1952 Colorado Springs Sky Sox Team Set

[butchie_t]

My lovely wife gifted me the following set a number of years ago for Christmas. Thing is, I have not been able to find much about this set. I know that it is a 19 card set, I have all 19 and that apparently the Connie Johnson card is somewhat harder to find than the other 18.

I found out that this is mentioned in one of the Krauss publications but that is about it. I know that minor league sets do not get much focus here but can anyone possibly shed a bit more light on this if possible?

Sam Hairston is in the Sky Sox ring of fame here in Colo Spgs. and was a coach here for a while also. But long before I moved here.

It is a cool set and I have seen some advertised on eBay but not much else I have been able to find. If anyone may have the Krauss pub data and can post it here, I would certainly appreciate it.

Thanks!

B. T.

[andypcl]

Hi,

Made by Globe Printing out of San Jose, Ca. They made a handful of sets of minor league teams in the 1950's. This is a pic from an older guide so prices don't mean a whole lot. The Johnson and Hairston carry a little premium over the others.

[butchie_t]

Andypcl,

AWESOME and Thank You! Exactly what I was hoping to find. This place continues to amaze me with the info that everyone comes with here.

I see PCL in your user name. I cannot believe that the PCL no longer exists as it was once known. MLB really gutted everything with this minor league realignment. I followed the Sky Sox when they were affiliated with the Rockies and now Colo Spgs has a short season A-ball team. How things have changed.

Thank you again for your post. Greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

Butch

[andypcl]

Yes, they sure did. We were fortunate in Sacramento to keep the River Cats although after changing affiliations from the A's to the Giants, the energy seems to have waned quite a bit. Sacramento has a huge A's fan base and it was pretty electric at Raley Field. It seems a bit more corporate now. Your cards seem to be in exceptional shape. Great present!

[butchie_t]

Thanks! I asked her what she paid for them and she though around 100.00. I have never taken any of the cards out of the folder since I got them. They look totally new when you look at them. YIKES, I need her to buy all my cards. :-)

It was a sad day for us when the Rockies dropped their affiliation with the Sky Sox. Same thing happened here, no one really cared about the Brewers and attendance dropped tremendously. Finally, they even left and now a short season A-League Rockies team is supposed to move in. Pretty sure no one is gonna really care about that move either.

And then when the Rockies moved their affiliation to Albuquerque?????? WTF.... That has always been Dodger-Dukes country. It is an affront to any PCL fan senses. Ugh..... up is down and down is up.

We had season tix from the time the Rockies came to town in 93 until 2004 when we just got tired living in the ball park each summer. It was not long after that things turned for the worse.

Thanks again for the post.

Cheers,

Butch Turner

[Chris Counts]

Butch, you have the greatest wife ever! Those cards are truly wonderful and rare, and the three former Negro League players would no doubt carry a premium. I have a Globe Printing album like yours of the Atlanta Crackers, but in mine, the cards are printed on the pages, and autographs were added later..

[butchie_t]

Thanks Chris, I agree totally with your comments about my wife! She takes an active interest in the hobby and that makes getting things much easier! She gets just as jazzed when she pulls a nice card from a pack of cards as I do. Makes busting 'wax' that much more enjoyable!

She is a geek to and that helps in many ways with the network geek side of me as well!

The set is crazy cool for many reasons not even counting the scarcity. We followed the Sky Sox here for almost as long as they were associated with the Rockies organization. And their history was weaved throughout the years they were here.

I saw the album you have and wondered why Globe did what they did there and did not print actual cards. The autographs are great regardless. Thanks for the pictures.

Cheers,

B. T.

[slidekellyslide]

I had a complete Globe Sky Sox set in album and another complete set nearly all signed including Ken Landenberger which is pretty rare considering he died in 1960. Sold them to another Net54 member who resides in Colorado a few years back. Very rare cards. Your wife rocks!

[butchie_t]

So cool! Now I have seen two! The autographs are amazing.

Thanks

B. T.