THE Hank Aaron Thread

[bk400]

I posted this on another thread a few months ago, but will contribute it here as well. One of the cards I was looking to find for a very long time...It depicts Hank Aaron and Sadaharu Oh in Japan in November 1974, before an exhibition home run contest between the two men.

[aldridgemj214]

Wow. Thank you for sharing. Aaron and Oh share at least a couple of cards that I’m aware of. I don’t own either yet, but the hunt is part of the fun. I’ll share another one that I didn’t see in the thread yet, the 1955 Spic and Span Die-Cut.

[bk400]

Originally Posted by aldridgemj214

Wow. Thank you for sharing. Aaron and Oh share at least a couple of cards that I’m aware of. I don’t own either yet, but the hunt is part of the fun. I’ll share another one that I didn’t see in the thread yet, the 1955 Spic and Span Die-Cut.

That is pretty cool. I haven't seen that one before.

[jason.1969]

Originally Posted by bk400

I posted this on another thread a few months ago, but will contribute it here as well. One of the cards I was looking to find for a very long time...It depicts Hank Aaron and Sadaharu Oh in Japan in November 1974, before an exhibition home run contest between the two men.

That is a TOUGH card! Will share my most unique item, which is a snapshot taken in 1954 of a young Henry Aaron on his way to work.

If you’ve visited the Aaron exhibit at the Atlanta History Center, an enlargement greets you as you enter the section on Aaron’s Milwaukee Braves years.

[bk400]

Originally Posted by jason.1969

That is a TOUGH card! Will share my most unique item, which is a snapshot taken in 1954 of a young Henry Aaron on his way to work.

If you’ve visited the Aaron exhibit at the Atlanta History Center, an enlargement greets you as you enter the section on Aaron’s Milwaukee Braves years.

This has GOT to be one of the earliest photos of Aaron, no? Beautiful photo.

I saw a couple of Type 1s get auctioned off recently -- those were from 1952 or so, when he was getting on a train to go to a minor league team (Indianapolis Clowns?). I even put in a couple of bids -- which ended up like 5-10x below the hammer price, or something embarrassing like that.

[aldridgemj214]

Originally Posted by bk400

This has GOT to be one of the earliest photos of Aaron, no? Beautiful photo.

I saw a couple of Type 1s get auctioned off recently -- those were from 1952 or so, when he was getting on a train to go to a minor league team (Indianapolis Clowns?). I even put in a couple of bids -- which ended up like 5-10x below the hammer price, or something embarrassing like that.

That photo is great. Thanks for sharing. That Hake’s auction had some great items up for sale. I came up empty as well.

[Balticfox]

So which Hank Aaron card would you Aaron fans regard as the prettiest?

[aldridgemj214]

Prettiest? 1959 Bazookas for my money. One I don’t have that I think is right up there is the Bill & Bob postcard. Here are my Bazookas.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by aldridgemj214

Prettiest? 1959 Bazookas for my money.... Here are my Bazookas.

That's a good looking one alright!

But is there a reason why the top card wasn't given a number by PSA or is that kind of thing just a random vagary on PSA's part?

[aldridgemj214]

I can’t explain it, but happy it didn’t as I was able to buy it for a better price in Cleveland last year because of the scarlet letter it had.

[carlsonjok]

This thread is great. I wish I had seen it sooner. I have two dream cards, only one of which is something I can afford. My favorite card as a kid was the 1974 Topps #1 - Home Run King card. Some day I would like to own an autographed version.

[bk400]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

So which Hank Aaron card would you Aaron fans regard as the prettiest?

Of his mainstream cards, I am partial to the 1963 Topps. Will invite someone who actually owns one of those to post a photo...

[aldridgemj214]

Originally Posted by bk400

Of his mainstream cards, I am partial to the 1963 Topps. Will invite someone who actually owns one of those to post a photo...

Here you go. Started off buying our Aaron run in CSG/CGC. 1963 is a great card.

[bk400]

Originally Posted by aldridgemj214

Here you go. Started off buying our Aaron run in CSG/CGC. 1963 is a great card.

Nice! I buy a fair share of CGC slabbed cards. They are 2/3 or sometimes even 1/2 the price of a PSA, and I swear, I cannot see any difference whatsoever in the grading standards (but this is for a different thread).

I'm starting to research the Hank Aaron oddball cards, of which there are a lot. Johnston Cookies is an obvious, but expensive place to start. The 59 Bazookas look super cool. There's the 1982 Kmart, which is relatively accessible, and kind of weird enough to be cool. I also collect the Police sets in football, and I noticed that there is a 1981 Hank Aaron Police issue. Any other ideas?

[aldridgemj214]

Originally Posted by bk400

Nice! I buy a fair share of CGC slabbed cards. They are 2/3 or sometimes even 1/2 the price of a PSA, and I swear, I cannot see any difference whatsoever in the grading standards (but this is for a different thread).

