[Koufax32fan]

The last card I needed for my 1954 set was the rookie Aaron. I wanted to buy one that I could see and touch before purchasing and I could not find one in nice EX condition to match the rest of the set (at a price I wanted to spend). I saw nicer ones but didn't feel like paying that much to have a NrMt/Mint card that would be nicer than the rest of the set and I saw worse condition ones all the time. A few years ago I saw a beautiful one that was out of my price range and I was told by the dealer, Wayne Johnson from Indiana, from whom I have bought a lot of cards over the years, that if I had to splurge on one nicer card the rookie Aaron is the way to go. So, to the story. This summer I decided to go to Chicago for the last day of the National and walk the floor with my best friend who still lives in Chitown. We had a great time and each picked up some cards and other stuff, but really just had a great time being together without kids, etc. As we were leaving we saw Wayne and my friend bought some really nice 1957 cards for his set. And, while Wayne didn't have any 39 Playball cards for my set, he did have another gorgeous 54 Aaron. It was more than I wanted to spend. My buddy asked me how much I wanted to spend and I told him and he said to Wayne to give me the card and he would pay the rest. Now, the money isn't really the issue here - the best part of this story for me is that I will always think of my best friend, Eric, when I look at that set.

I think the sequel to this story will be when I buy the Williams to finish my Playball set.