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  #1  
Old 07-16-2009, 05:17 PM
iggyman's Avatar
iggyman iggyman is offline
I. "Iggy" G0nz@lez
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Default Sometimes The Cards Talk To Me.....Do They Talk To You???

Ernest L. Krotz was born in 1917 in Cleveland Ohio. In his lifetime, he was an accomplished artist, cartoonist, sculptor, poet, musician, and athlete. He had a poem published and was accepted to the "Mud Hens" a St. Louis farm team. A handsome man when he was young. Ernest, also spoke fluent German and during World War II served gallantly in the OSS (precursor to the CIA). In addition to all of this, he was a budding entrepreneur, starting a small company called "The Baseball Bureau" back in the early 1940's. He put out a small booklet in 1943 with a list of baseball publications. Remember, this is during World War II and paper was a precious commodity. Here are a few pic's from his booklet...







Fast forward to the year 2009, Ernest's younger brother passes away.
Ernest's nephew, who ends-up inheriting his uncle's and father's possessions,
starts putting some of their stuff on eBay. Ernest, being a big baseball fan,
collected some baseball cards during his lifetime. As siblings are prone to do,
both brothers wrote down their names on the back of their cards. Here is a
picture of the back of one of Ernest L Krotz cards...





A couple of weeks ago, I saw eight different auctions running on eBay with the following title....
"MLB Hall of Famer Gordon S. (Mickey) Cochrane 5x7 vint.". All eight cards were in the right
category. Perhaps some of you card junkies saw them? The cards were 1930 W554 strip cards.
They were in okay shape, some glue and scrapbook residue on the back side and a couple with
haphazard cutting.....nothing that the Bruce's of the world would collect. But, since I chase after
baseball cards like a co-worker of mine chases after skirts (he does not care whether the skirts are
ugly, tall, short, wrinkled, or dull and I try to apply that principle to my baseball card quest).
I put in some snipes and won seven of the eight cards. They arrive in a prompt manner, along with
a bonus....the small booklet (shown in the first picture). Here is a picture of the cards I won for $100...






Last night, my wife, who is a very practical women, asked me why I collect old cards? My answer.........
"sometimes, they talk to me". If you go to the World War II memorial site
(http://www.wwiimemorial.com/default....subpage=search)
and type in the name "Ernest L. Krotz" here is what you see...





Ernest L. Krotz life ended tragically in 1944 at the age of 27 ("killed in action"); defending this great country during World War II. To this day, the War Department has yet to release his military record to the family. Thank you Ernest P. Krotz for the cards as well as the ultimate sacrifice!

Lovely Day...

Last edited by iggyman; 02-19-2012 at 02:58 PM.
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  #2  
Old 07-16-2009, 05:58 PM
FrankWakefield FrankWakefield is offline
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Thank you, Iggy. You'd think that in this day and time any information they had would be released. A interesting story.

FW
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  #3  
Old 07-16-2009, 06:29 PM
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Great story Iggy---and well done!
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  #4  
Old 07-16-2009, 08:43 PM
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The find of the year!

It would be terrific to keep these cards and His story together for following generations. Could you get the seller to give you the other buyer's contact info or perhaps provide a lunk to this great post?

Thankyou Iggy. Thankyou Ernie
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  #5  
Old 07-16-2009, 09:19 PM
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That is really cool. They sat all those years and ended up in some really good hands. I bet the reason his records have never been released is because he was in the OSS and they were so hush hush Top Secret on everything. I wonder if he ever crossed paths with Moe Berg ? Part of the charm of the writing on old cards and cards really beat up is you wonder what kid opened them up, listened to the games on the radio or newspaper and kept stats on them, or in cases like this wrote their name on them. What a treasure.
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  #6  
Old 07-16-2009, 09:26 PM
Potomac Yank Potomac Yank is offline
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Well done Iggy ... Thank you for sharing ... and thank you Ernest L. Krotz, you're still among us.
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Old 07-16-2009, 10:47 PM
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Default Incredible...

Thanks for sharing... Warm and fuzzy
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  #8  
Old 07-17-2009, 10:52 AM
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I. "Iggy" G0nz@lez
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Before I let this thread disappear into the oasis. I would like to add another 2 cents to it. The broader point I think I am trying to make, is that most of us do not know the origin of the prewar cards in our binders safe-deposit boxes. What kid or father or uncle opened-up that T206 that you have in your hands. Did they meet their demise in a mustard gas attack during World War I? Did they survive the 1917 Spanish Flu? Did they survive disco? I have a few pre-war cards in my collection that I can trace back to the original owners along with an accompanying story; and that makes them extra cool. Perhaps the stories were embellished by the family....well, some stuff can be checked and some can't.

Not to wax poetic, but I really believe that to a degree collectors are gatekeepers to history. Therefore, when the opportunity presents itself to get some information about a baseball card's past. It is extremely imperative that we seek and store that info......it will make this hobby that much more enjoyable. During Skydashes 45 seconds of fame, I was one of the ones who yelled "BRAVO", when he slabbed his cards with the name "SKYDASH COLLECTION". If you own one of his cards, it just adds another layer to the story your grand children will tell one day when they start to look through your collection (before they sell it, of course!). So, be on the look-out for your own "Ernest L. Krotz" card story, you won't regret it and you will be doing this hobby a service.

Lovely Day...
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  #9  
Old 07-17-2009, 11:04 AM
barrysloate barrysloate is offline
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Great story, but to add a minor point: the DeWitt Guide was first published in 1868, contrary to Krotz citing 1869. It's likely he never saw the first one.
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  #10  
Old 07-17-2009, 12:24 PM
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good stuff

Last edited by Anthony S.; 07-17-2009 at 12:26 PM.
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  #11  
Old 04-18-2010, 01:04 PM
Potomac Yank Potomac Yank is offline
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Default Even without the pictures .....

The read is worth the bump .....
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  #12  
Old 04-18-2010, 01:56 PM
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Default Goosebumps, Iggy,... goosebumps.

Thanks for this, and thanks for the bump, as I completely missed it the first time around.

Some of the cards talk to me, alright. They most certainly do. Ever see Dead Poets Society? carpe diem....
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  #13  
Old 04-18-2010, 09:01 PM
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Barry Arnold
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great story, iggy.
moving, on a number of levels.

best,
barry
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  #14  
Old 04-20-2010, 05:45 AM
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ScottFandango ScottFandango is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by barrysloate View Post
Great story, but to add a minor point: the DeWitt Guide was first published in 1868, contrary to Krotz citing 1869. It's likely he never saw the first one.


are you an editor?

or you hate to see minor errors, they ERK YOU?
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