December pickups
 

Last month was a great month for the pre-80 board. Lots of beautiful cards added to our collections. Let's try to top that month in December!

Here are the first two cards I've gotten in for my 1975 set. I have to thank 4 Sharp Corners for these beauties.

http://imageshack.com/a/img537/8863/HxCIsR.pnghttp://imageshack.com/a/img537/3586/sJg7V2.png

I can't wait to see what you guys have coming in. Let's have some fun, gang!

Since the other thread is pretty much all about 1971 and 1972 Topps cards, these two seem especially apropos…
Attachment 169838

The Banks is in pretty nice shape and I bought it from a board member, but then you have the 1972 Grote. To all people who collect that set, it is literally impossible to find this card centered both ways. The picture is usually falling off the bottom border. Okay, since I am showing a centered example here, the term 'literally' is technically inaccurate. So let's just say, my statement is literally the closest thing to literally that you can literally find to describe this card. It is NEVER centered. Oh great, now I inaccurately used 'never.' But you all know what I mean...

Damn, crop out the labels on those two 75s and I'd say 9s or even a 10 for that Morgan. Amazing what gorgeous cards are out there.

The Ryan RC is admittedly off a hair left/right, but for $175 I could not say no.

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...ey-jimmie-foxx

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...-mickey-mantle

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...-steve-carlton

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...pps-nolan-ryan

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...-mickey-mantle

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...pps-nolan-ryan

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...pps-fiskcooper

December pickups
 

Nice '54 Topps Brooklyn Dodger Billy Herman came in today's mail. For some reason, I always thought it was strange that Topps produced a card of a coach...

Attachment 169852

And speaking of centering, today's late mail call brought me this 1970 Aaron upgrade. This card is very, very close to being perfect. Love it!!!!
(The large scan makes those lower corners look a million times worse than they actually are.)

Attachment 169861

December pickups
 

My first Ruth anywhere near the years he was alive (1952 Topps Look n See) + a 1939-1946 Salutations card of the Splendid Splinter--

Attachment 169888 Attachment 169889

Attachment 169890

The Chiti is the only actual December pickup. These 4 are my total collection of '53 Bowman Color for now... I am going to enjoy putting this together!

Wow, what gorgeous cards!! Hard to believe they are more than 60 years old.

Thanks, Jason. It is a lot like I just woke up and "discovered" '53 Bowman Color not long ago, and now I can't get enough! That will be my 2015 project.

I was just admiring your Ruth and Teddy Ballgame. Good job!

I didn't even realize that Herman coach card existed. I'm reminded of the 1964 Whitey Ford where he is named as pitcher and coach...also the 1933 Goudey Tris Speaker.

Great job on that Stan 53B. One of my favorite baseball cards. Charming image and color hues.

Thanks, Matt. That Musial is one of my top gotta have post war cards. I have enjoyed looking at your recent pick ups. That Ryan was a good buy!

While engaged in conversation with my co-worker, I mentioned to him that I am putting together a 1968 Topps set and only need two cards; Bench and Ryan rookie cards. My co-worker doesn't collect cards but he said that he has a Bench rookie that he won in a grab bag back in the early 1980's. Today he brought in the Bench card and gave it to me! He wouldn't take any money nor let me buy him lunch. Too cool!!

That is awesome!! Nice gesture, and congrats on the pickup

That's funny, in the other thread where you mentioned the '53 Bowman Mantle, I just posted the Musial was the first big card I wanted from the set. That's a real beauty you have. The centering is great, and that's been the sticking point the few times I've almost pulled the trigger.

Bill, I need to buy a Mantle, and you need a Musial. Maybe Santa will help us. Good luck with the hunt!

December pickups
 

Added another 1947/66 Exhibit to my collection to go with Ted Williams. This time it was Mickey Mantle. I have to admit the price was so freaking cheap that it may fall in the "too good to be true" category...at the same time the eBay seller seemed to have a very good reputation, had a ton of good stuff, and explicitly sold this as an original.

Okay, there's your cue to burst my bubble and tell me it's from 1980 or a counterfeit from Malawi. :-)

Attachment 170011

Picked up this Exhibit lot as well, entirely for the Hank Aaron. Not sure what I'll do with the other guys (Mickey Vernon, Vic Wertz, Harry Breechen)!

Attachment 170012

1973 Topps Mike Schmidt
 

Love the Schmidt...so funny story...I had this thought to do a collection and display of the Dodgers record setting infield (Garvey, Lopes, Cey, Russell)...every Topps card of each player as a Dodger. Figured it would be cheap. And then I remembered Cey's rookie card. Oh Schmidt!!

