A crown jewel for my TTM collection and a bunch of TTM vintage

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montserratplay

Veteran
439
5.00 star(s)
Joined
Oct 26, 2010
Messages
1,137
Location
Oswego NY
I received the following:

1951 Neil Berry Bowman 213

One of the awesome traders here recently offered me a 1951 Neil Berry. (One of the many reasons I love this place!) I quickly researched and wrote my letter and received this card back in very short order. I LOVE the picture/drawing of Mr. Berry in Briggs Stadium and the card itself is in gently loved condition, which is how I love vintage. It's great to think about the person who opened up the pack and what the card has done since 1951. (I move around too much and make too little money to care about gem mint 10.) Thanks, Mike!

Mr. Berry is a Michigan native and debuted for my Bengals in 1948! He also played for the Browns, White Sox and Orioles. Can you believe that Mr. Berry was on the field when Eddie Gaedel took his one at-bat? (He played shortstop that day!) He hit .333 against Billy Pierce (insanely underrated) and Satchel Paige.

My letters are always effusive, but I hope that Mr. Berry appreciates how awesome it is for someone like me to have that kind of connection to Tiger history. Not only is the card itself a connection, but the extremely strong auto.

1972 Ray Corbin Topps 66 Twins
1973 Ray Corbin Topps 411 Twins

Ray Corbin played pro ball for a decade, half of it in the majors and all of it in the Twins' system. From 1971 to 1975, he started and pitched out of the bullpen. It seems to me that 1972 and 1973 were his best years. In the former, he pitched 3 shutouts: something special today. In the latter, he had 14 saves. In all, he represented 2.8 WAR during his career and really knew how to handle Brooks Robinson, Lou Piniella and George Brett.

1967 Ken Henderson Topps 383 Giants
1971 Ken Henderson Topps 155 Giants

I do like players named Ken. This particular Ken got to play with Willie Mays and Sparky Anderson. (Can you imagine sharing a clubhouse with Bench, Geronimo, Concepcion, Morgan, Seaver, Rose, Foster and Griffey?) In 1974, while with the White Sox, Henderson played in every game and earned MVP consideration. In fact, his 16-year career ranks him around the 1000th-best hitter of all time. (1168 H, .257 BA, 122 HR, 576 RBI.) Henderson had great success against great hurlers like Milt Pappas and Bill Lee.

1960 Irv Noren Topps 433 Cubs
1958 Irv Noren Topps 114 Cardinals

Irv Noren is also a witness to some special baseball history. As a part of the 1950s Yankee teams, he got to see Mickey Mantle as a kid and make some contributions of his own. In fact, he played in the 1954 All-Star Game. Noren started with the Senators, but made the circuit. Halfway through his career, he moved to the NL, playing for the Cardinals, Cubs and Dodgers.
 
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