Brooks Robinson and the Baltimore Orioles

[Chstrite]

Day 1 – 1 January 2024

Happy New Year! I have decided to pick up where Mark Comer left off in 2020. I am going to post something each day for 2024 about Brooks Robinson or the Baltimore Orioles from years past. My collection is all over the place but by far it is dominated by items that PSA grades but don’t worry, I will not bore you with “PSA!” I believe I have plenty of different items to share. I felt compelled to do this for several reasons, but my inspiration comes from the recent passing of “Mr. Oriole” Brooks Robinson this past September. Like many of you, I was born in Maryland and followed Brooks from the early 1970s, through his broadcasting days, card shows, local advertisements, and visits to Memorial Stadium and Camden Yards. I have collected Brooks stuff all my life but while I served in the Army and raised kids, it was hard to consistently keep pace with all the things out there. Through this group on Net54 and newfound friends, I have learned so much, which is another reason to do this…meet new people, share my limited knowledge, make a trade or two and share my average collection hoping others will catch the Brooks / Orioles collecting bug and decide to collect! I will try to group my postings by week with a theme as much as I can. Mark warned me to organize myself, so we’ll see how this goes.

My first posting will be from 1963. Nothing too exciting (I am lying)! I recently decided to let go of some of my more expensive / non-Oriole / Topps cards in my collection and focus on Brooksie. I am happy to share what I believe is the nicest complete 1963 Jell-o box on planet earth. This “pick-up” came at a cost, a lot of stress, and years of looking. I know…no complaining about a crazy purchase and I am sure there is another one out there, so please share. Every time I visit the local Grocery Store (Martins in Hagerstown, MD) and walk past the Jell-o section, I envision these boxes on the shelf featuring our baseball heroes of the 1962 and 1963 season. I have seen one other complete 1963 Strawberry Jell-o box featuring Brooks but it was in horrible shape (torn, flat and rough edges) and it was open. Someone asked me if I was going to have this box graded and of course, I quickly said no. It is proudly displayed with other unique items of Brooks in my curio cabinet…Top Shelf, for sure. I have also included my graded single card of Brooks from the 1963 Jell-o box. Again, Happy New Year!