I'm starting to research the Hank Aaron oddball cards, of which there are a lot. Johnston Cookies is an obvious, but expensive place to start. The 59 Bazookas look super cool. There's the 1982 Kmart, which is relatively accessible, and kind of weird enough to be cool. I also collect the Police sets in football, and I noticed that there is a 1981 Hank Aaron Police issue. Any other ideas?

I’m actually a huge fan of the oddball or non-standard issues. So it comes down to whether you want to go for playing days or post playing days. I feel there are plenty of playing day options with great photos to collect. I have dabbled in post playing days and have the 82 and 87 Kmart as well as the police issue you mentioned. Some of my favorites are Johnston Cookies, Spic and Span, Bazookas, Venezuelan Topps, O-Pee-Chee, Armour coins, Golden Stamps, Post Cereal, Jell-O, Hostess/Twinkies and the various 1976 discs. In terms of price, they run from a few $ to $1k+. Topps also did various test issues (stamps, coins, peel-offs, rub-offs, comics, pin-ups, candy lids, discs, etc.). Some are inexpensive and plentiful while others still allude me.

Here is a great thread for playing day Aaron cards with base and oddball. It has inspired me since I found it back in May 2023.

https://www.net54baseball.com/showth...ght=Hank+Aaron

[mikemb]

Many years ago, a friend of mine was General Manager of a minor league team, the Virginia Generals. (A gold star if you have heard of them). Hank Aaron was there for a promotion and my friend got me this signed ball.

Mike

20250216_155537.jpg

[andypcl]

Hi Matt,

Glad I was able to post it. Cool thing about this one is that it's addressed to my dad as a 15 year-old in 1956. He has them all except Keely.

-Andy

[JollyElm]

These are two of my faves, because the qualifiers are mere technicalities...

1965aaron1973PSA9oc.jpg

For the longest time, the 1973 card always bugged me due to this monster of a player being shown merely standing there in the blinding sun under an easy pop fly, but as time went on
(and when looked at along with other cards from the '73 set, like Rose, Stargell, Puente, Bench, Scott, and on and on) I've gotten a much fuller appreciation for it.

It's another photo that brings the viewer right into a game, reflecting a standard occurrence on the field. Since there were already plenty of Aaron portrait cards put out across his career, this one took a new direction.
Plus, he's oddly playing first base (with a first baseman's glove), which was strange in and of itself.

Now I say one and a half thumbs up!!

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

These are two of my faves, because the qualifiers are mere technicalities...

How much does an (OC) qualifier bring down the price of a slabbed card?

[bk400]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

These are two of my faves, because the qualifiers are mere technicalities...

Attachment 651538

For the longest time, the 1973 card always bugged me due to this monster of a player being shown merely standing there in the blinding sun under an easy pop fly, but as time went on
(and when looked at along with other cards from the '73 set, like Rose, Stargell, Puente, Bench, Scott, and on and on) I've gotten a much fuller appreciation for it.

It's another photo that brings the viewer right into a game, reflecting a standard occurrence on the field. Since there were already plenty of Aaron portrait cards put out across his career, this one took a new direction.
Plus, he's oddly playing first base (with a first baseman's glove), which was strange in and of itself.

Now I say one and a half thumbs up!!

I like the 73 specifically because it depicts Hank Aaron fielding. I think it is the only one, in fact. Hank Aaron won a few Gold Gloves, so nice to have at least one card where he's got a fielding glove on.

Interestingly, I think the only card that depicts Brooks Robinson actually fielding during a game is also the 1973 Topps...

(As an aside, Ozzie Smith, the guy with 13 GGs, only has one Topps base card out of 18 actually showing him fielding also -- the 1987)

[aldridgemj214]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

These are two of my faves, because the qualifiers are mere technicalities...

Attachment 651538

For the longest time, the 1973 card always bugged me due to this monster of a player being shown merely standing there in the blinding sun under an easy pop fly, but as time went on
(and when looked at along with other cards from the '73 set, like Rose, Stargell, Puente, Bench, Scott, and on and on) I've gotten a much fuller appreciation for it.

It's another photo that brings the viewer right into a game, reflecting a standard occurrence on the field. Since there were already plenty of Aaron portrait cards put out across his career, this one took a new direction.
Plus, he's oddly playing first base (with a first baseman's glove), which was strange in and of itself.

Now I say one and a half thumbs up!!

The 1973 has that classic Braves uniform. Plus, I enjoy the fact that Aaron played the field most of his career with great fielding % as well. Aaron was a five tool player.

[Exhibitman]

I love the oddball cards too. This 1982 Korean issue, for example:




I kind of bought this 1972 Baltimore Sun premium without really thinking about what to do with it.



Strayed a bit far afield here too:






Skeddy says it all:

[aldridgemj214]

Originally Posted by andypcl

Hi Matt,

Glad I was able to post it. Cool thing about this one is that it's addressed to my dad as a 15 year-old in 1956. He has them all except Keely.

-Andy

That is incredible. I like picking up postcards with writing but never had any with a family connection like that. Those are priceless.