several years ago in a find from menber of the Griffith family of a small group of 1922 W573-like cards with advertising for the Leader Theatre (in Wash., DC) on the backs, all of which cards I believe are autographed (in pencil) Wash. Senators cards (if my early-Alzheimer's-like memory serves me correctly, which it often doesn't). I think this lot of a dozen or so cards constitutes all or almost all of the Leader Theatre cards of this type (There is also an E121-like card with a Leader Theatre back that I think is even more rare) that are known to exist.
This lot included cards of Walter Johnson and Sam Rice, whose cards I enthusiastically collect. Not too long thereafter, all or most of these cards appeared in eBay auctions, much to my delight. However, as the bidding escalated beyond what I thought I might win these 2 cards for, and seeing that my main competition was someone (another Ner 54 member) with deeper pockets (as I recall, this was before eBay started disguising the bidders' IDs), I regressed into a no-guts-no-glory bidding funk and failed to win either of these cards! Shortly afterwards, the Net54er who won them both, told me that he had placed his max bid for the WaJo, and that if only I had bid a teensy bit more, I would have won the WaJo card! To this day, I still have nightmares about this!!
I should mention at this point that when I was a kid in the late 1940's and early 1950's, my dad would take me to see cowboy movies at theaters in the area of DC where the Leader Theatre was located; hence, I very likely saw a movie or two in this theatre before it closed down!
Continuing my story, I somehow managed to carry on with my life! Fast forward a number of years to March of 2011. By this time, I think this Net 54er was feeling sorry for me, for he let me purchase the the Sam Rice card from him at a reasonable (I guess!) price, and I have attached scans of my pride-and-joy below.
Being as this Net 54er is also partial to WaJo cards, I know that my only chance of ever acquiring this one is by outliving him - and, he is significantly younger than me! But, I want him to know that I am doing everything I can (such as eating healthy, taking my vitamins, etc.) to increase my "slim-and-none" chances!
Seriously, Dan, again many thanks for this Rice card, and I'll always wish for the best for you and "Pops."
Val
08-22-2012, 07:15 PM
my contribution
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