My In-Progress 1955 All-American Set

[Beansballcardblog]

It certainly seems like the folks here appreciate seeing what others have and projects they are working on, so I thought I'd post this. I'll update it as I make progress.

I started on a set of these back in the early 2000s. However, when I moved to take a new job, I needed to come up with some money and it was something that I could let go and get some good money for.

It was probably about two years ago that I walked into my (then) local card shop in Indianapolis, Baseball Card Exchange (https://twitter.com/Ballcardxchange). One of the guys that worked there said "I've got an album of cards you might be interested in," and handed me an album. It was a few pages of 1990s overproduced crap and I was really confused, until I came onto a few sheets of 1955 All-American cards. I'd mentioned to the guys a few times that at some point, I wanted to work on that project again.

I didn't even have to ask and Andy (the shop owner) said he'd sell me all of them for $100. There were some multiples (I believe there were four of one card), but I felt it was a good deal, so I went for it. It was either 33 or 34 cards, so I got them for about $3 apiece. Even though there were multiple and I probably only got about 15 unique cards, I was extremely happy with the deal.

All of the cards were commons and there were some blank spots in the pages so I asked if they had anything else. There had been a Thorpe and two Luckman cards and he'd already listed those on eBay. He took the Thorpe and one Luckman down for me. He also had the Amos Alonzo Stagg PSA graded 7. He sold me those three for $135, which I was pretty happy with as well. I later had the Thorpe graded and got what I felt was a good grade, considering the price I paid.

Before I moved to Texas, I picked up a couple of commons at local shows. Last winter, I posted a couple of pics on Twitter and a guy that I chatted with from time to time told me that he had a couple of graded cards. They were former Tennessee players (he's a big UT fan) and had upgraded, so I picked those up.

I started my blog on April 1 and have documented my pickups since. I'll post them below and also post going forward.

I have two flickr albums of 1955 All-Americans. One is for my set and the other is for my multiples. If anyone else is working on a set and has spares they can trade off, I'm certainly open to trades. They are all low grade, however.

My All-American Set (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24579302@N08/albums/72157656209478614)

My All-American Extras (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24579302@N08/albums/72157660990266821)

For some reason, it's not allowing me to post links now, so I will "reply" with the links. Hopefully y'all have some enjoyment out of the reads!

[Beansballcardblog]

This weekend’s card show pickups – Stop #1 (http://beansballcardblog.com/2015/08/15/this-weekends-card-show-pickups-stop-1/)

Show and Tell from another trip to Nick’s Sports Cards (Dallas, TX) (http://beansballcardblog.com/2015/09/09/show-and-tell-from-another-trip-to-nicks-sports-cards-dallas-tx/)

Show and Tell from the Saturday Card Show in Plano (TX) (http://beansballcardblog.com/2015/09/17/show-and-tell-from-the-saturday-card-show-in-plano-tx/)

My second Beckett Grading submission – The Results (http://beansballcardblog.com/2015/10/25/my-second-beckett-grading-submission-the-results/)

Vintage eBay #Mailday (http://beansballcardblog.com/2015/10/27/vintage-ebay-mailday/)

LCS Pickups from Nick’s Sports Cards (Dallas, TX) (http://beansballcardblog.com/2015/11/10/lcs-pickups-from-nicks-sports-cards-dallas-tx/)

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

Thanks for posting this. It makes for an enjoyable read. I am going to the Plano show someday, 4 hr drive but I think it would be worth it.

[Beansballcardblog]

Thanks for posting this. It makes for an enjoyable read. I am going to the Plano show someday, 4 hr drive but I think it would be worth it.

As much as I love the Plano show for what it is, if you're coming THAT far just for a show, you might consider the two-day show that occurs twice a year. In August, the show was actually the same day as the Plano show. Not sure we'll get that lucky again. I have to drive 45-60 minutes to those locations, so it is nice when they are the same day.

[jefferyepayne]

Great stuff! Thanks for posting and keep us up to date on your progress.

jeff

[revmoran]

If anyone is interested, I have an article about one of the players in the 1955 AA set - Chris Cagle - who is largely forgotten today but was a real headliner back in the day. http://www.hapmoran.org/images/Cagle.pdf

[CW]

Interesting article, Rev! Also noticed a few other mentions of players from this set, with Friedman, Heffelfinger, and The Four Horsemen showing up.

To the OP, it's nice to see you enjoying such a classic set. I enjoyed reading some of your blog and checking out the cards. Good luck!

[Beansballcardblog]

I received this one last week from Chuck. Thank you so much for helping me get one card closer to completing my project!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/726/23837385625_28f3d7665b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CjqQgk)img826 (https://flic.kr/p/CjqQgk) by kekinsley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24579302@N08/), on Flickr

If you're interested, you can read my blog post on it here (http://beansballcardblog.com/2015/12/18/a-random-act-of-kindness-for-my-1955-topps-all-american-set/).

If I don't have any posts before, I hope that everyone has a great Christmas!

-Kin

[Beansballcardblog]

Won this auction last night, pretty excited! It's only an SGC 10, but it will help me complete my set sooner getting it in such a low grade!

