Your Favorite Cards of All Time?

[KCLJ520]

Hey friends,

In an effort to get some more dialogue going, I am interested to see what your favorite item(s) in your collection are? It would be fun to find out what cool things everyone has that are special, and most interestingly, WHY are these particular items special to you? What is the story behind the item? What significance does the player have to you?

My first items today are from my two childhood favorite ballplayers, Ryno and Awesome Dawson! I had both of these cards as a child, and recently acquired both of these in much nicer shape than my childhood collecting allowed!



These two are special because I remember so much about them growing up, everything that was written portrayed them very heroically on the field and in the community....and they both lived up to every bit of the hype!!

Let's get this rolling! You can post photos too if you want!

Blessings,

Kevin

 

[SymphonicMetal]

I have a lot of cards that my brother refers to as my Holy Grails since I always gravitate to them. An example of that is the 1967 Topps Tom Seaver RC which is extremely hard to find. If I were to pick out my favorite single card it would have to be the 1961 Fleer Jim Brown. I have no idea why I love this card so much but I do. It holds no nostalgic value to me since it was produced 4 years before I opened my first pack of cards. Buti it is my favorite all time athlete, Jim Brown and I guess the simplicity of the card is why I like it so much.

1961 Fleer #11 Jim Brown | Trading Card Database

I have always really liked the Paul Warfield RC which was obviously shot in a training camp setting. It is very bleak and simple and represents what football was like..............all business and no glitz and glamour. The card represents the grittiness and toughness of 60s and 70s football before it became a mega business. This is one of the very first cards I remember as I was opening packs soon after I turned 6 years old.

1965 Philadelphia #41 Paul Warfield | Trading Card Database

 

[KCLJ520]

I have a lot of cards that my brother refers to as my Holy Grails since I always gravitate to them. An example of that is the 1967 Topps Tom Seaver RC which is extremely hard to find. If I were to pick out my favorite single card it would have to be the 1961 Fleer Jim Brown. I have no idea why I love this card so much but I do. It holds no nostalgic value to me since it was produced 4 years before I opened my first pack of cards. Buti it is my favorite all time athlete, Jim Brown and I guess the simplicity of the card is why I like it so much.

1961 Fleer #11 Jim Brown | Trading Card Database

I have always really liked the Paul Warfield RC which was obviously shot in a training camp setting. It is very bleak and simple and represents what football was like..............all business and no glitz and glamour. The card represents the grittiness and toughness of 60s and 70s football before it became a mega business. This is one of the very first cards I remember as I was opening packs soon after I turned 6 years old.

1965 Philadelphia #41 Paul Warfield | Trading Card Database

@SymphonicMetal

AWESOME! Thanks for your great reply Jeff, and that is so cool to know that those are your favorites! Jim Brown was an amazing all-around athlete, and I feel like he doesnt get his due today, as many people remember him for leaving at the top of his game to act, rather than to truly realize what he accomplished in such a relatively short amount of time (9 seasons) in the NFL, retiring as all time leading rusher.

Career highlights and awards:
NFL champion (1964)
3× NFL Most Valuable Player (1957, 1958, 1965)
NFL Rookie of the Year (1957)
8× First-team All-Pro (1957–1961, 1963–1965)
Second-team All-Pro (1962)
9× Pro Bowl (1957–1965)
8× NFL rushing yards leader (1957–1961, 1963–1965)
5× NFL rushing touchdowns leader (1957–1959, 1963, 1965)
NFL scoring leader (1958)

As far as the Tom Seaver card, that is a holy grail!! Those sell for BIG money, and are very rare, awesome that you have one in your collection!



Your comment about the bleak, no frills nature of the Paul Warfield card reminds me of the old time hockey cards, thinking of the early days of the leagues just becoming popular in America, but before anyone started making any real big money from professional sports, they must have been pretty bleak days. Now, the league minimum salaries are way more than the stars made many times in the 50s and 60s!

Blessings,

Kevin

 

[criollos]

I don’t know why I love the look of these two cards.
1974 Topps Steve Garvey (maybe because of the out of focus background??)
1975 Record Breakers Tom Seaver (maybe because it captures that moment the pitcher and batter face off….it’s go time!)

 

[KCLJ520]

I don’t know why I love the look of these two cards.
1974 Topps Steve Garvey (maybe because of the out of focus background??)
1975 Record Breakers Tom Seaver (maybe because it captures that moment the pitcher and batter face off….it’s go time!)

@criollos

Luis, those are two REALLY cool cards, neither of which I have ever seen before! Thanks for sharing....the 74 Garvey was way ahead of its time in terms of the out of focus background, I dont know how photography was in those days, but I would say that would have been a hard effect to achieve with the equipment available at the time!

