CLOSED!! 1939-1959...$25 Progressive Lot Auction...Day 7

[HercDriver]

Well, like everybody else, it seems, I finally have some time on my hands. And with time, comes the closet clean out. So this edition of my expanding auction is going to feature various cards that I don't have enough of to group with anything else. So, while the cards aren't "oddball," the grouping might be. Here's how it works. The lot is currently at $25, with $5 to ship. Assuming no bids by the time I get to my coffee tomorrow, I'll add a card or two. It won't be every day, because I'm not always home to sit down with my cards, but I'll do my best to "scan ahead" and not have too many idle days. The first person who bids $25, opens the auction, for the next 8 hours. I do this to give everybody a chance to see the new cards that day, since we can't all spend 23 hours a day here. So once a bid is placed for $25, the auction will end 8 hours later, using $1 bid increments for anybody who wants to raise it. I guess it's sort of like extended bidding. Does that make sense? Anyway, here we go with Day 1. Let me know if you have any questions!

Take Care,
Geno

Total Cards: 18

A brief note on grading: I grade like we used to grade 30 years ago, when trading was by letters, on paper, in the mailbox. A slight crease = VG; Off-center = Ex; Two slightly dinged corners = ExMt. You get the idea...my EXMt does not in anyway guarantee that you will get a PSA 6. I can always send you another scan, and you can always return cards (in which case, you cover your shipping back). I pretty much go through them as I watch Blackhawks games, which sometimes affects my mood, and thus potentially the grade. A Hawks power play in the 3rd period just might result in a missed corner ding, but I do my best. Bid accordingly.

1939 Play Ball
3 Red Ruffing Vg

1952 Topps
27 Sam Jethroe (Black Back) Vg

1959 Topps
380 Hank Aaron Fr
389 Joe Nuxhall NrMt
397 Washington Senators NrMt
403 Clem Labine Vg
411 Whitey Lockman Vg
414 Dale Long Vg
418 Gino Cimoli Fr
418 Gino Cimoli ExMt
421 Herm Wehmeier Fr
431 Whammy Douglas Fr
431 Whammy Douglas Vg
432 Smokey Burgess Ex
435 Frank Robinson Vg
438 Sam Esposito Vg
444 Ronnie Hansen Vg
445 Cal McLish Ex

[HercDriver]

OK...card #1 is a 1939 PayBall of HOFer Red Ruffing. I must admit, I didn't know a lot about Ruffing, other than that he grew up in the sticks of Illinois, like I did. But when I looked up his stats, I was surprised at what the trade from the Red Sox did for him. Talk about an unequal trade, that probably looked like nothing when it was made! Ruffing had pitched seven seasons with the BoSox, amassing a record of 36-96. Yes, 36 and 96! Remember, future HOFer with a 7-2 WS record. He had seasons like 10-25, and 9-22. So the Red Sox traded him for Cedric Durst, who played one season, before he was out of the league. Ruffing, you ask...how did he do? He only pitched 15 seasons with the Yankees, where he won 231 games. How's that for a lopsided trade? I bet Ernie Broglio could use that info. He was traded after an 0-3 start in Boston, then went 15-5 with the Yankees the rest of the 1930 season. Reminds me of Sutcliffe going to the Cubs in 1984. He had three seasons in a row, where he went 20-7, 21-7, and 21-7 again. That's pretty awesome, if you ask me, or even if you don't ask me. Durst, in the mean time, ended up on the San Diego Padres of the PCL, where he was voted the most popular player in 1936, winning a new suit. I think the Yankees got the better of that one. Even if it was Men's Wearhouse, where he might get a second suit for free.

BTW, that black dot is weird. It's on the card, but doesn't look nearly so big and dark when you see it. I'm not sure why the scanner made it so prominent. Weird.

[HercDriver]

Well, I have one lonely 1952 Topps card in my dupes box, which features Sam Jethroe of the Braves. As with Ruffing and me, Jethroe was an Illinois boy as well, from East St. Louis. When he was roaming the outfield for the Braves, he was easily the fastest man in baseball. Stumbling might be a better word than roaming since fielding was never Sam's forte. But he could hit and run well enough to win the Rookie of the Year in the NL. To this day, he's still the oldest ROY, wining it at the ripe old age of 32. It was his late arrival that caused him to miss out on the MLB pension later in life. He sued baseball, saying he should get his pension, because his Negro League time counted for something during the years he couldn't play, due to MLB's discrimination. He didn't win, but later on, in 1997, MLB did change their mind and gave those players a pension. It's interesting to look at the ROY winners in the NL, from the time Jackie Robinson broke in. Robinson won it in 1947, then Al Dark, Don Newcombe, Jethroe, Willie Mays, Joe Black, and Jim Gilliam. So between 1947 and 1953, all but one of the ROYs was a black player. I guess that tells you how good the Negro Leaguers really were. If you're a back collector, this Jethroe card has a black back. If you're not a back collector, it still has a black back. Enjoy your lockdown!

