Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Tony Oliva

My buddy, Drake, hooked me up big time when he was able to get a baseball signed first me at Spring Training by Hall of Famer, Tony Oliva.

Drake was pretty sure he would see Oliva, so he took an OMLB ball from me to try to add Oliva to the collection.

Oliva ended up swapping out my ball for a Spring Training logo ball; Drake was upset thinking I'd be mad about the switch.  I'm actually really happy about it, because I didn't have a Spring Training ball in the collection.  Crisis averted.

Oliva (b. 1938) played in the majors from 1962 to 1976 for the Twins.  He had 1,917 hits, 220 home runs and a .304 batting average.  He was the AL batting champ in 1964, 1965 and 1971.  He hit over .300 in 7 seasons.  He was an All Star 8 times (1964 to 1971).  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2022 when he was selected by the Veterans Committee.  Oliva is my 169th Hall of Famer on a baseball.

Trade With Roger of Sports Card Mask-A-Rade

I completed a trade with Roger of the blog Sports Card Mask-A-Rade when I sent him my Mike Olt Museum Collection auto and some Museum Collection base cards for two 1969 Topps cards I needed for my set, which included the above Tony Oliva All Star.

I got 19 emerald parallels that I needed for that set.  I'm really glad to get these because this set has really slowed down.  I want to move it along before we get too far removed from the 2013 set.  I really don't want it lasting as long as my 2009 Brooks Robinson pursuit has gone.

Roger also included 3 2013 Topps Chrome cards for that set as well, so that one is winding down and should be completed very soon.

Thanks for the trade, Roger.  I hope you all will check out his blog and hit him up for some trade action!

Playing Catch-Up - Vintage Card Show Pickups

So, I still had a few cards that I wanted to show from 2 card shows ago; a few beat up old vintage cards that I thought looked cool...

I saw this Marty Marion and picked it up because I wanted to have a card that went with the TTM success I got of him a few months before he passed away. I like the old Browns cards and I also really like the 1952 Bowman set. I have a friend who wants to sell me some, so I need to get some money together so I can relieve him of them and maybe start considering putting that set together.
I got another 1952 Bowman, this time it was of Eddie Joost. I wasn't as lucky trying him for TTM. I got a return to sender and he died maybe a week later. I like the navy blue A's colors here, a far cry from today's green and yellow.

Here is a 1951 Bowman Joost as well. I really like the A's colors on this one. I love the old bowman cards and how they are pretty much works of art. Anyone can look at the 1953 Pee Wee Reese and agree with me.


Finally, I got this 1964 Topps Tony Oliva RC for $2.00 from the same vendor. Oliva was a solid major leaguer. I doubt he ever gets into the HOF, but he was solid nonetheless. I love the 1964 set and will definitely try to put that one together sooner than later.