Vintage Dodgers Memorabilia from Laker Dave

Aloha, everyone, 

Let's open a package full of Dodgers memorabilia sent to me from Laker Dave. 

Enjoy and aloha! 

Social Distancing With Baseball Cards - Vintage Dodgers Edition

Aloha, everyone, 

Thanks for returning to Social Distancing With Baseball Cards - Vintage Dodgers Edition. 

Inside: Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Johnny World Series Hero Podres (in an LA uni!) and much more. 

Enjoy and aloha! 

Social Distancing Diary with Baseball Cards: Vintage Dodgers

Aloha, everybody,

In this edition of Social Distancing Diary, we check out vintage Johnny Podres, and we see the oldest Dodgers cards in my collection. 

Enjoy and aloha!

Social Distancing With Baseball Cards

Aloha, everybody, 

It's been a while since I've been down here, but the c-virus outbreak and the national "holding in place" strategy has offered opportunity for me to get back in the game. 

This is the first of a series where I dig out my baseball card binders of my favorite cards and share them with you. 

Hope you enjoy, and be safe out there...IN there? 

Aloha! 

My Card Haul From the National (Brooklyn Dodgers Edition)

Aloha, everybody, 

Yup, it's been a long time since I posted here. That wasn't exactly by choice, as my health took a hit and I was taken away from my online activities by more pressing matters. 

Anyway, I'm recovered enough to return to the Blogosphere, and thankfully, well enough to travel to Chicago for the National (and out to Wrigley Field for a game). Boy, that was a fantastic trip. 

Here's a video that I uploaded showing off my Brooklyn Dodgers loot from The National. 

Enjoy! Aloha! 

Blog Bat Around - All Autograph Team Part 2: Pitchers and Assorted Cogs

Aloha, everybody, 

Let's conclude the All Autograph Team (Starting Nine with DH are here) with the pitching staff and a couple of others tossed in for fun. 

Starting Left-Handed Pitcher:

I happened to show this beauty off on Twitter the other day; mentioned that my good luck brought this baby right out of a pack. 

Starting Right-Handed Pitcher: 

Bullpen: Kershaw and Podres

Oh yeh, the ATBATT all-auto team's got some pretty decent pitching. 

Pinch Hitter: Manny Mota

Bench: The Toy Cannon, LoDuca and The Butter and Eggs Man

Finally, what team is complete without a manager...and whom else would I choose?

Tommy Lasorda, autograph obtained walking around Dodger Stadium, back in the days Tommy was more mobile. 

There you have it folks. I'll stack my ATBATT All Autograph team against any other. We'll bet a bag of peanuts on it. 

Aloha! 

Blog Bat Around - All Autograph Team

Aloha, everybody, 

My buddy Zippy Zappy started a Blog Bat Around that consists of a team lineup that's made from autographs. It doesn't matter if the auto is on cardboard or any other memorabilia (like a signed Penguin lamp, for example), the only caveat is: the auto has to be in our possession. 

While it sounds like a fun idea, I thought for sure I didn't have enough autos to put together a nine-man lineup, including relief pitchers and PH/DHs. Once I got into my binders, I was surprised that I had just enough to field an auto-team alongside those you all are putting up. However, I did have to place one player out of position, and you'll see how that played out soon enough. 

Without further ado, I give you the ATBATT All-Auto All-Stars:

Batting leadoff, and playing second base: Maury Wills

Maury is third on this triple-autographed card I received through trade - the other two are Manny Mota and pitcher Claude Osteen. 

Batting second, and playing right field: Tony Gwynn. 

I got this Gwynn auto TTM. I originally had two, but traded one away. 

Batting third, and playing center field: The Duke of Flatbush

The Duke came to me through trade with mi hermano, JBF. 

Batting cleanup, the DH: Paul Molitor 

Molitor is a TTM auto. 

Batting fifth, in left field: The Straw (He's out of position, but I don't have any left fielder autos, and I figure Daryl can handle LF better than Gwynn) 

My only Strawberry auto came to me in trade. 

Batting sixth, and at third base: The Penguin

While I don't have an autographed lamp, this traded Cey will do. 

Batting seventh, the backstop: The Boomer

I got this Yeager auto (and another) in person at a local pizza place. The second auto I sent off to the guy with the Penguin lamp.

Batting eighth, and at shortstop: Alan Trammell

I got two Trammells TTM. One is traded away. 

Batting ninth, and at first base: Big Mo

Mo Vaughn is a TTM auto. Isn't this a great one? I dig the way Big Mo wrote his name on that monster arm. 

We'll close the starting nine with that awesome auto and save the pitching staff, PH, and also-rans for Part Two. Stay tuned. 

Aloha! 

Legends Never Breakdown

Aloha, everybody, 

I received a sweet little PWE full of legends from one of our community's legends, Gavin, over at Baseball Card Breakdown. 

