Chris, if your choice gems do not fit tight enough, you can do something about it. It will require a bit of time, careful measuring, and a small amount of money.

Here we go. Go to HOBBY LOBBY. In the back of the store they stock their Crescent Matt Boards. These hefty cardboards are a good 1/16" thick. You could carefully measure the inside of your glass case (but allow a bit of room as clearance, draw your lines, and cut with a utility knife. Add as many as needed beneath your current pad, and viola, that should provide plenty of extra height to secure your gems in place when you close the lid. BUT DO NOT ADD TOO MANY, AS TOO MUCH PRESSURE ON THE GLASS LID COULD CRACK IT IN TIME!

If you want to fashion your own pad, go to a fabric store and purchase a few yards of their highest quality or mid-quality white cotton batting (sp?). Using the crescent board as a base, make as many layers of batting as you wish, gluing them one at a time with something like Elmer's spray glue. Always make each batting piece over-sized so it will be easy to attach. Then trim the excess batting with good scissors. Also, don't go crazy with the spray glue. You don't need a lot to attach the batting. Now, you may wish for a sturdier pad. Simply make your base thicker by gluing as many of the crescent boards together. I would stop at 3, but that's up to thee. To crown your pad, Hobby Lobby stocks some quality velour that looks and feels terrific. They have an assortment of colors, including a nice red, though you may wish to employ their slightly darker red, which is almost a maroon. Their green is nice and dark. The midnight blue is my personal favorite. Or, you could do the same thing with crushed velvet, which comes in other colors. When you cut the velour, allow an extra 1 - 1 1/2" of room all the way around. As always, allow 30 minutes for the glue to reasonably dry, perhaps longer, and then fold over and secure the velour flap on the back with good gray duct tape. That's right----duct tape. Or you can cut each corner at a 45-degree angle and then your board will lay a bit better. Just don't cut too close to the corner; leave a quarter-inch buffer. When attaching, it stretches nicely and gives the board a smoother and more professional appearance.

In time you may want to go with a 37" X 22" All-State case. Expensive, but think of it this way. You spent a lot of time and money on those gems. Allow yourself the luxury of viewing them in a quality presentation. Honestly, I think you will discover it's well worth some of your "card" money.;)

Naturally, I want to express to you: Nice collection you have there! -Brian Powell

super great idea there Brian..i dont have a hobby lobby, next town does. But i do have a Michaels craft shop that will do.. I had to completely take the foam out, it was like 3/4 inch thick i belive..Yeah i was looking so where the cards wouldnt move. I should of selected a wall hanger version instead, but i wanted to show off the photos too.
Thanks for the tips.

Chris, I love the new display. It turned out great.

I just received this very early Mantle photo card and could not be happier:
http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/...ps19e66366.jpg

I just received this very early Mantle photo card and could not be happier:
http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/...ps19e66366.jpg[/QUOTE]

Congratulations Chris. That rookie photo of Mickey is a honey. Do you have any idea what set it came from, or if it was sent from the first Mickey Mantle Fan Club? Probably not, as I think about it, since he's not wearing his home uniform.

I've never seen that image of him before. Also, any clue as to which ballpark it was shot at? It would be kinda neat if it was Comiskey Park, since Mick hit his first major league home run there on about April 30, 1951. Doesn't really matter, and I'd feel the same way had I bought it.:D

Thanks for sharing your new Mick with us! -Brian Powell

Brian,

The following is from a SCD article written by Kelly Eisenhauer and refers to the Mantle postcard pictured by Chris -

"Back in the 1950s, it was very common for players to distribute
postcards or photocards to their fans seeking their autographs. Two
different stories have circulated about the origin of the card (Photo
No. 155). One such story is that when Mickey had the cards made,
he actually paid an individual to hand them out to fans at the ballpark.
The other story is that Mickey used them to boost his popularity,
so that he might make the All-Star squad. In any event, the 1951
photocard is a legitimate, vintage item that Mickey had made."

Thanks Brian! And, thanks for posting that Austin. That is where most of my info came from. The only other insight I have is that the original was likely shot by either Burke or Brace (I forget which one was active at the time).

Oh shit Bestdj777 (the other Chris)..That is a cool piece..You deserve to be called a Mantle 'nut' I think you got the best collection i ever seen put together.
Like i told ya--- When i started going thru my collection, i couldnt believe how many Mantles i had...and I know you got me by a landslide.

