You never know when or where you will meet someone who will change your life forever. It’s often a chance encounter that rewrites the course of history—a reminder to us that any new friendship is worth nurturing. For Johnny Bench, it was a man named Alan Horwitz who he had met at a hypnotist show in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1967 while he was a young catcher for the Reds … [Read more...]
Johnny Bench Memorabilia Brings Nearly $2 Million at Louisville Slugger Auction
Johnny Bench was money in the bank during his Hall of Fame baseball career with the Cincinnati Reds. And the items from Bench’s personal collection that were part of the 17th Annual Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory Live Auction, hosted by Hunt Auctions, banked some large figures. The auction ended Saturday and racked up nearly $2 million in sales from Bench’s … [Read more...]
Memorable Road Trip: Georgia Card Shop Employee Snares Acuna’s 1st Home Run Ball
Luckily for Joe Webster, there isn't a lot of demand for Cincinnati Reds tickets these days, especially not in the outfield. The Atlanta area college student was so excited about Ronald Acuna's promotion to the Braves roster that he drove all night to Ohio and got himself a prime seat to watch the 19-year-old phenom play. He had the day off from his part-time job at … [Read more...]
Notes: Tribune Hobby Story; PSA’s New Show; Astros Rings; Reds Museum Highlights Uniforms
Some publicity for the hobby courtesy of one of the nation’s top newspapers. The story by Chicago Tribune reporter Alex Parker was fairly extensive, covering the changing landscape of baseball cards, the effort to keep kids interested, the big money aspect of vintage icons and more. You can read it here. PSA has launched a new online hobby video segment. The … [Read more...]
SCP Auctions Offering 1919 World Series Press Pin
The 1919 World Series was infamous because of the Black Sox scandal, where eight members of Chicago’s American League baseball team conspired to throw the postseason series. It's ingrained in pop culture. There’s the immortal quote — real or made up — by the boy pleading with “Shoeless” Joe Jackson at the courthouse steps, “Say it ain’t so, Joe,” which was later preserved on … [Read more...]
Kahn’s Baseball Cards Had A 15-Year Run
For 15 years, fans who loved hot dogs and baseball had a chance to collect an annual set of trading cards. Based in Cincinnati, Kahn's baseball card sets started with only Reds players but the company later expanded its checklists to include players from teams in areas where its products were sold. Here's an overview of the history of the Kahn's issues. Kahn's … [Read more...]
Ramblings: Few 70s Teams Resonate More Than Big Red Machine
At a recent card show where I’d taken a table, a customer purchased some vintage Cincinnati Reds cards and explained his passion for cards of guys who played for the Big Red Machine teams of the 1970s. After I thanked him for his payment, the thought occurred to me that the Reds have to be the most beloved and collected team of that era. Out of the five teams which won the … [Read more...]
Cincinnati Reds Museum Worth The Trip
It was pretty quiet around Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati Sunday. But that just might be the best way to experience what has to be one of the best team museums in North America. The Reds Hall of Fame and Museum is located on the immaculate grounds of the stadium and having the chance to see all of the exhibits and watch the videos without fighting a game day crowd … [Read more...]
1919 World Series Pin Shines Light on Daubert
While much of the focus on the 1919 World Series surrounds the Chicago White Sox and gambling conspiracies, the Cincinnati Reds organization touts its title with enthusiasm. The recent consignment of a 1919 World Series pin--forerunner to the World Series ring--is lobbing a little more love at the team that history kind of forgot. As we revealed last month, Robert Edward … [Read more...]
Reds Will Honor Rose; Autograph Market Still Down
Pete Rose passed Ty Cobb for the all-time hits record nearly 25 years ago. He probably passed Babe Ruth and Bob Feller for most autographs by a Hall of Famer a long time ago. Rose has spent a good chunk of his post-retirement years signing for pay. That, combined with some fans' distaste for his legal troubles and baseball ban, has kept the value of his autograph … [Read more...]