Prior to his military service, Warren Spahn had little reason to believe he’d retire as the winningest left-handed pitcher in baseball history. In his rookie season with the Boston Braves in 1942, Spahn was only used in four games (two starts), yielding a discouraging 25 hits and 11 walks in 15 2/3 innings pitched. When duty called, Spahn hung up his spikes and spent three … [Read more...]
1957 Braves Spic and Span Set Has Milwaukee’s Champs
When the Braves relocated from Boston to Milwaukee in 1953, the state of Wisconsin welcomed the team with open arms and filled the seats at County Stadium, hoping for a National League pennant. That dream finally came true in 1957, as the Braves not only outdistanced the NL field for the flag, but also outlasted the New York Yankees in a seven-game World Series. That ’57 … [Read more...]
1947 Tip Top Set Was A Post-War Pioneer
Baseball fans hate players who loaf — unless those players were part of the 1947 Tip Top Bread card set. At 163 cards, this set was one of the largest to come out of the early post-World War II era — and in fact, it was one of the largest sets in many years. But that number is deceiving, because the ’47 Tip Top set actually was made up of a group of regional issues. The … [Read more...]
Johnston Cookies Braves Cards Had Three-Year Run
For three years from 1953 through 1955, Wisconsin-based Johnston Cookies produced Milwaukee Braves baseball cards with their product. Here's a special look at the string sets distributed by the manufacturer. Background While the Johnston Cookies cards were first printed in 1953, the company's roots began long before that. According to the Milwaukee County Historical Society, … [Read more...]
Topps’ Double-Zero Cards Of The 1960s Had Some Big Names
Coming up zeros is not always a good thing — unless you were collecting Topps baseball cards during the 1960s. Cards that ended in double zero tended to be big-name stars, and while that also was the case for many Topps cards that ended in 50 — or in a few cases, the pivotal No. 1 card — there was something alluring about pulling a “00” out of a nickel pack of Topps. From … [Read more...]
1964 Rawlings Premium Set an Attractive Challenge
They get very little attention, maybe because of their 8” x 9 ½” size, but collectors looking for a fun little challenge might consider the 1964 Rawlings Premium Photo set. Actually issued over a three-year span, the full bleed color cards were placed into each box that contained a Rawlings store model glove. Today, the Premiums are relatively inexpensive considering their … [Read more...]
Ramblings: Yogi Berra Rookie Card Was Only the Beginning
Part of me always thought Yogi Berra would live forever. He was a link back to the very first important post-War sets (1947 Tip Top and 1948 Bowman rookie card) to the modern era when you could usually find a few throwback cards in Topps issues. There always seemed to be accessible sets featuring Lawrence Peter Berra. Just think, if you were eight years old in 1948 and … [Read more...]
1948 Bowman Baseball Set Launched Post-War Card Market
After a flurry of colorful and interesting issues released just as the Great Depression began to lift in the late 1930s, baseball cards disappeared from the American landscape after 1941 thanks to the ravages and rations of World War II. Seven long years later, and nearly three full years after our troops came home, the 1948 Bowman baseball set gave the hobby a tentative … [Read more...]
5 Cool 1952 Topps Cards You Can Own for About $250
As a whole the set looks like one to avoid because of the cost in buying some of the scarce series or Hall of Famers (and when both are involved, look out) but it is possible to have a collection of 1952 Topps cards without spending a fortune. Toward that end, we came up with a list of five cool 1952 Topps baseball cards you can buy for a total of no more than $250 if you're a … [Read more...]
2011 Topps Tribute Pack Review
by Rich Klein 2011 Topps Tribute is the first of the high-end products released by the company. Originally issued in the years 2001-04 and then brought back into the fold as a Topps product in 2009, this has always been one of the most desired Topps products. The cards being thicker with the big hit in each pack has always made this a popular brand among higher-end … [Read more...]