Haha, thanks Chris. you can call me a nut if you want. And, thank you for the complements regarding the collection. The quality is nowhere close to what you have, but I love it.

1962 Wax Museum Postcard. Not really a picture of Mantle, but a picture of a wax statute of Mantle is good enough for me.

http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/...ps45e921c8.jpg

Finally have a Clemente RC!
 

Super excited to add this to my collection. The off center doesn't bother me as much as creases. The surface gloss is still nice and no creases! Big day for my collection.

Attachment 137296

Nice pickup!

Congrats, love the Clemente rookie. I also accept poor centering in favor or clean/crease-free.

I recently added this Bowman in "off eBay" side deal (OC but otherwise clean). It's my first '53 Color Bowman. They really are gorgeous up close.

<a href="http://s209.photobucket.com/user/TopekaPalms/media/68Carlton_zpscb134096.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb212/TopekaPalms/68Carlton_zpscb134096.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 68Carlton_zpscb134096.jpg"/></a>

57 now part of the collection! A successful net54.com transaction

March Pickups
 

Picked up this nice '58 Topps All Star Jackie Jensen...

Attachment 137464

Centering : 9.5
 

That is rare and awesome centering for those '58 All Stars...great pick-up.

I've been wanting a '67 Rose and picked this one up for a good price.

[IMG]http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/...f484229346.jpg[/IMG]

That '53 Mantle is gorgeous!!

Regarding the black 'n white Mickey Mantle photo posted by BestDJ777 - Chris Mr. Burke and George Brace worked together out of Chicago. It would seem then than one or the other snapped the photo of Mickey at Comiskey Park. It's really neither here nor there, but it would not be surprising if the photo was shot during the Yanks first visit to Chicago that year.

Something special happened during that first visit. It was May 1. Mickey was in the throes of his first slump, hitting a pallid .222, with no home runs. All that promise was becoming a problem to the team and to himself.

Sox reliever Randy Gumpert faced Mickey in the sixth with one on. Gumpert fired him a "a screwball that evidently didn't screw too much" (Gumpert's own words). Mickey was batting lefty against the righthander. Mick killed the ball, a smoking line drive that sailed over speedy centerfielder Jim Busby's head, 450 feet away. Sox pitcher Hal "Skinny" Brown recalled that Mickey's blast "was hit so hard that it got there in one second and rattled around in the seats for what seemed like five minutes."

Thus it was for home run number one in the major leagues.

I cannot buy the idea that Mickey would pay anyone to hand out pictures of himself so people would know who he was, and especially so people would vote him to the AL all-star team. Both suggestions are simply out of the question when I think of Mick's character. He was too shy, proud, and hard on himself to do either of those stupid things.

However, people were already writing to him for an autographed picture, or a picture, period. George Brace I know for certain snapped pictures for the players so they could answer their fan mail. Louis Dormand was another, but he was strictly out of New York.

Still a fabulous shot of a shy, happy rookie playing for the team of his dreams. Again, nice going.:) ---Brian Powell

54 Strategic Air Command featuring Cardinals
 

I picked up this 1954 movie photo from the movie Strategic Air Command featuring the St. Louis Cardinals today. I know the one player is Stan Musial, does anyone recognize the other two? Also, I am very certain it is original, and I am willing to take offers on it, if anyone is interested.

other 2 cardinals
 

The guy on the left looks like Eddie Stanky, I think he was their manager at that time. The guy in the middle looks older than Stanky, so he might also be a coach.

The photo reads 1954 at the bottom I think...

You know, I think it is Eddie Stanky and Mike Ryba. Thanks.

I'm confused. Which player do you think is Stan Musial?? He's not in this picture and I'm pretty sure that's Enos Slaughter on the right.

Well, after digging a little into the movie, these were the players that appear in the film:

"Peanuts" Lowrey; Memo Luna; Stan Musial; Red Schoendienst; and Enos Slaughter

So, you could be right, one problem with profile pictures is they don't always look the same as full face. I still think that is Musial, the beak looking nose looks to me like Musial's. I am not an expert, to be sure. Anyone else out there, what do you think?

Dude, come on. That is NOT Stan Musial. It is in fact Enos Slaughter. Look at him!!
Two of these photographs show him older and pretty gaunt, but look how he has the exact same smile in each picture. Same ear, same nose, same small gap in his teeth on his left side, same cheeks, same sideburn cut and hair. And look at those hairy arms!! it doesn't look anything like Stan the Man!!

