Mom Knocks A Bunch of Hall of Famers off of the List Part 1 - Frank Home Run Baker

My mom has been working hard on crossing some tough names off of my Hall of Famer list.  She found this Yankees legends signed baseball and handed it to me this past week while I was vacationing back home.  I had taken the vacation as a mental health break, and ended up riding around with my mom while she ran errands, like old times.

She had told me that my Christmas gift for 2020, 2021 ans 2022 had come in, and she couldn't wait until December to give it to me, so she went ahead and hooked me up while I was in town.  I was surprised that she found a baseball with at least 4 Hall of Famers that I needed (and another Hall of Famer that I already had, but was happy to add again).

One of the Hall of Famers on the baseball is Frank "Home Run" Baker.  His signature is at the top of one of the side panels on the baseball.  From what I was able to gather, this baseball was signed at a Yankees legends or old timers day.  The ball is a very old baseball; it looks like it is a Spalding official baseball.

There are also a bunch of other former Yankees on the ball, and as time allows, I will tackle each one in a separate post.  I can't thank Mom enough for the ball, and the ability to cross off some of these tough players from my list.  So, thank you, Mom!  Here we go with the first player profile:

Frank "Home Run" Baker (b. 1886 - d. 1963) played in the majors from 1908 to 1914, 1916 to 1919 and 1921 to 1922 for the Philadelphia A's and New York Yankees.  He had 1,838 hits, 96 home runs and a .307 batting average.  His best MVP finish was 3rd, in 1914.  He led the league in home runs, hence the nickname, from 1911 to 1914.  This was during the deadball era, so his home run totals were 11, 10, 12 and 9 in those years, respectively.  He also led the league in RBIs 1912 and 1913;and in triples in 1909.

Baker won the World Series with the A's in 1910, 1911 and 1913.  He appeared on 15 Hall of Fame ballots, before being elected in 1955 via the Veterans Committee.

Baker managed the Easton Farmers of the Eastern Shore League and is credited with discovering Jimmie Foxx.  He was fired as manager upon selling Foxx to the A's because the Farmers believed that Baker didn't get enough money for Foxx.

Baker is my 148th Hall of Famer on a baseball.

Another TTM Success From Bobby Shantz

I had found this Topps Archives card of Bobby Shantz and figured it would be a good idea to go ahead and get it signed TTM.  You know, since I don't have much else going on.  He signed the card in blue and included his 1952 AL MVP inscription. 

He's almost 95 years old, but still signing strong.  I paid his fee of $5, which goes to help charity.

I met Shantz a few years ago at the National, and he was nice as can be.

I mailed to Shantz on April 25 and got the card back on May 4, for a 9-day TAT.

2018 National Pickup - 2016 Panini Flawless Jimmie Foxx

One of my prize pickups from this year's National was this 2016 Panini Flawless ruby card of Jimmie Foxx.  It is numbered 7/15 and was actually something I had my eye on since last year's National.  I had planned on picking it up on the Sunday of last year's show, but the vendor had closed up before I got around to his table.  This year, I saw him again and bought the card for cheaper than he quoted me last year.  It paid to wait a year.

National Free Signer - Bobby Shantz

We met free signer Bobby Shantz during the Wednesday Sneak Peek at the National.  Unfortunately, the wait in line was excruciating and it set the tone for most of the other VIP free signers for the rest of the show.

Shantz, himself, was really nice, and did take the time to chat with everyone.  I was afraid I would miss out on him, so I waited in line for over 2 hours to get him.  By the time I got up to him, Andrew had given up and gave me his ticket.  I used both name tickets for my and Andrew's cards.  They both turned out great.

Andrew and I both got 1950 Bowman Shantz cards signed.  This is Shantz's rookie card.  During my chat with Shantz, he noted that this card was an old one.  I asked him if he kept any of his cards and he said no, but fans sent him cards all of the time.  He said that he rarely sees this one, though.  He seemed happy to see and sign it.  The card turned out great.