Hey it's been a real challenge for us Dave Hilton collectors too :) j/k

Too bad Topps' screw-up of 1973 has cost you so dearly in 2014. They already had the Penguin on a rookie card in 1972, so if they did their job right, Cey would've been on his own card in 1973 and not chained for eternity to that no-good Schmidt. ;)

Trying to think of what other players were featured on two "rookie" designated cards...

Dale Murphy comes to mind, with 77 and 78.

Danny Tartabull had Rated Rookies in both the 85 and 86 Donruss sets.

Lou Pinella may be the strangest; didn't he have a rookie in 1964, then another rookie in 1968, then the AS Rookie Cup Card in 1970? What's up with that?

Any others?

I think I've seen "RC" next to just about any Ruth on eBay, even the 1948-9 Leaf!

Yeah, Piniella had three full out rookie cards -- 1964, 1968 and 1969!!!
Don Baylor also comes to mind, being featured on both 1971 and 1972 rookie cards.

Matt, that's wild about Tartabull. I never knew he had two Rated Rookie cards. The '86 was always the one I went for. I never thought to look for an '85 card.

Ron Cey must have the best counterparts on two different rookie cards, '72 with Ben Oglivie & '73 with Schmidt, of course.

And he was no slouch himself.

Bill Davis
 

Toops Rookie Card King...1965, 1966, 1967, 1968 & 1969

Three more additions to my slowly-growing 1975 Topps set. It's harder finding these cards in really nice condition, and without any obvious print defects, than I thought it was going to be.

http://imageshack.com/a/img674/9807/sRxDyL.pnghttp://imageshack.com/a/img538/1238/tz4rEN.pnghttp://imageshack.com/a/img908/6379/nJ2Kuv.png

These cards look really great when they're lined up. I also have to say I really like these new PSA slabs. They stack nicely.

Time to do some more shopping! :p

That's awesome. He must've had a friend at Topps.

Also wild that Pinella had a 69!

And after all that, after all those cards touting him as a "rookie star" year after year, Bill Davis eeked out a career .181 AVG with one home run, and 5 RBI.

He had as many rookie cards as he had career RBIs.

Phil Niekro has a 1964 and 1965 rookie.

Finally picked up a Brett RC. Not bad for $200.

Attachment 170248

That's hysterical.

Great Brett!

Gorgeous! Great snag at a great price!!

December pickups
 

Here's one of a small group of nice '66 Bazooka singles I received yesterday.

Attachment 170363

Wow, he looks ghoulish!

Looks like he is about to club someone...

1961 Marichal
 

I decided to buy some post-war cards today from Tony at Monster Cards at a show in St. Louis - love this Marichal. Great color even if a bit OC.

A few more from Tony - thank you!
 

Tony gave me what-can-only-be-described-as the deal of all deals on these 3 beautiful cards - 2 favorites and Rickey.

Hey Mike, well done. I live in the St. Louis area and have bought hundreds maybe in the thousands of cards from Tony over the years in my set building endeavors. A great guy and the fairest, most honest dealer I have ever encountered.

Gaylord Perry went from having his own RC in 62 to sharing one in 63.

Another neat fact, Mike Cuellar was in 59 and 60 Topps and didn't appear again until 65.

December pickups
 

This will be a December to remember. Leading off, what may now be the best card in my collection, thanks to a fellow board member.j Up next, my first card of Chuck Klein. Hard to believe but these two guys were second and third in all-time HRs by National Leaguers at the time Hank Aaron broke into the majors.

And then pulling up the rear, a nice upgrade over my prior 1974 Aaron, a 1969 Banks that I thought looked nice for the price, and a Joe Morgan rookie card.

Attachment 170518

Attachment 170519

Attachment 170516

Attachment 170517

Attachment 170520

I've brought this up before, but it bears repeating. The '69 Banks is ridiculously hard to find centered. Well done!

The photo of '74 Aaron card was taken in Kansas City during the All-Star game in 1973. You can see the Royals score board in the background!

December pickups
 

Yes, I was really happy with the shape the Ernie Banks was in. I'm not as big on condition as many of you, but another card I had to really hunt for with even decent centering was the 1972 Hank Aaron in Action. So many of these are really, really bad.

And great eye to identify the 1974 Aaron photo as KC. It probably also goes down as Hank's biggest smile on a card.

Finally, in my haste, I forgot to include Mr. October's rookie card. There definitely some wear, particularly on the bottom edge, but it was one I needed for my "Big 50" board, essentially a collection of the 50 best players I can (maybe) afford, focusing on cards from the 1933-1969 sets.

