A great find in Missouri and some rocket fuel for the modern baseball card market, courtesy of Jay Bruce.
Late last December, we came out with our first edition of the "coolest sports memorabilia finds of the year".
There are still seven months to go before we put 2008 into the history file, but I can tell you right now the discovery of an 1893 Zimmers Base Ball Game inside that big old house in suburban Kansas City is going to be on the list.
The news coverage we've found hasn't pinpointed when the game was located, but it clearly isn't something that's been on display for ages. The KMBC-TV story did indicate the top of the box was found fairly recently, completing a find that is beyond exciting.
The game is one of no more than a dozen which survive, most in rough shape thanks to the ravages of over 100 years that have passed since it was originally produced. The fact that one of them sat unnoticed for so long is incredible and this one looks like it was manufactured last week.
Read the story and watch the video on the home page if you care anything at all about baseball memorabilia.
More modern matters would include Topps announcing that Jay Bruce is the first Finest Rookie Redemption card in their 2008 set. Bruce's debut created a mini-frenzy for his cards. Bruce is also the first player unveiled by Upper Deck for the SPX Baseball mystery rookie redemption card (card #146 or RR1). Each SPX Baseball mystery rookie redemption card will be autographed.
Even if you're not a rookie card chaser, it's still kind of neat to see newcomers put a little spark into the nightly baseball coverage--and the card market.
Bruce joins fellow Reds super-rookie Johnny Cueto who was revealed as the #1 card in the set awhile back.
Allen & Ginter baseball will be out later this summer and will include the usual array of off-the-wall stuff. There will be autographed cards of Serena Williams, hot dog eating champ Joey Chestnut, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. Among the Relic cards: Big Foot Monster Truck tire, Mark Spitz's speedo and chips of game worn memorabilia from ARod and Albert Pujols. No word on whether the Chestnut card will include any contest-gnawed hot dog casings.
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