I am happy to have met Shantz.  He was a really nice, friendly guy.  I'm also glad I was able to help Andrew out and get his card signed as well.  Too bad the line was ridiculous.  I might have to approach the free signers differently next year, because those lines killed my legs and feet this year.

The Other Signature on the Foxx Ball - George Earnshaw

I believe I mentioned earlier that there were three signatures on my Jimmie Foxx baseball.  Along with Hall of Famers Foxx and Al Simmons, George Earnshaw's signature graces the sweet spot of the baseball.

Earnshaw (b. 1900 - d. 1976) played in the majors from 1928 to 1936 for the A's (Philadelphia), White Sox, Dodgers and Cardinals.  He had a career record of 127-93 with an ERA of 4.38 and 1,002 strike outs.  He was a 20-game winner 3 times in his career.  He led the AL in wins in 1929 with 24.  He won the World Series with the A's in 1929 and 1930.

If this baseball was signed while the players were still active, that might put is an era from 1928 to 1933 since by 1928, all three players were on the A's, until Simmons left in 1933.  It would be really cool if it was from that time period.  It has to be from at least 1956, since that is the year that Simmons passed away.  Regardless, I have an amazing baseball, and piece of history on my hands.

Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Al Simmons

Not to be lost with the excitement of Jimmie Foxx, there was another Hall of Famer on my ball that I purchased at the National.  Al Simmons is one of those players from that era that is known only to die hard baseball fans.  Yet, he is a Hall of Famer, and a very tough one to get on a baseball.

Simmons (b. 1902 - d. 1956) played in the majors from 1924 to 1941, 1943 and 1944 for the A's (Philadelphia), White Sox, Tigers, Senators, Braves (Boston), Reds and Red Sox.  He had 2,927 hits, 307 home runs and a .334 batting average.  He finished as high as 2nd in the MVP voting (1925, losing to Roger Peckinpaugh).  Peckinpaugh's stats do not even begin to compare to Simmons's, let alone other players during that season (Babe Ruth..???).  That version of the MVP award was voted on by an 8-member committee and was dropped after 1928.

Simmons had a great career; he is the fastest player to ever record 2,000 hits (in 1,390 games).  He is ranked 23rd all-time in batting average with .334.  He was a three-time All Star (1933, 1934 and 1935) and won the World Series twice with the A's (1929 and 1930).  He had 200 or more hits six times.  He was the AL batting champion in 1930 and 1931 (.381 and .390, respectively).  He batted over .300 and had 100+ RBI in his first eleven seasons.  Simmons was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1953 with 75.4% of the vote (his seventh official ballot).  Simmons is my 124th Hall of Fame autograph.

I Caught a Foxx...

I finally was able to add the Hall of Fame baseball that I have coveted the most.  I got Jimmie Foxx.  A full JSA LOA included from a very reputable dealer, I am so excited to announce this as my 123rd Hall of Famer.

I came to the National this year with a plan in mind if I found a Foxx that I liked at a reasonable price.  I also enjoyed chatting with the seller of the ball.  We spoke for a while about Hall of Famers, about my meeting with Mr. Don McNair, who's dad played alongside Foxx, and collecting in general.

I made up my mind to purchase the ball, but saw that it had no LOA to go with it, so the seller took it to JSA and had them issue an LOA, all of this he did for free.  I made the purchase yesterday, and picked the ball up around lunchtime today, once the LOA was completed.

I had a good laugh with the seller this morning.  He asked me to come sit by him while one of his staff went to check on the LOA.  I had asked him if he was having a a good show, to which he replied: "Oh man, I killed it yesterday.  I found some sucker to buy this Jimmie Foxx ball off of me.  I killed it!"  Then he slapped me on the shoulder and we had a good laugh together.  I really enjoyed buying from him, Kevin Keating, and definitely will again.  I was really nervous about the purchase, but he made it really easy on me.  He even gave me a bit of a break on the price.  It is a huge purchase, but I see it as an investment.  Foxx obviously isn't signing anymore, and I have wanted one for years.  Now I have one, and couldn't be happier.

