Let me set the stage a little.
When I first was introduced to baseball cards in 1977-78, the times were a little simpler. Topps was the only game in town and finding cards was not as easy. Grocery stores had packs and that occasional card store was always too far away and was reserved for special trips. When I got a little older, I discovered a shop in Seattle that I could get to by myself, or at least with friends. Again, times were a little different back then and I was allowed to ride the Washington State Ferry across Puget Sound and walk to the Pike Place Market. In the market was a comic shop called Golden Age Collectibles (http://www.goldenagecollectables.com/).
Now I was never a big fan of comics, but this store had baseball cards too. Not a bunch, just a small corner of the store, but there I soon discovered older cards that what I could get in the grocery stores. 1950s cards welcomed me and I soon began discovering more about the history of baseball through these cards.
My favorite instantly was 1956 Topps. It was just something about those large portraits with that cool painted action shot and the 2 colored bars in the corder with player and team name. Golden had stacks of these cards, usually selling for $2-3 each. There were no Mantles or Aarons, but you could find a Dusty Rhodes or a Dave Pope or a Gene Baker card. I used to flip the cards over and look for key stats to see if the player was decent. 33 HRs, I'll take it!! 106 RBIs, that guy is pretty good too. 22 Wins, all right! So on and so forth. After a while, I began to discover mail order, other shops and the baseball card hobby began to boom. Deals like these became a thing of the ***** as investors were buying up everything!
Fast forward to today. I walk into DJs Sportscards (http://www.djssportscards.com/) and while browsing the random stacks and piles of good old stuff, I see a box of 1956 Topps cards, just like I used to buy when I was a kid. These were marked $1.49 each, but as you bought more, the price went down until they were 99 cents (50+)! Now they were considered off grade, but still very presentable. There were a number of creased cards, but many were just well loved. Somewhat rounded corners and some surface issues on many, but all and all a very decent condition, especially for a buck.
In the end, I had 63 cards set aside. Most were clean and crease free or had very minor surface wrinkles. Mainly they were just soft corners and maybe VG+/EX-. Most of these players were good ballplayers, many who had AS years. A few I got because I didn't have them or they looked cool, but mostly I pulled names I knew. Final price, $50!
Please note. These are not for trade or sale.
The list:
Bobby Avila
Gus Bell
Joe Black
Ken Boyer
Harry Breecheen
Rocky Bridges
Andy Carey
Walker Cooper
Del Crandall
Alvin Dark (x2)
Dee Fondy
Ruben Gomez
Marv Grissom
Warren Hacker
Granny Hamner
Jim Hegan
Don Hoak
Art Houtteman
Dixie Howell
Spook Jacobs
Willie Jones
Frank Kellert
Alex Kellner
Harvey Kuenn
Frank Lary
Whitey Lockman
Johnny Logan
Sherm Lollar
Dale Long
Roy McMillan
Frank Malzone
Jack Meyer
Eddie Miksis
Willie Miranda
Bobby Morgan
Don Mueller
Joe Nuxhall
Camilo Pascual
Jim Piersall
Billy Pierce
Bud Podbielan
Howie Pollet
Wally Post
Pedro Ramos
Eddie Robinson
Jose Santiago
Roy Sievers
Al Silvera
Harry Simpson
Bob Skinner
Al Smith
Chuck Tanner
Johnny Temple
Wayne Terwilliger
Frank Thomas
Hank Thompson
Virgil Trucks
Elmer Valo
Vic Wertz
Sammy White
Gene Woodling
Eddie Yost
When I first was introduced to baseball cards in 1977-78, the times were a little simpler. Topps was the only game in town and finding cards was not as easy. Grocery stores had packs and that occasional card store was always too far away and was reserved for special trips. When I got a little older, I discovered a shop in Seattle that I could get to by myself, or at least with friends. Again, times were a little different back then and I was allowed to ride the Washington State Ferry across Puget Sound and walk to the Pike Place Market. In the market was a comic shop called Golden Age Collectibles (http://www.goldenagecollectables.com/).
Now I was never a big fan of comics, but this store had baseball cards too. Not a bunch, just a small corner of the store, but there I soon discovered older cards that what I could get in the grocery stores. 1950s cards welcomed me and I soon began discovering more about the history of baseball through these cards.
My favorite instantly was 1956 Topps. It was just something about those large portraits with that cool painted action shot and the 2 colored bars in the corder with player and team name. Golden had stacks of these cards, usually selling for $2-3 each. There were no Mantles or Aarons, but you could find a Dusty Rhodes or a Dave Pope or a Gene Baker card. I used to flip the cards over and look for key stats to see if the player was decent. 33 HRs, I'll take it!! 106 RBIs, that guy is pretty good too. 22 Wins, all right! So on and so forth. After a while, I began to discover mail order, other shops and the baseball card hobby began to boom. Deals like these became a thing of the ***** as investors were buying up everything!
Fast forward to today. I walk into DJs Sportscards (http://www.djssportscards.com/) and while browsing the random stacks and piles of good old stuff, I see a box of 1956 Topps cards, just like I used to buy when I was a kid. These were marked $1.49 each, but as you bought more, the price went down until they were 99 cents (50+)! Now they were considered off grade, but still very presentable. There were a number of creased cards, but many were just well loved. Somewhat rounded corners and some surface issues on many, but all and all a very decent condition, especially for a buck.
In the end, I had 63 cards set aside. Most were clean and crease free or had very minor surface wrinkles. Mainly they were just soft corners and maybe VG+/EX-. Most of these players were good ballplayers, many who had AS years. A few I got because I didn't have them or they looked cool, but mostly I pulled names I knew. Final price, $50!
Please note. These are not for trade or sale.
The list:
Bobby Avila
Gus Bell
Joe Black
Ken Boyer
Harry Breecheen
Rocky Bridges
Andy Carey
Walker Cooper
Del Crandall
Alvin Dark (x2)
Dee Fondy
Ruben Gomez
Marv Grissom
Warren Hacker
Granny Hamner
Jim Hegan
Don Hoak
Art Houtteman
Dixie Howell
Spook Jacobs
Willie Jones
Frank Kellert
Alex Kellner
Harvey Kuenn
Frank Lary
Whitey Lockman
Johnny Logan
Sherm Lollar
Dale Long
Roy McMillan
Frank Malzone
Jack Meyer
Eddie Miksis
Willie Miranda
Bobby Morgan
Don Mueller
Joe Nuxhall
Camilo Pascual
Jim Piersall
Billy Pierce
Bud Podbielan
Howie Pollet
Wally Post
Pedro Ramos
Eddie Robinson
Jose Santiago
Roy Sievers
Al Silvera
Harry Simpson
Bob Skinner
Al Smith
Chuck Tanner
Johnny Temple
Wayne Terwilliger
Frank Thomas
Hank Thompson
Virgil Trucks
Elmer Valo
Vic Wertz
Sammy White
Gene Woodling
Eddie Yost