Attachment 137789

Just messing with you a bit, I had already been "corrected" from my original post, which I put in the wrong section:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showpos...&postcount=154

Like I said in that post, just looking real fast, and not really a Cards fan, and knowing that Slaughter wasn't a Card at the time (1954), anyway...sorry for doubting you. I bow to you as the more experter guy!

You are correct, Sir! (and who the heck are the other two dudes?)

Sorry, I get a little crazy with pics sometimes. On the other side of the board, it seems whenever someone asks, "Who is this?" in a picture, 99.99% of the responses are so off the mark and not even close, that it drives me nuts!!

Too bad you had to pay extra for the Mantle when all you wanted was the Alou:D

One of the disadvantages of being a Felipe Alou master set collector....

I just did a little research and Felipe had such an impressive family. At some point, I might do an Alou family rookie card collection.

'55 Bowman
 

Being probably my least favorite main stream Mantle, I wasn't willing to splurge on a nice graded example.. going instead for this "collector grade" example. I normally don't go after anything I don't like, and I really can't stand this '55 set!!, but given I was down to two Mantles (Topps/Bowman) needed to complete a run, I just had to.:D

I see why you don't like that card. It is not a flattering pic of Mick.

Congrats on nearing completion! I don't blame you. I hate the 55 Bowmans as well.

I used to hate 55 Bowman, but now they are some of my favs. That Mantle is on my want list :)

Thanks guys (Chris, Alex), I'm glad I'm not alone in my opinion on '55 Bowman.

Beatlesguy- I think I could possibly, maybe, eventually, imagine maybe developing an affinity for them (maybe:D), but don't think I'll ever get the chance to develop that since I can't see picking up another.

I have always felt that the 1955 Bowmans were neat looking cards, second only among the Bowmans to the 1953s. Perhaps this is because my three most favorite Wash. Senators - Runnels, Vernon & Yost - when I was a kid were in the 1955 Bowman set, but not the 1955 Topps set! Also, 1955 was about the time my folks first got a TV, which probably influenced my liking the design!
Val

Picked up 2 HOFs this month.

http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/...ps447a6e64.jpg

http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/...psea15d9fc.jpg

pick ups
 

Just arrived yesterday. Down to 6 for the set. As I've put the '61's together I've really started to like the set more and more despite the non descript design and abundance of boring hatless portraits! This one however is one of my favorites in the set.

That is a great looking Aaron. I am thinking of doing an Aaron Topps run and this is pushing me to do it.

I have one 55 Bowman, Hank Aaron. I am not a huge fan of the design but some of the photos are great, especially the Aaron

Alex,

I finished the Aaron a topps run last year and I encourage you to go for it. Lots of nice cards and, with the exception of his 54 RC, they are not very expensive.

Nice Aaron! Congrats on nearing completion of the set.

Far from Earth shattering, but I picked up these HOF'ers at a show today. The two Babe Ruths and the Ron Santo are green tints, the '61 Mathewson is an SP and the Stengel is one of my all time favorite cards.

Attachment 138279
Attachment 138280
Attachment 138281

I could not resist this off-registration 1964 Venezuelan, even though it makes me a little dizzy looking at it:

http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/...ps520925ab.jpg

Darren, love these cards! I just want to pick them up, and hold 'em in my hands!

It's funny, I find myself swinging back to ra...er, ungraded vintage. Oh, I'll still get the high end cards for my collection, but I want to collect cards, too, that I can hold in my hands, and stick in a binder. I look at these beauties you just got, and I'm inspired.

Dig the hair!!

http://i60.tinypic.com/23hklqq.jpg

Is that a baseball card, or a mug shot?

1955 Armour Coin
 

Picked up this 1955 Armour Coin Mantle (correct spelling, bats L-R). A slight issue on the top lip that I believe occurred when it was taken out of the mold(?), but I will take it.

http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/...psae967d03.jpg

That's a tough oddball 1972 Puerto Rican League Sticker of HOFer Goose Gossage.

Kyle - nice pick-up! You are on a roll lately!! When are you going to show off the autographed versions of each??

Thanks Derek. I hope to have Goose and the Maddux Venezuelan, that I posted in the other thread, signed in the next couple of weeks!