseball history, but that carry history themselves.  The history of their past "owners" that we now join and take a part in creating. 

 Heres Sal "the Barber" Maglie.  He got his nickname by - yeah, you got it - giving batters such close shaves with the high heater.  Sal pitched for the enemy, and later, he joined the Dodgers and pitched for the Good Guys.

 

 Most of us have heard of fiery Billy Martin, and most of us probably think of him as manager of the yankees, feudin' with Reggie, Steinbrenner, and anybody else who happened to be in the room at the time. 

I'm happy to have a card from Billy as a player.  This '61 topps shows he played for the Braves, which means he was Hammerin' Hank's teammate.  

 Here's another cool '61.  I love this photo of Killer Killebrew.  He looks like a (baseball) hero, and quite often, he was.

Whatever the reasons for vintage getting more exposure on our blogs, it's great for a collector like me, because cards from old-time HOF'ers is one of my favorite things about our hobby.  I'm looking forward to seeing more of my fellow bloggers exposing me to their vintage cards and hopefully we'll all be getting some vintage-based trades going.

THANKS for reading, everybody!

Next Post:  B.P.H. Vintage Part Deux