Saturday, July 09, 2011

1968...A Year Of Turmoil And Ugly Cards

1968 Topps is probably my least favorite set of the '60s. The wood grain borders just don't do it for me. That and they are inconsistent; they look different from card to card. One cannot however complete a run of vintage Topps team sets without also collecting the "inferior" sets. So without further ado, here are three new pickups.


1968 Topps #497 Cardinals Team Card. I have already admitted that team cards don't do it for me, so combine that with an inferior set and you get...a card I actually like. Yes, I actually like the look of this card. Maybe it's because this features the 1967 Championship team.


1968 Topps #378 Bob Gibson A.S. - Of course 1968 was the year that Robert established the modern record with a 1.12 ERA. He lead the league with 13 shutouts. Simply dominant.


1968 Topps #372 Lou Brock AS - In 1968 Brock led the league with 46 doubles, 14 triples, and 62 stolen bases. The ultimate table setter.

Thursday, July 07, 2011

The Joy Of An Under Graded Card

I've seen a lot of over graded cards in the past and I've also seen some under graded ones. This one has to qualify as the latter.


Two 8's a 7 and a 3 equal 4.5? I'm thinking a 5.5 on this one. Beckett is not my first grading choice and they are notoriously tough, but I couldn't pass this one up. I need not post the credentials of Mr. Mays and Mr. Snider. Any baseball fan should know about their greatness already.

Sunday, July 03, 2011

Post Card Show Pickups

I almost forgot to feature a couple of '67s that I picked up after the "card show" last week. I got them at my LCS. The owner allows me to keep a stack of vintage behind the counter and purchase what I can, when I can. It also makes it easy on him if my wife or other member of the family comes in looking for a gift. It sure beats dropping $20 on modern packs. Anyway, here they are:


1967 Topps Cardinals Team Card #173 - I'm not big on team cards, I admit it. Not enough detail for me. However one must have the team card to have a team set, so here it is. The Cardinals of course won the World Series in 1967 spurred on by the acquisition of Orlando Cepeda and Roger Maris during 1966.


1967 Topps Dave Ricketts #589 - Dave played six total seasons, five of those with the Cardinals. He was a backup catcher to Tim McCarver and a pinch hitter. He had one home run and 20 RBI's over his career. Interesting to note that 14 of those RBI's came in 1967. It's always nice when you can add a high number to your collection in this nice of shape. They get a little pricey; this one has a BV of $15.