Foxx (b. 1907 - d. 1967) played in the majors from 1925 to 1942, 1944 and 1945 for the A's (Philadelphia), Red Sox, Cubs and Phillies.  He retired with 2,646 hits, 534 home runs and a .325 batting average.  He was a three-time AL MVP (1932, 1933 and 1938), two-time batting champion (1933 - .356 and 1938 - .349), and four-time home run champ (1932 - 58; 1933 - 48; 1935 - 36 and 1939 - 35).

Foxx hit 50 or more home runs twice, 40 or more home runs 5 times and 30 or more home runs 12 times (and in 12 straight seasons).  He was an All Star 9 times from 1933 to 1941.  Foxx won the World series twice with Connie Mack's A's, in 1929 and 1930.

Foxx was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1951 by the BBWAA with 79.2% of the vote (really?).  He had appeared on 8 ballots, back when the voting was far different than it is today.

Foxx is, without a doubt, an All-Time Great.  He ranks 15th all-time with a 4.21 career share MVP vote, 10th all-time with a .428 OBP, 18th all-time in home runs (534) and 9th all-time in RBI (1,922).  When he retired, Foxx was second all-time in home runs.  Someone had to come in second to Babe Ruth.

TTM Success - Carl Scheib

This might be one of the best-looking cards I have gotten signed TTM recently.  I picked this 1954 Topps Carl Scheib up from the antique shop in Columbia and it really turned out nice when it came back signed.  I like the old-school glove shown on the card, and it is also a Philadelphia Athletics card, so that was pretty awesome as well.  I like getting TTM successes from players on teams that no longer exist.

Scheib (b. 1927) played in the majors from 1943 to 1945 and 1947 to 1954 for the Philadelphia A's and the St. Louis Cardinals.  He broke into the majors during World War II at the age of 16 and ended his career at the age of 27 with a record of 45-65 with an ERA of 4.88 and 290 strike outs.

I mailed to Scheib on April 18 and got the card back on April 25 for a 7-day TAT.

Mr. Scheib also answered the questions I asked in my letter.  I asked what his biggest memory from his playeing days was, and he replied "Pitching in my first game at age 16."

He also said he still follows baseball by rooting for the Astros and Rangers.

TTM Success - Bobby Shantz (Second Success)

I needed to get to work on some of the 1950s sets when I set out to do my Topps Autograph Project.  So, I went to Ebay and picked up a bunch of cards of guys who I knew signed, and utilized some of the most trusted TTM signers to go ahead and knock out some of the years that I needed.  A few of them are guys that I had already gotten TTM (man, I wish I had sent some Topps cards to Virgil Trucks).  One of the best TTM signers out there not named Bobby Doerr is former MVP, Bobby Shantz.

I really wanted to have him represented in the project, so I picked out this nice 1954 Topps for him to sign.  It turned out to be the first 1954 that I was able to get signed.  I have since received another that will be shown in a later post, but this one really turned out great.

Shantz (b. 1925) played in the majors from 1949 to 1964 for the (Philadelphia and KC) A's, Yankees, Pirates, Colt .45s, Cardinals, Cubs and Phillies.  He had a career record of 119-99 with a 3.38 ERA and 1,072 strike outs.  Shantz won 24 games in 1952 on his way to the AL MVP Award.  He was a 3-time All Star and won the Gold Glove Award 8 times.

Shantz appeared on 5 Hall of Fame ballots, but didn't receive more than 2.3% of the vote.  I mailed to him on March 25 and got my card back on April 1, for a 7-day TAT.  I had received from Shantz before, a signed ball with the MVP inscription on March 25, 2011.  I didn't realize at the time, but I sent out this card 5 years to the day that I received the signed ball.  You can check out the post here.

