Does the World Series Mean It's all about over?

It's always sad when the baseball season is about to come to an end, but kids like me who never grew up realized a long time ago that the season never ends when you collect baseball cards.

No telling what I have on my auctions

My First Exposure to Baseball Card Collecting

In my garage when I was a kid was this wooden toy truck my grandfather (a really handy guy!) made for my brothers and sisters and me. It was about 4 feet long and 1.5 feet high, and the back lifted up so as to "dump" stuff out of it. (Really, it was so big, we kids could ride in the back!)

Anyhow, one hot summer day, I was playing in there and found in the back of the truck a couple 1970 Topps baseball cards which I suppose my older brother must have bought and stored there in the truck. The only card I recall specifically was a nondescript portrait card of Chicago Cubs outfielder Al Spangler, who had had a few fair years earlier in his career w/ the old Houston Colt 45s. (See old pal Al's stellar career stats here.) Oh, some dudes have it up in their ebay stores here.

Well, I admired that nothing card, turned it over and found the blurb and stats on the back, and I was hooked. I went to the 7/11 and bought my first cards. The cards had been in that toy truck for a while, so the first cards I bought were now the 1971 Topps baseball cards w/ the tough black borders. I was off and running!

Favorite Sports Cards

Most dignified football card

My choice for most dignified-looking card would have to be the 1971 Topps Errol Mann. Now, as a kicker, good old Errol never scored a touchdown; but if he did, just by looking at this card you can tell he would never have done an annoying endzone dance or showboated at all after his touchdown, like all those guys do today, as if it were their first time ever to score; Errol would have calmly, and with great dignity, merely handed the ball to the ref. Go, Errol! It's never too late to make a comeback & join that 1000-point club - you are so close!

Dazzling homepage

The Naughtiest Baseball Card of All Time?

What's the naughtiest baseball card of all time? My choice would have to be the 1972 Topps Billy Martin card, in which Billy is casually shooting the finger as he grips the knob of the bat.

I'm sure he's not intending that finger for you and me because, by the look on his face and in his eyes, he had probably worked up a big-time irritation for the photographer, just like he did way back when with his own pitcher Dave Boswell ... or with Reggie Jackson ... or with Jim Brewer ... or with Clint Courtney, just to name four guys he tusselled with.

See the card here.

Are you aware of any other naughty cards? Leave a comment below.

Homebase

Old Baseball Card Nightmare #2

It was at an old-timers game in the mid-1970's at Arlington Stadium, then home of the hapless Texas Rangers. The old-timer teams were to be the old St. Louis Cardinals VS. old American League stars.

Before the game, many of the old-timers signed autographs. My family were seated some rows behind the first base dugout, so I had a good chance to get some signatures because guys were signing just below us.

I had seen a roster in the newspaper of the players who would be involved, so I had had the foresight to bring along some of my best cards, and had crammed them in a rigid plastic container.

Oh, there's Stan Musial! I hurried down to where Stan stood signing, lots of kids reaching over the rail to him w/ their programs, etc. I reached into my plastic container & pulled out my boffo 1953 Bowman color card of Stan & eagerly held it out to him.

Reaching past my card to snag some other kid's lousy 3x5 index card to sign, Stan wrecked my card with a clumsy elbow, leaving a permanent wrinkle. "CURSES!," I thought, as I reeled back my arm and examined the card . . . which never got signed; nor was Stan ever aware of what he had so carelessly done.

Well, the evening wasn't a total loss. Though I got none of my cards signed, for I was then shy of exposing any more of them to clumsy baseballers, I got many signatures on my program of old Cardinals & ALers. Also, Billy Martin, who may have been managing the Rangers at the time, took ground balls at second base and would, with tremendous coordination for a man his age, skim his glove up in the air and knock down line drives that were out of his reach, which I thought was quite cool.

Anyhow, I don't hold any real, nagging grudge against Stan the Man; but I will say he sure had a funny way of wagging his rear end when he was at bat . . .

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