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5812/23740341442_96c743ddee_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CaRspL)035 (https://flic.kr/p/CaRspL) by kekinsley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24579302@N08/), on Flickr

[LuckyLarry]

Won this auction last night, pretty excited! It's only an SGC 10, but it will help me complete my set sooner getting it in such a low grade!
That is a nice pick-up Kin!
Larry

[Beansballcardblog]

I haven't gotten all of the scans into my flickr account yet, but I did post on my blog about a pickup of ten cards.

If you're interested, you can click on the link below to read it.

A Fat Guy Mailday for my 1955 All American Set (http://beansballcardblog.com/2015/12/23/a-fat-guy-mailday-for-my-1955-all-american-set/)

Will have pics up soon!

-Kin

[Samsdaddy]

Nice pick ups Kin!

[Beansballcardblog]

Finally got the scans into my set gallery on Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24579302@N08/albums/72157656209478614).

I received two bubble mailers today but those cards aren't included below. Will have them up in the coming days.

These are the ten that I picked up from COMC.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5790/23367720793_bddc5124f8_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/BAVFgP)1955 Topps All American #2 John Kimbrough (https://flic.kr/p/BAVFgP) by kekinsley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24579302@N08/), on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1653/23911988361_500f2e9a24_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Cr2c4p)1955 Topps All American #3 Ed Weir (https://flic.kr/p/Cr2c4p) by kekinsley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24579302@N08/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5735/23698837760_d5b226bd40_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/C7bJP3)1955 Topps All American #4 Erny Pinckert (https://flic.kr/p/C7bJP3) by kekinsley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24579302@N08/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5822/23968438886_bf2266c7cd_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Cw1vQj)1955 Topps All American #18 Pudge Heffelfinger SP (https://flic.kr/p/Cw1vQj) by kekinsley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24579302@N08/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5757/23994545625_052de72a43_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Cyjjsv)1955 Topps All American #53 Jack Green (https://flic.kr/p/Cyjjsv) by kekinsley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24579302@N08/), on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1455/23911987351_636e9b321b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Cr2bKZ)1955 Topps All American #58 Ed Franco (https://flic.kr/p/Cr2bKZ) by kekinsley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24579302@N08/), on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1661/23886284022_3b5bccfb9e_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CoKs49)1955 Topps All American #72 Chub Peabody (https://flic.kr/p/CoKs49) by kekinsley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24579302@N08/), on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1471/23994545165_049f989547_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Cyjjjz)1955 Topps All American #79 Pug Lund (https://flic.kr/p/Cyjjjz) by kekinsley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24579302@N08/), on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1531/23968438116_6df57cbe80_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Cw1vB3)1955 Topps All American #98 Beattie Feathers SP (https://flic.kr/p/Cw1vB3) by kekinsley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24579302@N08/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5800/23911986671_527e5ee3fd_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Cr2byg)1955 Topps All American #100 Fats Henry SP (https://flic.kr/p/Cr2byg) by kekinsley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24579302@N08/), on Flickr

[jefferyepayne]

Great pickups! I always thought it was a bummer that they decided to put an image of Heffelfinger in this set that's from later in life instead of when he played in the 1890s as a young man. I wonder if they did that for anybody else? Could they not find an image of him from his real playing days?

jeff

[Beansballcardblog]

With my spares (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24579302@N08/albums/72157660990266821), I was able to make a couple of trades on Facebook for three cards that I needed,

Facebook Group Trade #1 for the 1955 All-American Set (http://beansballcardblog.com/2016/01/03/facebook-group-trade-1-for-the-1955-all-american-set/)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1592/23489773813_43917e2979_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/BMHeoe)img887 (https://flic.kr/p/BMHeoe) by kekinsley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24579302@N08/), on Flickr

Facebook Group Trade #2 for the 1955 All-American Set (http://beansballcardblog.com/2016/01/04/facebook-group-trade-2-for-the-1955-all-american-set/)

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5709/23489773673_8860d5046a_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/BMHekP)img892 (https://flic.kr/p/BMHekP) by kekinsley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24579302@N08/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5754/23488332854_b776a2b60d_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/BMzR37)img894 (https://flic.kr/p/BMzR37) by kekinsley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24579302@N08/), on Flickr

More to come soon!

[Beansballcardblog]

I know there is the paper issue on the front and back of this, but I was really happy to get this one at the price. Down the road, I shall upgrade.

Big Pickup at a Small Price for the 1955 All-American Set (http://beansballcardblog.com/2016/01/11/big-pickup-at-a-small-price-for-the-1955-all-american-set/)

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5754/23488333094_6bc17d9d63_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/BMzR7f)img889 (https://flic.kr/p/BMzR7f) by kekinsley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24579302@N08/), on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5649/23748780189_a99aa26431_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CbAGXp)img890 (https://flic.kr/p/CbAGXp) by kekinsley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/24579302@N08/), on Flickr

[sockwell123]

Congrats on the progress!
I always get a kick out of the Don Zimmerman card.