The Foulbunt Top Ten - No. 9

In collating the Top Ten cards in my collection, I noticed that a common theme existed, the Hall of Fame rookie card.  Of course, most players' rookie cards tend to be their most sought after, but also the Hall of Famers themselves tend to be more valuable as well.  Of course, not all rookie cards are from a player's first year, but it is their first official card.  When you pair a rookie card with a baseball legend, well, you end up with something really special.  That brings us to card number 9 in my Top Ten:

This is a 1933 Goudey Jimmie Foxx that I got in a deal on Instagram a while back.  The card is graded by SGC and is "Poor".  You can see that based on the severely rounded corners and the huge crease in the top right corner.  All grading issues aside, this is a Jimmie Foxx rookie card.  Let that sink in a bit.  Foxx is one of my PCs and one of my all-time favorite Hall of Famers.

The deal itself worried me some, since it seemed so too good to be true.  I got the card for $40 from a guy on Instagram that I hadn't dealt with before.  It turned out that I shouldn't have prejudged so easily, because he was 100% legit and sent the card really fast.  I haven't done any deals with him since then, but this had to have been one of my best deals on there.

A Trade At The Card Shop

Last Saturday, Chris and I were bored and went to the card shop like usual.  Wendell, the shop owner, has a new guy working there named Jacob (who is in his late 20s).  Jacob seems like a pretty cool dude, albeit a Red Sox fan.  Already, Jacob has a following.  One of the other shop owners in the shopping center sends her son into the shop on Saturdays, and he helps out where needed.  This Saturday, he was folding boxes.  Immediately, he and Chris got to talking, since it appeared that they were about the same age.  It turns out, the kid is named Matt, and is 11 years old.  So, he and Chris chatted for a bit and played some darts in the back room while I chatted with Wendell and Jacob.  I purchased a few packs, and allowed Chris to grab a few as well.

Matt wanted to see what Chris pulled, so Chris opened the two packs I got him (a jumbo pack of 2015 Topps, and a pack of 2015 Panini Diamond Kings).  Matt really liked the Diamond Kings, so he showed me his box of cards he was carrying around the store.  It looked like he had opened a few packs, and had some decent base cards.  I noticed really quickly that Matt liked Hall of Famers.  He had made a point of telling Chris that there were Babe Ruth cards in the Diamond Kings packs, but he had yet to pull one.  He also made mention that he really wanted a Ty Cobb card.

So, I opened my pack of Diamond Kings to see if I could pull the Ruth that he was after.  I didn't, but I pulled a couple Hall of Famers that Matt liked.  I had noticed a card that he had in his little box that I asked him about.  Would he be interested in trading me the Jimmie Foxx, if I gave him a good Hall of Famer. He said he would, so I handed him a Roberto Clemente that I had just gotten out of my pack.  He loved the Clemente and quickly handed me the Foxx (shown above).  He also handed me a nice David Ortiz, saying "Here, you can have this, too."  I thought it was really sweet that this little guy was willing to make trades, and was so happy to have folks to talk cards with, that he gave a free card.

I gathered Chris up, thanked Matt for the deal, and the extra card, then said my goodbyes to Jacob and Wendell.  I made the quick drive home, put up my cards, then looked through a stack that I had on my card desk; some Hall of Famers that my good friend, Max, had sent me.  In it were a few cards I could spare, so I put some in a team bag, along with an Orioles rally towel, then drove BACK to the card shop to surprise Matt.

When we got back, I told Matt that I had some stuff for him, so he came from the back room and gratefully accepted the rally towel and the cards.  However, he didn't open the team bag.  He turned around, and went back to work, since he was helping Jacob assemble storage boxes.  It wasn't until he had completed his task, that he went back and opened the team bag.  I was really impressed that this young man made sure his job was finished before he sat down to look at some cards.

