1 card from each post war decade

[robsbessette]

If you had to choose one card between 1950-2000 from each decade for your collection and that's all you could have, what would you choose and why? Some you may already have, some you may not.

For me it's...

1950s - 1952 Topps Mantle - Pretty obvious
1960s - 1968 Topps Ryan RC - I was a huge fan of his as a kid
1970s - 1971 Topps Munson - Possibly the greatest action shot of all time
1980s - 1982 Topps Traded Ripken RC - Classic card/pose in a decade of junk
1990s - 1993 SP Jeter RC - I'm a big Jeter fan, even bigger Yankees fan

[savedfrommyspokes]

I am a Yankee fan and my choices below clearly reflect this:

1950s - 1956 Topps Mantle - couldnt afford the 52, this card won in a coin toss with the 53 Mantle due to their vivid colors and poses

1960s - 1965 Topps Mantle- similar to above, with the 65 winning in a coin toss against the 60 Topps Mantle, with again the color and poses on each the deciding factors

1970s - 1971 Topps Munson - my favorite card from the 70s...Munson was my first Yankee hero. A copy of this card was a gift to me in the late 70s and I still have that copy(as well as many others)

1980s - 1984 Topps Tiffany Mattingly RC - a rarer RC of my second Yankee hero

1990s - 1991 Desert Storm Chipper Jones RC---a tough RC of a first ballot HOFer

[hangman62]

50s - 52t Mantle
60 s- 67T Seaver
70s - 73 Schmidt
80s - would not accept any
90s- would not accept any

[VinTX]

50's - 51 Bowman Mantle as I'd rather have a "true" rookie card
60's - 68 Topps Nolan Ryan RC, he was my favorite player as a kid :)

*now this may break the rules, I dunno...the original post didn't say it had to be all baseball even though this is in the baseball section ;)

70's - 76 Topps Walter Payton RC
80's - 86-87 Fleer Michael Jordan RC
90's - 92 Upper Deck Heroes Autographs Ted Williams

[Bestdj777]

50's - 1951 Mantle Wheaties (such an undervalued card given the scarcity and significance)

60's - Topps Push-pull Mantle/Berra or 1968 Topps Ryan (to close to decide)

70's - A beater card my grandfather found in a wall while doing construction. No clue who the player is but wouldn't trade it for anything. Nice to have a genuine grandpa/found in wall card

80's - 1987 Donruss Maddux Rookie - I tried so hard to pull this card. Eventually my mom took pitty and bought me one

90's - Nolan Ryan - he has several really nice 90's cards I would gladly take if offered. My favorite is likely the one with his face all bloody (can't recall the year/manufacturer), but he looks so tough there.

[VinTX]

50's - 1951 Mantle Wheaties (such an undervalued card given the scarcity and significance)

60's - Topps Push-pull Mantle/Berra or 1968 Topps Ryan (to close to decide)

70's - A beater card my grandfather found in a wall while doing construction. No clue who the player is but wouldn't trade it for anything. Nice to have a genuine grandpa/found in wall card

80's - 1987 Donruss Maddux Rookie - I tried so hard to pull this card. Eventually my mom took pitty and bought me one

90's - Nolan Ryan - he has several really nice 90's cards I would gladly take if offered. My favorite is likely the one with his face all bloody (can't recall the year/manufacturer), but he looks so tough there.

probably this one from his 1991 pacific set :)

http://www.sportsbuy.com/images/ordscans/new_thumbs/book/795058.jpg

[mintacular]

50s, Too many to list, '54 Aaron RC
60s, 69 Reggie Jackson RC
70s, 75 George Brett RC
80s, 84 Donruss Mattingly- 89 UD Griffey JR
90s, 90 Leaf Frank Thomas
2000s, 2001 Bowman Albert Pujols

[Bestdj777]

probably this one from his 1991 pacific set :)

http://www.sportsbuy.com/images/ordscans/new_thumbs/book/795058.jpg

Exactly the one I was thinking. Great card from one of my favorite 90s sets. I haven't seen a Nolan Ryan card I didn't like, but I've always liked this one. If I ever get to meet him in person I'm going to ask him to sign it for me.

[Harliduck]

1950's - 1954 Topps Hank Aaron RC (2nd 1952 Topps Willie Mays)

1960's - 1967 Topps Harmon Killebrew (2nd 1969 Topps Nolan Ryan)

1970's - 1974 Topps Reggie Jackson (2nd 1973 Topps Roberto Clemente)

1980's - 1983 Topps Tony Gwynn (2nd 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson)


Safe to assume no one out there would trade a 52 Topps Mantle for any card in the 50's if they owned one, I certainly wouldn't. But the card for me is the Aaron rookie, my childhood dream, one I am looking for right now. The 52 Mays is just a classic card of one of my favorite players.

