Last Bit of Autos From The National

As far as I know, this is the last of the stuff that I brought home from last year's National.  It only took me about 7 or 8 months to get it all posted.  There were a couple vendors at the show who had some nice, cheap cards signed by deceased former players (and one other), so I figured I would grab a few for my album.  For some reason, I never sent the above 1957 Topps to Virgil Trucks for him to sign.  Whenever I see a Trucks card, I usually pick it up, and this one was no different.

I got the Burke Waldron (above left) cards from the Signatures for Soldiers.  I wanted to send one TTM, but Waldron passed away before I could.  I also liked the Monte Ivrin 1988 Pacific, 1959 Topps Mudcat Grant and 1961 Topps Bill Virdon 1960 World Series Highlight.  These were all cards I would have liked to send out back then, but didn't get a chance (probably because I didn't have extras of said cards).

I'm hoping to signer list for the National comes out soon.  I'd like to start pulling cards for those guys as soon as possible.  The days will be flying away, and July will be here before I know it.

Instagram Trade With Angelo - Dual-Sided Cut Auto

I completed a trade with a guy named Angelo on Instagram recently when I sent him a Yoenis Cespedes Topps Hi Tek auto and a Dave Winfield triple relic for this Famous Fabrics Ink Big Apple Baseball dual cut auto of Hall of Famer Monte Irvin and Max Lanier.

Angelo offered me the card just after Irvin passed away and I figured it was a pretty cool piece to add to the collection.  It is a brand I have never heard of before, and serial numbered 325/2,000.

Another thing about this card that appealed to me was the Lanier auto.  I know next to nothing about him, so we will all learn together via baseball-reference:

Lanier was born in Denton, NC in 1915 and died in 2007 at the age of 91.  He played in the majors (a pitcher) from 1938 to 1946 and 1949 to 1953 for the Cardinals, Giants and Browns.  He had a career record of 108-82 with a 3.01 ERA and 821 strikeouts.

Lanier won the World Series with the Cardinals in 1942 and 1944 and made the All Star team in 1943 and 1944.

It seems to me that Lanier was a pretty good pitcher in his day.  I'm glad to have been able to add his auto to my collection.  Thanks for the trade, Angelo!

Rest In Peace - Monte Irvin

Over the course of the last two days, two huge names have left this world and have moved on to the next one.

I was shocked and blown away yesterday morning to hear that music icon, David Bowie had passed away sometime Sunday.

Today, when I was checking on some Oriole news on Twitter, I saw that Hall of Famer Monte Irvon had passed away at age 96.  Irvin wasn't necessarily a shock, since he was 96, but it still stung nonetheless.  He was a baseball pioneer, one of the last remaining players of a bygone era.  He was also very good to fans and a great TTM signer.

The above baseball was one I got TTM back in 2010, which I have since flipped to my good friend, Andrew.  I had replaced that ball with a PSA one from Historic Autographs Ball of Fame.

Irvin was one of the oldest living baseball players at the time of his passing, and was the second longest tenured Hall of Famer (Sandy Koufax is the longest tenured living Hall of Famer, having been elected in 1972).

Irvin was a great ball player in his time and is regarded as one of the best to have come out of the Negro Leagues.  It was widely speculated back then that he would be the player who would break the color barrier, but Branch Rickey went with Jackie Robinson instead.

Rest in peace, Monte Irvin.

Instagram Trade With Blaine - Awesome Vintage Pickups

I completed another great trade with my friend, Blaine, on Instagram when I sent him a ball signed by Jim Palmer in exchange for this Monte Irvin 1953 Topps.  The card is in pretty good shape, with the exception of a few rounded corners.  I think the '53 design is one of the great ones in Topps's history, and this card might just exemplify that.

The other big part of our deal was this 1962 Topps Gaylord Perry RC.  I already have Perry on a ball, and now I can say that I have his rookie card as well.  I also have his 1963 Topps "rookie stars" card as well, but this '62 is his true rookie.

Thanks so much for another successful trade, Blaine!  I'm excited to think of what we could exchange next!

1951 Topps Red Back #50 - Monte Irvin

Monte Irvin (b. 1919) was a star of the Negro Leagues well before he entered MLB in 1949.  He played for the Newark Eagles of the Negro Leagues from 1938 to 1942 and 1945 to 1948 and then played for the New York Giants from 1949 tom1955 and the Cubs in 1956.  Irvin finished third in the NL MVP voting in 1951.  In 8 MLB seasons, he had 731 hits, 99 home runs and a .293 batting average.  He won the World Series with the Giants in 1954.  He played in two total World Series (1951 and 1954) and batted .394 over 10 World Series games.

Irvin was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973 by a special negro League committee.  That Hall of Fame class was a special one, it included Irvin, Warren Spahn (who was elected by the BBWAA), Billy Evans, High Pockets Kelly and Mickey Welch (all elected by the Veterans Committee) and Roberto Clemente (elected by a special committee because of his premature death).

Hall of Fame: 8

Losing my Mind, Among Other Things

I really hate this feeling.  You know the feeling.  The one you get when you vaguely know where you laid something down at and then when you go to retrieve said item, it is nowhere to be found...

Well, I had that feeling last night and it has carried over into today.  I was going to blog, card for card, my 1951 Topps Red Back set.  The sat has been on the top shelf in my safe for YEARS.  I vaguely recall (after going to my safe to get the cards) that I took them out and put them aside so I could scan them a while back.  It appears that they never made it back into the safe. 

I have torn my computer room (which, in all fairness, is my actual card room) and I have torn apart the man cave in a desperate attempt to locate the set.  All 52 cards are in loose album pages which have been kept inside a purple manila folder all these years.  My wife vaguely remembers me pulling them out to scan and saying that I was going to put them in an album so they would be easier to find.  Heh.  Well, they aren't in any of my albums. 

I swear I put them with a number of other things (my oversize Brooks Robinson cards and some other stuff like that come to mind) and shut them inside SOMETHING for safe keeping.  Oh, they're real safe alright, they're even safe from me.  I sincerely doubt I lost them in the move.  I also sincerely doubt they've been ripped off because I don't have any sketchy friends.  They are in my house.  Somewhere.  Anyone want to come over and help me look for them?

1955 Topps #100 - Monte Irvin

Former Negro League star Monte Irvin (b. 1919) is one of the oldest living Hall of Famers. He was elected to the Hall based primarily on his merits in the Negro leagues, but also had success in the Majors for the Giants from 1949 to 1955 and the Cubs in 1956. He was one of the first Negro league stars to be signed after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947. Irvin had career major league numbers of 731 hits, 99 home runs, and a .293 batting average. He won the World Series with the Giants in 1954.

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In the Negro Leagues, Irvin was a superstar. He was a two-time batting champion there and won the Negro league World Series with the Newark Eagles in 1946.

(HALL OF FAME 9)

TTM Success - Monte Irvin

Ok, so I am really late in posting this, but it was my intention to get this done when I got it in May. Oh well, better late than never.
Irvin cost me $20 for a ball, but it was a donation to a college that he supports, so that was ok. So far, I have only paid for one TTM, that being Irvin. I have autographed baseballs from the 6 oldest living hall of famers (MacPhail, Doerr, Feller, Irvin, Musial and Kiner) and 12 living hall of famers total (Aaron, Kaline, B. Robinson, Marichal, Palmer and Ripken). I also have Phil Rizzuto, which I got pretty cheaply. Pretty cool, right? I'm debating on who I want to send off next for TTMs. I heard that Schoendienst doesn't do TTM. I'd like to try Earl Weaver soon. George Brett would be good. Vin Scully or Bob Uecker too. So many choices.