Matt tore open the team bag, and his jaw dropped.  What were "base" cards for me, were treasures for him.  There were 5 Babe Ruths, 2 Ty Cobbs and a Yogi Berra.  I wish I had taken a picture of the look on his face, because he was so amazed that he now owned several Babe Ruth cards.  I was really happy that I made this kid's day, and hopefully, he will cherish those cards as his collection grows.

It was a pretty cool day at the card shop, to say the least.

My Thought On 2015 Topps Museum Collection

When it first came out, I picked up a box of 2015 Topps Museum Collection.  It was pretty expensive, and I know I could have just gone and bought what I wanted off of Ebay.  I got the box because I do dream of getting that one huge hit, you know, a 1/1 bat nameplate or something.

I didn't pull anything like that, but I did do ok, I guess.  I had a couple PC hits like the above Jimmie Foxx base card.  Man, it would be awesome to pull a Foxx relic.  Regardless, this is a great card of The Beast, so I was glad to pull it.

Speaking of pulling cards for the PC, you all know how I love to pull cards of Cal that I don't already have.  This is a nice Cal, and will be assimilated into the PC, buried among the hundreds of other Cal cards that I have, and that'g a good thing.

I got a really low numbered Jumbo relic card of Eric Hosmer.  This card already has some miles on it.  I had agreed to a trade with a new kid on Instagram for a Sonny Gray relic, but the kid failed epically to scam me.

He was clearly winning the trade anyway, but I liked the Sonny Gray he was sending, so I agreed to it and we were to send at the same time.  He got the card, and I got a PRE (that's right a plain RED envelope), with one stamp and what did not feel like a thick relic card inside.  Sure enough, out falls a 2013 Topps base card of Mike Napoli and a note thanking me for my business.  When prompted about whether or not this was a joke, the kid tells me "Oh, I'm sorry, I must have sent you the wrong card by accident..." and sends me a tag of the person the Napoli card was intended for... the kid's PERSONAL Instagram account.  His response to that was "Oops, I sent the wrong link..."  Yeah, ok.  So, I called the kid out on Instagram, and also reminded him that I still had his address and screenshots of our trade discussions that I would be more than happy to send his parents.  Needless to say, I got the card returned to me in only a few days.  Again in a PRE...  With one lonely stamp.  Subsequently, the kid closed his Instagram account, as word had spread that he had scammed a few other folks.  So, yeah, I still have this 5/10 Hosmer relic card and I do intend to trade or sell it.

Finally, I pulled this Matt Kemp patch card that is numbered 62/75.  If you look closely at the northeast relic, there is a tiny little piece of blue patch there as well.  I didn't actually catch that until I scanned the card.  Pretty cool, right?  This card is also possibly going to be available, if my friend Michael decides that he doesn't want it.

I had also pulled a Dalton Pompey auto and a Yordano Ventura dual relic/auto.  The Ventura was sold to my buddy, Noah, and the Pompey was traded for the damaged Hunter Harvey manufactured logo and auto that I showed a few weeks ago.

In all, I liked busting the box of Museum Collection, even though I didn't really get my money's worth out of it.  The Kemp and Hosmer cards are solid, but I won't make up for what I spent.  It would have been a lot better if I pulled some hotter players, like Trout or Harper, but that's the name of the game.

Instagram Pickup - 2013 Topps Tribute Jimmie Foxx Relic

I got a deal on Instagram when I guy named Grant posted this 2013 Topps Tribute Jimmie Foxx bat relic card for sale a few days ago.  I saw it, and that it was numbered to 10, so I immediately told the guy that I was interested, but I needed to wait a couple days because I had bought a few other cards over that weekend.  He was nice enough to hold it for me, and notified me at the time I asked him to, and the card became mine!

Having it in hand is a lot better than looking at it on a tiny phone screen.  The card is flawless and came shipped inside a screwdown case.  I don't normally care for screwdowns, but in this case, it will keep the card in the same condition and will be harder for me to take it out and hold it.  I'm really bad about that.