[HercDriver]

Another day of virus quarantine, and another day to excel at long delayed chores. Today will feature the repair of the garage door frame that my daughter managed to drive into with the Honda Pilot. I know, it's a tight hole to squeeze that Pilot into, just 16 feet wide or so, requiring extreme precision. Unfortunately, she was off by a bit on one side. I pointed out that there was about ten feet on the other side, but what do I know. Anyway, before I get to that, I'll let you peruse a 1959 Hank Aaron card. I'll always remember watching that game in 1975 with my dad, when Hank hit the homer to break the record. A few years later, I came across the Peanuts cartoons, where Snoopy is trying to break Aaron's record. Two outs, last at bat of the season, Snoopy gets his chance for immortality. Just one problem...Charlie Brown is on 2nd. It makes you wonder if Gene Mauch was managing that team. Enjoy!

[HercDriver]

Since I had the 1959 stack out to get the Aaron card listed, and since I don't have a lot of them left, I'm going to do a few days of those, I suppose. We'll start with this six-pack, featuring Dale Long. Everybody pretty much knows the story of Long's home run legend, but the back of his card mentions that he caught in two games the year before. Nothing special about that, except that he's a lefty. That's a pretty rare feat, also, for Mr Long. Not counting one-game catchers, who were probably an emergency, there have been 23 players to catch multiple games, left-handed. Most of those were before T206 cards were printed, so is it possible to find a left handed catcher on a baseball card? Well, yes there is! In 1969, you can see the flipped image of Larry Haney, so that doesn't really count. But check out the 1955 Doubleheader card of Long. His card is the only one I know of, featuring a lefty catcher. It's funny that his actual catching duties didn't occur until three years later, with the Cubs. There may be other cards the late 1800 issues, but they generally don't have gloves, so it's hard to tell. Hopefully you found that interesting with your coffee this morning. If not, well then I just hope your coffee was tasty...

BTW...the catcher cards ARE NOT part of the auction.

[HercDriver]

A pair of cards added today, including a better Cimoli card than the one from yesterday. Cimoli had the distinction of being the first Dodger batter on the west coast, as well as scoring the final run in Ebbets Field. Pictured here as a Cardinal, he only stayed there a year, before joining Pittsburgh in time for their historic World Series. In Game Seven, Cimoli had been removed from the game, with the Pirates leading, so he was watching it in the clubhouse. I'm not sure why you would do that, in a World Series, with a great seat from the dugout. But anyway, that's where he was, when the Yankees tied it. He was so mad, he threw the TV against the wall, smashing it. Luckily Bill Mazeroski made sure that nobody would notice. He spent over twenty years as a UPS driver, after he retired. No such luck for Herm Wehmeier. After years of being booed by his hometown Cincy fans, he had a heart attack and died on the stand, at the ripe old age of 46, in an embezzlement trial for one of his employees. I hope everybody is getting their chores done around the house this week. Not much else to do. Have a great day!

[HercDriver]

When I watch Blackhawks or Cubs games, I always have to sit in the same spot on the couch. My wife told me I was rude one day, when I asked one of her friends to move over, so I could sit there for the game. I told her it wasn't rude, but that she just didn't understand how to watch sports. Like the volume. It always has to be on an even number. Usually 14, if the house is quiet, or 16, if people are yapping in the kitchen. I don't know how many times the other team has scored a goal, or hit a home run, and when I checked...sure enough, the volume was on 13 or something stupid. My daughter thinks it has to be on a five or zero, so when she's home, it makes my wife crazy, with the volume on 20, because 15 is odd. Anyway, that brings me to today's additions. Of course, it's highlighted by the really cool card of Frank Robinson, but there are also two cards of Whammy Douglas. There's a reason for that. He was one of only two pitchers in MLB history, that I know of, who only had one eye. Of course, like my volume rule, having an odd number of eyeballs is just not going to work for me. Therefore, adding a second Whammy keeps the auction at an even number of eyeballs. My wife might think this is ridiculous, but I'm sure you sports fans totally understand. Enjoy!

[1966CUDA]

Don't want to bid.... want to keep reading all the great info you add with each post. Always fun reads when you do these!! -Claude

[HercDriver]

Cal McLish...Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish. I would have loved to have seen that on one of those checklist cards. As for Sammy Esposito, he was one of those mediocre players that became great managers, like Lasorda and Sparky. Esposito left the GoGo Sox to manage at North Carolina State, leading the Wolfpack to a 513-253 record in his 21 seasons there. He won the ACC Championship three seasons in a row at one point, and is still the winningest coach in their program's history. Ron Hansen proved you can be on top one day, and mopping up the next. He pulled off an unassisted triple play in 1968, the first time it had been done since 1927, and the last one until Mickey Morandini managed it in 1992. It's a pretty rare feat, as only 15 have been recorded in MLB history. However, Hansen struck out out his next six times at the plate, dimming his glory somewhat. Later that year, he hit a grand slam to rise to glory again, only to be traded the next day for Tim Cullen. The odd thing about that, was that he had already been traded for Tim Cullen once that season, becoming the first pair traded for each other in MLB history.

[TiedGame]

$25

[HercDriver]

Thanks for opening the bid, Mike! Extended bidding now open...check the rules above if you forgot how it works. And I had a great one for tomorrow...next time!

Take Care,
Geno