The Polo Grounds will come alive again through an upcoming exhibition located in the shadows of where the extinct sports venue once stood in New York City. “Home Plate: A Celebration of the Polo Grounds” will open at the Morris-Jumel Mansion on August 22 and run through January 5, featuring memorabilia from moments associated with the historic stadium. The … [Read more...]
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1952 Star-Cal Decals Set Featured Stars and Two Types
The 1952 Star-Cal Decals set is one of the more interesting 1950s issues. While the Topps and Bowman sets get most of the attention from collectors, this unique set has its own great lineup of stars and is significantly tougher to find. 1952 Star-Cal Decals Basics The 1952 Star-Cal Decals set was produced by the Meyercord Company, which was based in Chicago, as is printed on … [Read more...]
Lifelong Mays Collector’s Amazing Journey Ends with Sale
On the baseball field, Willie Mays could do it all. In the baseball collectibles field, a California resident had them all. A collector in his late 60s just struck a deal to sell what is likely the ultimate collection of Willie Mays cards and memorabilia. This collector – a financial planner who prefers to be known only by the name, "Mac" – passionately and aggressively … [Read more...]
Photo of the Day: Willie Mays Image from 1952 Topps Card at Auction
It doesn’t get the attention—or the price—of Mickey Mantle’s iconic card from the same set but who wouldn’t want to own the first Topps card of Willie Mays? Like Mantle, Mays was at the dawn of a Hall of Fame career and his appearance in the most popular of all post-War sets is just another element to its stature. Now, RMY Auctions is giving collectors something … [Read more...]
“Shows Good Breeding”; Branch Rickey’s Scouting Reports Digitized, Online
Baseball scouting reports of one of the most famous baseball executives and scouts in history, Branch Rickey, who was also responsible for helping Jackie Robinson successfully break Major League Baseball’s color line, have been digitized and are now available online for the first time from the Library of Congress. The archive was digitized in time for Major League Baseball’s … [Read more...]
1969 Topps Supers a Rare Test Issue
Topps has some excellent regular issues in the 1960s. One overlooked set, though, is the 1969 Topps Supers test issue. The cards are not only appealing, but much more difficult to find than the standard Topps issues from that time period. 1969 Topps Supers Basics The 1969 Topps Supers are a drastic change from the company's regular issue produced that year. The 1969 Topps … [Read more...]
1960 Topps Tattoos Among Company’s Quirkier Sets
When most collectors think of Topps, their mind generally goes to baseball cards. But the company produced a wide variety of non-card issues and the 1960 Topps Tattoos release was a unique collectible. Tattoos? Yup...well, sort of. There was no artist needed, no painful procedures--and any regrets could be quickly washed away. Here's a bit more on this oddball … [Read more...]
Photo of the Day: Alfred Eisenstaedt Snaps Willie Mays in 1954
After making his major league debut in 1951, duty called for Willie Mays. He missed much of the 1952 season and all of ’53 in military service, although much of his time in the Army was spent playing ball. When he returned in ’54, the New York Giants center fielder not only didn’t miss a beat, he became baseball’s best player and began drawing attention from major … [Read more...]
Does This Photo Look Familiar?
It had been a whirlwind for Willie Mays as the calendar pushed toward Memorial Day, 1951. His young baseball career had gotten off to a great start in the minor leagues and on May 23, he was at a movie theater when an on-screen message summoned him to call his hotel: The New York Giants were looking for him. A day later, the kid from Alabama was in the big … [Read more...]
Bazooka Changed Things Up In 1964 Release
The 1964 Bazooka set marked the sixth consecutive set of baseball cards produced by the chewing gum company. But while much about it remained the same from past issues, much changed as well. 1964 Bazooka Baseball Basics For the second straight year, the individual blank-backed cards measured a smaller size from the earlier issues. 1964's edition measured approximately 1 … [Read more...]