I don't have a lot of Foxx relics, so adding this one was nice.  Each one I have is an amazing card, and my Foxx PC is pretty decent.  My dream is still to own a Foxx auto (on a ball).  Maybe I should start a crowdfunding campaign to get one, haha!

Awesome Gift From P. A. - Jimmie Foxx Piece of Yankee Stadium

My good friend, P. A. is in Greenville for the evening, so we met up for some showing off of cards and good old-fashioned baseball talk.  P. A. had a huge box of stuff he brought for me that I took delivery of that will help in a lot of facets of my collection.  There were a bunch of cards that he gave me but there was one card in particular that he was really excited about sending my way.

This 2008 Topps Stadium Club card of Jimmie Foxx is really awesome because it contains a piece of bunting from the old Yankee Stadium.  I remember when 2008 Stadium Club came out, P. A. was a huge fan of it right away and came into the old Winston-Salem card shop that I was "working" at and bought a box.  He busted the box with me at one of the tables and pulled this card.  I remember both of us being really excited that he pulled it, not knowing at the time that I would begin a PC of Foxx a few years later.

This card is really amazing.  I was so surprised that P. A. was willing to part with this card, and even more surprised that he gifted it to me.  Thank you so much for the card, P. A.  I appreciate it so much.

June 21, 2014 Raleigh Card Show Part 1 - The Big Hits

Well, I blew my budget big time today at the Raleigh card show, but man, it felt good.  It felt so good, I'm going to do something I haven't done in a long time on this blog, I am going to do a series of multiple posts, all today, showing off what I got.  I hope you enjoy the ride, because I sure did.

This was the first show that I have gone to completely by myself.  Chris is with my parents for the week and my wife respectfully declined my invitation to go (saying "hell no" is respectfully declining, right?).  I also checked on Instagram and texted a few of my card buddies to see if they wanted to go, and no one was available.  This worked out well for me, since I didn't have anyone rushing me or asking to go home 5 minutes into the show.  So, I was really able to look through stuff and find a lot of good deals.

The above card is a 2010 Topps Sterling Jimmie Foxx multi-piece bat relic card.  The was the single most expensive card that I bought at the show, at $50.  I think it was a good price, though, and believe the card is amazing.  It is numbered 22/25.

The best steal I got was this 2012 Topps Minor League Materials Jonathan Schoop patch card, numbered 2/5.  Holy wow, it's an amazing patch.  What's more amazing is that the guy only wanted $20 for it.  Steal?  I think so! What an amazing find.

Rounding out my relic pickups, I got this 2007 UD SP Legendary Cuts Legendary Materials Brooks Robinson relic for $5.  The card is numbered 152/199 and looks great.

Stick around for part two, coming up in a few minutes.

Ebay Pickup - 1935 National Chicle Diamond Stars Jimmie Foxx

I picked up this iconic baseball card off of Ebay a couple days ago.  As you can see, it is a Jimmie Foxx 1935 National Chicle Diamond stars card showing Foxx as a catcher.  The fact that the card depicts Foxx as a catcher is pretty cool, since he only played 110 of his 2,200 major league games at that position.

Something else I really like about the card is that it refers to the 58 home runs that Foxx hit in 1932 and that he would be the most likely player to break "Ruth's" record.  This is really cool, since we all know that didn't happen and the 58 home runs would be Foxx's personal best.  Foxx desperately wanted to break Ruth's record, but nagging injuries limited him later in his career.  One would think that had Foxx been fully healthy every season he played, he definitely would have hit more than 50 home runs on several more occasions.

I'm really happy I got this card.  It looks amazing and is only the second 1935 National Chicle that I have.  This card is going directly into a magnetic case inside a team bag.

My Second Instagram Trade

I completed my second Instagram trade this evening when I came home to a package from my new friend, James.  He was actually the first person to initiate a trade with me, other than the kid who scammed me, but weather and shipping issues delayed his package.  It finally got here, through no fault of James, who was on top of the shipping.  James kept me in the loop on what was going on and I really appreciated the care he took to make sure I knew he was a legit trader.