So without further ado, here he is...REGGIE, REGGIE, REGGIE, REGGIE, ...

Attachment 170536

From a difficut condition-sensitive set
 

http://imagehost.vendio.com/a/204295...SHANTZ_NEW.JPG



.....the bottoms of 1953 Topps really exaggerate any hint of wear....high grades are difficult to find and centering of course is all over the place like any '50's Topps set. I like this one....he's still alive and living in Pottstown Pennsylvania.

Chuck Klein's 1930 season has to rank up there as one of the best of all time. Just dominant.

Sweet Shantz! Much better centering than mine!

I love the old Phil Athletics logo. Gave out some '54 A's cards as white elephant gifts this year!

I am now missing only 1 card from completing the 1964 Topps Set.

Tony Oliva is kind of a forgotten man.

8 All Star Appearances, 3 AL Batting Titles, and he finished 2nd in the MVP voting twice. Too bad he didn't get a chance to play much until he was 25........he batted over .400 in limited games at the ages of 23 and 24.

--

So very close to making the HOF a couple days ago. A great player either way.

That 1958 Yellow Letter Aaron is a beauty.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/285115931.html

Oliva was just 1 vote away. Jim Kaat was just 2 votes away.

Peter, I am coming to associate you with absolutely incredible cards. Great job!

Branched out a little bit this month:

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTYwMFg5Nj...UhLb7/$_57.JPG

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTI1N1g4OT...cL!~~60_57.JPG

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTQ5M1g4Mj...Ub2Ib/$_57.JPG

Klein's dominance was a result of playing his home games at the Baker Bowl. Klein was a left handed pull hitter, and the Baker Bowl had dimensions that are dwarfed by high school parks now. The right field wall was 280 feet, and right center field was only 300 feet.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...wl_aerial1.JPG
The Baker Bowl, Philadelphia. A left handed hitter's paradise.

In 1930, his home and away splits are probably the least severe of all his "great" seasons. He saw a drop in 1931, but in 1932, his numbers jumped back up. And the difference between his home and away performance is like night and day.

1930 splits
http://imageshack.com/a/img537/7397/JbWqIb.png

1932 splits
http://imageshack.com/a/img540/241/JkCQTA.png

In 1930, he hit 26 of his 40 home runs at home. His home OPS was 1.278. Away from the Baker Bowl, it was .969. His season would have still been great if you eliminate the Baker Bowl games, and average all the away games over the course of the season-He'd have hit .332 with 54 doubles, 28 home runs and 122 RBI, or slightly better, because at any other home stadium, he;d have recognized some sort of boost. Still an exceptional season.

But look at 1932. After a great 1930 season, his "great" 1932 season is completely the result of his home stadium. At home, he hit .423 with 29 home runs and 97 RBI in 77 games. A .464 OBP, .799 SLG and a 1.263 OPS is mind blowing.

But he's not even an all star away from home. Away from the Baker Bowl, he hit .266 with 9 home runs and 40 RBI. His OBP away from home is 124 points lower. His SLG is 318 points lower. And his OPS drops from a 1.263 to an .821. I don't know of anybody, even playing at Coors Field, who has a 442 point discrepancy between home and road OPS metrics.

He was a .395 hitter career at the Baker Bowl (931 for 2354). Everywhere else, he was a .277 career hitter (1,145 for 4,132). He hit 164 home runs there in 2,354 at bats. He hit 136 in 4,132 at bats everywhere else. His home home run rate was 14.35. One home run every 14.35 at bats. Away from home, his home run rate was 30.4. He hit a home run every 30.4 at bats. He hit home runs in a stadium measuring 300 feet at right center field more than twice as often. Shocking, I know.

In 1934, at age 29, still in his early prime, his numbers plummeted when he went to the Cubs. In 1933, he hit .368 playing for Philadelphia. The next season, as a Cub, he hit .301. His OPS dropped from 1.025 to .882.

The bottom line? The Baker Bowl made Chuck Klein a Hall of Famer.

Nice, Chris! Pistol Pete, and the Great One. I, too, will be doing some of that. I want to add Wayne's rookie, as well as Lemieux, Bobby Orr, Bobby Hull, Rocket Richard, etc. I wan to add Wilt, Magic and Bird, MJ, the great hoopsters.

But baseball and football will dominate my collection, with baseball clearly at the top of the mountain.

Just two more adds this week. Nothing special, but a baby step closer to the finish line.

http://imageshack.com/a/img538/1420/JjfYWb.pnghttp://imageshack.com/a/img537/5066/of4ojq.png

The Robinson I thought might be trimmed. Don't ask me why, I mean, who trims a 1975 Frank Robinson? It's a shade light left to right (about 2 pixels of 250). But it's about 3 pixels too deep top to bottom. And no signs of trimming.

