The checklist is a short one. During his relatively short playing career, Jackie Robinson appeared on baseball cards for a very limited amount of time. While they're all very desirable and many represent key cards in some very popular vintage sets, high-grade Robinson cards bring robust interest whenever they're offered for auction. But which years … [Read more...]
5 Bobby Thomson Cards to Honor the ‘Shot Heard Round the World’
Unless you’re a real historian, you might not realize that Bobby Thomson hit game-winning homers off Ralph Branca in two games of the special 1951 National League playoff. It was Thomson’s two-run blast off Branca in Game 1 that gave the New York Giants a lead in the series. Of course, the one that’s been immortalized happened on October 3, 1951 when Thomson … [Read more...]
Duke Snider Cards Spanned Parts of 3 Decades
While Yankee fans loved Mickey and Giants fans thought Willie was the best, Duke Snider baseball cards are what Dodger fans wanted in the golden era of 1950s New York baseball. In Brooklyn, he was known simply as the Duke, or the Duke of Flatbush. Edwin Donald “Duke” Snider was a mainstay for the Dodgers, a power-hitting center fielder who helped the franchise win five … [Read more...]
1949 Bowman Baseball Set Was a Bold Move
Bowman Gum Company dipped its toe in the water in 1948. A year later, they did a cannonball off the deep end diving board. A 48-card black and white introduction three summers after the end of World War II gave way to a 240-card, living chronicle of Major League Baseball. The 1949 Bowman Baseball set may have been missing Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio, but it put Bowman in … [Read more...]
Old Baseball Card Backs Sometimes Reveal Uncommon Courage
I was recently working on a project where we were discussing the incredible text detail on 1950 Bowman football cards. We looked at one player and discovered that 1) he had a brother playing professional baseball 2) he was going to graduate school and 3) he was also a former Marine. So many vintage sports cards really have a lot of tremendous information, much of it which … [Read more...]