The 75 Tom Seaver is just awesome, Tom looked intimidating staring down off the mound! Your observation that it is the batter vs. pitcher duel is so cool! Reminds me of another favorite card of mine as a child, the 1990 Upper Deck Rick Reuschel, pitching to Greg Maddux of the Cubs (I think) .... pitcher vs. pitcher on this card!

 

[cornwellfamily]

My favorite cards are the first cards I opened with my sons. With my oldest son it was 1999 Upper Deck Century Legends where he got his first ever hit , a Eddie Mathews Epic auto.
My other cards I love are 2004 Donruss Classics where my youngest son git his first hit , a Lou Gehrig Jersey which he pronounced "Gerog" and was disappointed because it wasnt a Sandberg card

 

[KCLJ520]

My favorite cards are the first cards I opened with my sons. With my oldest son it was 1999 Upper Deck Century Legends where he got his first ever hit , a Eddie Mathews Epic auto.
My other cards I love are 2004 Donruss Classics where my youngest son git his first hit , a Lou Gehrig Jersey which he pronounced "Gerog" and was disappointed because it wasnt a Sandberg card

@cornwellfamily

GREAT stories my friend, what awesome memories. That is why I have continued to collect and be around this hobby for so long (almost 37 years now, since the Bears were hot in 1985!!), because of the memories of finding fun cards as a child. As far as your sons' hits, I am going to be honest, your youngest could probably trade that Lou "Gerog" card for a whole box of Ryne Sandbergs!! Too funny! Happy for you that your sons enjoy collecting, that is awesome. None of my 3 kids could care less about cards, but my nephew is obsessed, so its in the family somewhere!!

 

[bfd13]

My favorite card (or cards) would be the 1970 baseball set. That's the year I started collecting. We got to buy cards every time we went to the dentist that summer. I had some major dental issues, so buying those cards helped me get through some painful times. Some of my favorite cards out of the set are the Dan McGinn and Larry Burchart cards. I used to love to go to Ben Franklin and look through the hanger packs of cards to see who I could get.

 

[pinetarboys]

Bestest card ever….For the bestest athlete ever!!! LOL

Thanks Josh

 

[KCLJ520]

My favorite card (or cards) would be the 1970 baseball set. That's the year I started collecting. We got to buy cards every time we went to the dentist that summer. I had some major dental issues, so buying those cards helped me get through some painful times. Some of my favorite cards out of the set are the Dan McGinn and Larry Burchart cards. I used to love to go to Ben Franklin and look through the hanger packs of cards to see who I could get.

@bfd13

Those are awesome memories, of an awesome set! So cool that you associate your start in collecting (positive) as serving to get you through your dental work (not so fun). And here you are all these years later, still enjoying it!

1970 Topps were a cool set featuring amazing players, and made without psychedelic lettering or crazy borders, just straightforward baseball cards with good clean designs and lettering....sort of a throwback to an earlier era!


Here are a couple other HOF Heroes from the 1970 Topps:



Thanks for sharing your fond memories!!

Blessings,

Kevin

 

[KCLJ520]

Bestest card ever….For the bestest athlete ever!!! LOL

Thanks Josh

@pinetarboys

Josh, you are not kidding. Bo was a BEAST, just an amazing physical specimen who could do anything on the field.....multiple fields, really!

My brother in law is a Conservation Officer for the state of Illinois, and met and also had the chance opportunity to hunt with Bo south of the Chicago area. He had a blast with one of his childhood heroes, and said how friendly Bo is, and what a kind person he is all around. He even had Bo sign a card for me, also very thoughtful.

Blessings,

Kevin

 

[KCLJ520]

I have another memory to share today. My beloved Grandparents took me to my first ever baseball game on August 23rd, 1988: Cubs vs. Astros at Wrigley Field. Jamie Moyer pitched a 9 strikeout complete game, and we sat in the section right below the announcers' booth, so we saw Harry Caray multiple times, waving to him after the game as he left the booth too. I still remember "Cubs Win! Cubs Win!" like it was yesterday, and the experience of being able to go with my Grandparents was so special to me. They went frequently since Gramps was a news editor for the Chicago Tribune, and often ended up with free tickets at the Tribune Corporation, WGN, and the Cubs were all in business at that time.

Years later, Jamie Moyer was so kind as to sign his stadium giveaway rookie card for me (from a set my Grandparents got at the game and gave me in 1986), and also signed my game ticket stub, which I made into a custom. These are in the "Cubs Corner" of my display!


They are why I make it a point to take my kids (whoever wants to go!) to the ballpark every summer, God willing they go through life with the same special memories.