I sent him a huge stack of Todd Helton cards for a low price in addition with some card supplies.  In turn, James paid me for the supplies and sent me several Orioles including the above Cal Ripken, which I'm pretty sure I don't have as well as the below Jimmie Foxx cards.

This card above is the 2009 Topps T206 Foxx, which, surprisingly, I didn't have. It will look awesome in my Foxx PC.

This is a 2011 Topps DeLong reprint, which looks really great.

I'm really glad that I met with James and pulled off a trade.  We have been chatting quite a bit about baseball and cards in general, which all of you know I really enjoy.  I hope he and I can do more trades in the future.

Ebay Pickup - 2009 Topps Sterling Jimmie Foxx Booklet

I won an auction on Ebay the other day of a card that instantly was propelled to the top of my card collection.  I got this 2009 Topps Sterling Jimmie Foxx booklet for a price much lower than what I thought it was going to be (I seriously thought I was going to be outbid), so I'm extremely happy.

The card is numbered 9/10 and showcases Foxx's 1932 season.

As you can see on the back of the card, it shows highlights from the 1932 season such as Foxx's first MVP award, career high 58 homers and more.  It's right there, you can read the card.

Finally, I thought I'd show the front.  The card is spectacular.  I'm also a fan of the candy apple red coloring of it.  Very sharp, indeed.

What do you all think?  I'm pretty much in awe to have this Foxx in my collection now.  I know it's worth far more than what I paid for it.

TTM Success - George Yankowski

I received this TTM success last Saturday, June 1, 2013 after completely forgetting that I had even sent it.  I mailed to George Yankowski on April 4, 2013, making him an almost 2-month TAT.  I got the ball signed with no fee.

George Yankowski (b. 1922) played in the majors as a catcher in 1942 and 1949 for the Philadelphia A's ('42) and the White Sox ('49).  He had 5 hits, no homers and a ..161 batting average in his 31 plate appearances in his career.

As I always try to do with my TTM requests, I asked a few questions in my letter, which Mr. Yankowski actually answered.  I asked him about playing on the same team as Eric McNair.  Since I McNair's son and grandson, I try to get them some information regarding his playing days.  Here are the questions I asked and Mr. Yankowski's response:

Did you interact with Eric McNair much/at all in your brief time with the A's in 1942?
 Eric was a fine man & good ball player and older than I was - the younger players usually hung out together.

What do you remember most about playing for Connie Mack?
Mr. Mack was very patient with the younger players.

Did you keep any mementos from your playing days?
Just memories.

Do you still watch/follow baseball today?  If so, which team?
Boston Red Sox

So, I was really happy to get this, my 74th TTM success.

Mailday - Virgil Trucks Signed Photo

I sent an email to my friend (and friend of the blog) Mr. Don McNair last week letting him know that Virgil Trucks had passed away.  Mr. McNair's father, Eric McNair, and Mr. Trucks played on the 1941 Tigers together and both had been members of the Philadelphia/Kansas City Athletics organization in their careers.  Mr. McNair (Don) had met Mr. Trucks during an Athletics Alumni luncheon a while back and conversed at times.  On one of those occasions, Mr. Trucks sent Mr. McNair a signed photo.  Well, when I mentioned to Mr. McNair that Mr. Trucks had passed, I made a comment about how I wanted to get a nice photo of him to put on my wall in my 'man cave.'  Mr. McNair responded and said "Don't buy one.  I have one, signed, that I will put in the mail to you!"  The photo arrived today.

I'm so lucky that I have been able to interact with some really nice folks during the life of this blog.  It makes the collecting experience that much more fun and rewarding.  I think, aside from Mr. Trucks, I have conversed with Mr. McNair the most about the hobby and the history of the game.  I really wish there were more folks like them so that the rich history of the game could be passed along so easily.

Thank you again for the photo, Mr. McNair, it is definitely in good hands!