The Big G is known for rocking an always interesting blog, his chase of number cards that match his birthday and the celebration of Beermas. Add to all of that, his spot-on, custom creations that he gets autographed by the stars on the cardfaces, and yeh, you've got a legend. 

But this post isn't about Gavin, it's about the Dodger legends on cardboard that he sent out to little ol' me. From the Legends of New York set...

Jim Gilliam led off for Brooklyn back in these days, but his card wasn't in this PWE, so we'll go with second in the batting order...

The Duke of Flatbush batted third...

Batting cleanup, Gil Hodges...

Batting fifth was World Series Hero, Sandy Amaros, who was followed by ATBATT's patron saint...

That closes out the boys of summer. Also in this legends envelope were a couple from The Perfessor. The first harked back to his playing days with the Brooklyn Robins...

How about those shades - they still rock over a hundred years later. 

The second card highlights Casey's managing days with Brooklyn...

Let's keep the WS Heroes rolling. From a different set, AND sporting a different photo than I've seen before (looks like he's in front of an apartment house), my favorite Brooklyn pitcher...

We'll close out with (still) the biggest World Series Hero that LA has ever seen. The Legend...

A nice set of cards. THANKS, Gavin! 

Aloha! 

It Was No Secret; Santa Knew Just What I Wanted

Aloha, everybody, 

As many of you know, good ol' Matt, from Bob Walk the Plank, ran his annual Secret Santa campaign this Christmas season. 

One of the bonus perks from joining in is being introduced to a new blog, and the possibility of a new trade partner - and what collector doesn't want that? I decided to play, and boy, am I glad I did. 

 My Secret Santa really came through in the clutch. Greg (from The Collective Mind) could have purchased a quick autograph card and shipped it off to me (which would have been perfectly fine), but he went the extra step. 

Greg got down and dirty. He dug into my Dodgers wantlists and checked off a big chunk of cards that I'm actively chasing. Let's check out what he sent my way. Leading off is a wonderful World Series card from the1960 Topps World Series subset: 

I collect these vintage WS subsets, and they just don't show up very often, so this is a MAJOR addition to my collection. That's Luis Aparicio taking the bag, BTW. 

Here's a whoooole lotta Dodgers from across the 70's to check off my wantlists...

Just like Sir Night Owl, Ron Cey is my favorite childhood Dodger, and these two cards are great additions: 

We're not done with vintage Dodgers. Not at all. Santa Greg knows how to rock a Christmas tree. This next guy needs no introduction...

Ladies and gents, World Series Hero, Johnny Podres...

You know Dodgers vintage aint really vintage unless you're flashing some Brooklyn. So here ya go, from 1957 Topps...

Then, as a Dodger blue cherry on top, Greg picked off my most wanted 2017 Topps card, the Dodgers paying tribute to Vin Scully...

THANKS so much, Greg! I look forward to twas a Merry Christmas, after all. 

Aloha! 

World Series Dodgers Cardboard: Bums No More

Aloha, everybody, 

Here comes Part Two of the Dodgers on World Series cardboard. When we last saw our blue heroes, the hard luck Brooklyn team had earned the nickname of "Dem Bums" by breaking the hearts of their faithful time and again. They made it into plenty of  World Series, but just couldn't close the deal. 

That all changed in 1955. 

Once again, it was the damn Yankees vs the Dodgers. This time the boys from Brooklyn weren't bums, they were the Boys of Summer. 

 Lots of Dodgers fans will tell you that Sandy Koufax was the greatest Dodgers pitcher in the Fall Classic. Others will tell you it was Orel Bulldog Hershiser. 

My choice is the man who had to carry the weight of years of  Dodgers frustration to the mound. The hopes of everyone in the Brooklyn borough rode on his shoulders. Johnny Podres was the man who broke through the Yankees fortress and ended their postseason dominance over his team. It took all seven games to bring the first ever Worlds Championship to the Dodgers. 

Here's another card, same shot of the World Series hero...

One of the iconic images of that series, captured by Upper Deck Masterpieces...

1955 was the last WS played in Brooklyn. The team moved out to LA, and they won the pennant in 1959. It was LA's first Fall Classic, and the boys won it all in six games. 

 I'm chasing this subset. Still have a ways to go. 

The Dodgers' home field was the LA Coliseum. Game 5 drew 92,706, which still stands as the WS attendance record. It was also the first WS in which no pitcher for either side threw a complete game. 

The next crop of cards come from the 1963 series. It was the first time the Dodgers played the Yankees since 1955, and this time Sandy Koufax led the boys in blue to a four game sweep. 

The year is 1965, but the World Series hero is the same. Once again, Sandy Koufax led the team to the promised land. They beat the Minnesota Twins in seven games. 

Next time: Dodgers World Series that I remember! 

Aloha!