Blessings,

Kevin

 

[David K.]

My favorite player is the year that I started collecting.....1990....was Frank Thomas Leaf RC.. .However, in an interview with Beckett....he claims that it maDe look weak! Best regards, David

 

[KCLJ520]

My favorite player is the year that I started collecting.....1990....was Frank Thomas Leaf RC.. .However, in an interview with Beckett....he claims that it maDe look weak! Best regards, David

Hilarious! I have no idea how The Big Hurt could ever look weak! I saw him play many times in Chicago from the cheap seats and even from the top row, he still looked powerful!


My friends from SF came to the ballparks in Chgo in 1990 and brought me lots of cards, including this one!


He brought awesome baseball back to the White Sox!

 

[bblair_2002]

I can't decide between the 2:

ryanseaverrcs by Brett Blair, on Flickr

 

[SymphonicMetal]

I can't decide between the 2:

View attachment 77851ryanseaverrcs by Brett Blair, on Flickr

 

[SymphonicMetal]

Wow! Very nice! I'd go with the Seaver just based onit being a hard to find high # while the Ryan is a much easier to find low number. The Ryan is the more popular card but Seaver is considered the better pitcher. You can't go wrong either way.

I just remembered another of my Holy Grail cards. The 1967 Topps Brools Robinson which is another tough 1967 Topps high #.

It seems most of my Holy Grail cards would be from the Fall of 1965 (Football) through 1969 (both baseball and football) as well as some 1970s basketball with cards like the Gervin and Moses Malone RCs since I was such an ABA fan in Jr and Sr high school. I know the 1961 Fleer Jim Brown is outside of that time frame but most of my favorite cards would be in that mid/late 60s era.

 

[RFP15]

This is my favorite Nolan Ryan card. I pulled this from a blaster box from K-Mart on my birthday in 2001.

 

[David K.]

Hilarious! I have no idea how The Big Hurt could ever look weak! I saw him play many times in Chicago from the cheap seats and even from the top row, he still looked powerful!
View attachment 77848

My friends from SF came to the ballparks in Chgo in 1990 and brought me lots of cards, including this one!
View attachment 77849

He brought awesome baseball back to the White Sox!

Near the end of his playing days... he was picked up by the A's....and he was signing auto's at the Tri-Star production in San Franciso.... ....and I got his auto on a 1996 Pinnacle Big Bang refractor....I asked him to include THE BIG HURT...he could't.....trade mark laws? Best regards, David

 

[KCLJ520]

Wow! Very nice! I'd go with the Seaver just based onit being a hard to find high # while the Ryan is a much easier to find low number. The Ryan is the more popular card but Seaver is considered the better pitcher. You can't go wrong either way.

I just remembered another of my Holy Grail cards. The 1967 Topps Brools Robinson which is another tough 1967 Topps high #.

It seems most of my Holy Grail cards would be from the Fall of 1965 (Football) through 1969 (both baseball and football) as well as some 1970s basketball with cards like the Gervin and Moses Malone RCs since I was such an ABA fan in Jr and Sr high school. I know the 1961 Fleer Jim Brown is outside of that time frame but most of my favorite cards would be in that mid/late 60s era.

@SymphonicMetal

Jeff, that is so cool that you followed the ABA back in the day, that was some HIGH class basketball from some all time great players....Iceman, Dr. J, Moses....some real legends there!

Just a quick google search showed that this is an expensive card at the moment, hard to come by, like you said!!


As far as the Ryan vs. Seaver debate, you are right, one cant go wrong either way with those two players, or those two cards!!

This is my favorite Nolan Ryan card. I pulled this from a blaster box from K-Mart on my birthday in 2001.

@RFP15

What a birthday present!! Nolan is an all time great pitcher, just so dominant for so many years! Growing up in the 80s, he really was THE pitcher everyone didnt want to face!

Near the end of his playing days... he was picked up by the A's....and he was signing auto's at the Tri-Star production in San Franciso.... ....and I got his auto on a 1996 Pinnacle Big Bang refractor....I asked him to include THE BIG HURT...he could't.....trade mark laws? Best regards, David

@David K.

I did not know that, kind of surprising that he couldnt include that! I have been to signings where players are limited by their agents on what they can sign, what they can and can't inscribe, and even what color sharpies they can use, which is odd. Cool that you got to meet him just the same!

I can't decide between the 2:

View attachment 77851ryanseaverrcs by Brett Blair, on Flickr

@bblair_2002

Super nice cards! Both popular and go for a pretty penny on the market right now! Surprised both graded to a 6, they look much cleaner and sharper to me, nice stuff for sure!