It will do until I get a PSA graded. I love the centering, so it's a good temporary.

[QUOTE=the 'stache;1353591]Nice, Chris! Pistol Pete, and the Great One. I, too, will be doing some of that. I want to add Wayne's rookie, as well as Lemieux, Bobby Orr, Bobby Hull, Rocket Richard, etc. I wan to add Wilt, Magic and Bird, MJ, the great hoopsters.

But baseball and football will dominate my collection, with baseball clearly at the top of the mountain.[QUOTE]

Thanks! I am a huge baseball fan, but I thought it would be nice to go for a four sport theme to my collection. I picked up some game used items from every major sports, and I figured I'd try to get at least one iconic rookie from each as well. Now I just need to find an affordable Namath to round things out.

Love the set you are working on. Gorgeous cards.

one more for the rookie collection
 

Nice pickups everyone....haven't been getting too much worth posting lately, but pretty happy with this one...the scratches are on the case, not the card itself....

My first graded pickup for my 1959 set, hoping for all HOF'ers in PSA 6 or above
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y7/...ps52c14cd8.jpg

Way to rain on my Chuck Klein parade, Bill! :)

Perhaps the most extreme home-field advantage for home run hitters would go to the "murderers' row" of the 1884 Chicago Cubs, playing in Lakeshore Park, where the right field fence was less than 200 feet from home plate. Here were their unprecedented home run totals that season.

• Ned Williamson, 27
• Fred Pfeffer, 25
• Abner Dalrymple, 22
• Cap Anson, 21

The teammates were not only the top 4 home run hitters in the major leagues that year, but they also were the top 4 home run seasons of all time to that point. In the case of Williamson, his record would not be broken for 35 years and by no less than Babe Ruth! It would be like having Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and two Mark McGwires all on the same time, but these dudes didn't even juice!

In the case of Williamson, only 2 of his 27 homers came on the road. I'm not sure about the other players.

Some fun pick ups from the Hofstra show this afternoon. Haven't scanned yet so pics for now.

http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/...psd3418146.jpg

http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/...ps20a7d3d6.jpg

http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/...ps195a21fa.jpg

I have been wanting this card for over 30 years, by far my favorite Willie Mays card. Picked it up from a board member.

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...ps3da3d4a6.jpg

GregC and Brewing some nice pickups. I have all of those cards on my want list and will add them at some point. Congrats!!

With this pickup, I am now down to a mere 5 cards for my 1933-1969 "Top 50" Big Board. That's the good news. The bad news is that three of them are Ruth, Gehrig, and DiMaggio!!

Attachment 171075 Attachment 171076

Wow, that would be my favorite Mays card too if I had it!! What a great, great card. Really, I don't even know what Mays card would be a distant second.

Great cards, guys! Keep 'em comin'!

Jason,
I would love to hear what and who this list entails. Lists
Ike this intrigue me very much.
Drew

My post about my Top 50 Big Board is here...

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=196758

!957 Bucs
 

http://imagehost.vendio.com/a/204295...IRATES_NEW.JPG


....adding to my 1957 Topps Pittsburgh Pirates

...the Dick Cole and the Team Card have the subgrades and serial number on the back just like the big "B" flips ; Beckett tried several versions of layouts for the new "BVG" flips and eventually stopped putting subgrades on vintage completely and that's when a lot of us stopped submitting to them. Us centering weenies just love seeing that " Centering 9" up there.

(4) More 1956's to go into that set. Up to 315/340 there. Have most of the big guys. Very excited to get these from Brian Horne on the BST. His cards are consistently better looking than the grade. Old school stock recently graded. Great, Great guy to deal with as well..............I'm not a paid spokesman, but whenever you have the chance to pick some up from him, do so! He also has great lots of cards that I've used to start 2-3 sets I'm working on. Thanks Brian!

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-U3.../s800/1956.jpg

You have a good eye on those cards Tom, they look much better than the grade. Nice pick ups!!!!

Great looking 56s Tom! The 56 Clemente is one of my favorite looking cards I need/want to acquire.

I already showed this on the pre-war Sy Berger thread; BIN'd this on eBay last week:

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps51cf5991.jpg

1964 Topps Brooks Robinson..............upgrade for my set. This auction closed last night but should have it before the New Year. Could have bought a perfectly centered PSA 8 for $75 but opted for this one at $47.
Still only missing #505 Stan Williams to complete the set.

An early Christmas gift to myself

You can never go wrong with a Reggie Rookie for Christmas. Congrats.