The 67 Killebrew is also a classic looking card of my favorite player. He is 30 years old, the sky is blue, a classic pose in a classic Topps year, and he has a smile like he is living every American boys dream. Doesn't get better. The 69 Ryan is his first solo card, and just a beautiful card. I think it is funny that his pose doesn't match the fact he has the ball in his mitt.

The 70's belonged to Reggie Jackson, and the 74 card to me is the best action shot and captures him as an A. His 78 Yankee card is awesome as well, but I do love the 74s. The 73 Clemente card is a great shot, and a great card of a hero of baseball. I do love the 71 Munson...

The 83 Gwynn was a card I remember opening packs hoping to get, along with Boggs and Sandberg. That excitement is a great memory. The 80 Henderson was an afterthought...I remember going back into my 80 Topps AFTER Rickey became a stud to see how many I had. I can remember digging 10 out, it was pretty exciting. Also, I remember getting my factory 82 set, first card I went for was a Rickey, a nice shot of him leading off....As for the 90's, I haven't bought a card newer than 89, so I have no idea....lol.

[doug.goodman]

Oscar Gamble OWNED Topps baseball cards in the 70s

[Exhibitman]

My favorites:

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibitman/dropins/websize/1955%20Williams.jpg
http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibitman/dropins/websize/1963%20Koufax.jpg
http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibitman/dropins/websize/1974%20Aaron%20num1.jpg

Don't really collect beyond that...

[novakjr]

1950's- Going with the kings, '54 Aaron/'59 Hoshi Gangu Gold Border Sadaharu Oh.
1960's- '63 Pete Rose
1970's- '73 Schmidt
1980's- '82 Traded Ripken
1990's- standard- '93 SP Jeter/variant-'91 Desert Shield Chipper Jones/foreign-'93 BBM Ichiro
2000's- (standard non-auto)tie '00 Topps Traded Chrome Miguel Cabarera//'01 Traded Chrome Pujols

[vintagetoppsguy]

1950's - '52 Eddie Mathews
1960's - '63 Pete Rose
1970's - '75 Brett
1980's - '85 Topps Roger Clemens

[ALR-bishop]

Doug---is that hair growing from his head or his ears ?

Best-- do you leave your push pull on Mantle or Berra ? And why not Casey happy or sad ? And is it the regular or Milton Bradley Topps Ryan for 68 ? :-)

[CobbSpikedMe]

1950's - 1952 Topps Mantle (I don't care if it's typical, I still want this card)
1960's - 1969 Topps Nolan Ryan
1970's - 1975 Topps George Brett
1980's - 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson
1990's - I have no idea (I was out of the hobby completely during this decade)
2000's - 2001 Topps Traded Chrome Albert Pujols

Thanks,

AndyH


.

[Bocabirdman]

1950s.....1959 Joe Ginsberg.......my first "vintage card"
1960s.....1967 Brooks Robinson.....'cause I ain't got one...
1970s.....1970 Roberto Clemente.........just a great card.

[Bestdj777]

Best-- do you leave your push pull on Mantle or Berra ? And why not Casey happy or sad ? And is it the regular or Milton Bradley Topps Ryan for 68 ? :-)[/QUOTE]

Al--The Push Pull has to be one of my favorite sets from the 60s. At some point I have to work on completing it (at least the few baseball cards) and pick up the Casey happy or sad. Such a funny card. Right now I leave mine on Mantle. I bought it for my Mantle set, so it fits my collection best on that side. Although some collectors might cringe, I do play with it a bit so it is sometimes on Berra. After I complete my Mantle set, I may work on Berra. Then, who knows what I will put it on. Where do you leave yours? (assuming you have given your extensive Topps collection).

As for the Nolan Ryan, I was thinking about the Topps Ryan. That was the one card I really wanted as a kid. And, it was the one card that really got me back into collecting. A few years ago, I was reminiscing, picked one up, and sent it off to Ryan to have him sign it. The exposure to vintage cards got me excited about collecting again. Sentimental reasons aside, if I were going purely by aesthetics, I think I would choose his Venezuelan rookie card over the other four. I like cards that were heavily enjoyed, and the Venezuelan issues all seem to have that well loved look.

Interested in hearing your favorite cards from each decade.