50s Topps, A HOF Rookie, & More Vintage; 2019 National Recap Part #2

Moving right along with my series of recap posts from the 2019 National, I have a haul of vintage pickups for both the teams and the players that I collect ready to go today.

While I mentioned that the cards featured in yesterday's post were a part of my only player collection oriented purchase, I still grabbed other cards for my PCs across my 2 1/2 days at the show. 

However, my Dad and I's mission was to go after cards that I couldn't necessarily find back home. A perfect example of this is the card at the top of this post; Nolan Ryan's 1971 Topps card which my Dad tracked down.

Buying vintage cards was one of our main objectives for this year's show just as it was at the 2018 National in Cleveland. We both understand that cards from the 50s and 60s aren't going to be readily available forever, especially at the bargain prices that we often see them going for.

In addition to filling in cards from the 1961 and 1976 Topps sets throughout our time in Chicago, we made multiple vintage card purchases while at the show that, ultimately, added up into an impressive haul, consisting of cards from the early 1950s, 3Ds from the 70s, and even a HOF rookie.

I'll showcase some of the other 1970 Kellogg's 3D cards that we picked up later in the week, but, for now, I'll start with the 4 players above, all of whom I collect. Another project of my Dad's, he has always been fond of 3D cards, particularly the Kellogg's brand. 

Whether they're for our 3D binders or player collections, Kellogg's cards are often on his radar when we attend larger Baseball card shows. This time, he assembled a group of 70s Kellogg's cards, including one of Joe Morgan from his early seasons with the Houston Astros. The headshot and the sky background easily makes Morgan's card my favorite of the lot.

Though Morgan's card happens to be my favorite, that doesn't discount the fact that my Dad found a new card for our Ron Santo player collection, something that certainly doesn't happen every day. 

Although he's a 9-time All-Star and a 5-time Gold Glove award winner, Santo is one of the most underappreciated and underrepresented players in Baseball history. He wasn't inducted into the Hall of Fame until after he passed away in 2010, and his most recent Baseball card (excluding fancy hits), according to COMC, is an insert card from 2016 Topps.

I urge Topps to feature Santo in sets like Allen & Ginter and Archives to give this Baseball legend the respect he deserves. However, if I can't have my wish, at least I have his awesome '70 Kellogg's card.

As focused as I often am on boosting my 250 player collections, my Dad is quite the opposite. He has no qualms about buying cards of non-PC guys so long as there are some parameters to what he purchases. 

Though I likely wouldn't have chosen these cards myself, I'm pleased that he ended up buying some vintage Red Sox and Cubs cards from the 1950s. As many Cubs and Red Sox cards as I have, my collection is somewhat limited as far as the early and mid-1950s are concerned (i.e. anything before 1957).

In fact, I didn't even have a single Topps card from 1952 or 1953 going into The National this year. Thankfully, I was able to make some progress with the absence of those 2 sets.

Though we never got our hands on a '53 Topps card, we finally landed our first ever 1952 Topps base card, and the player of choice is Red Sox catcher Gus Niarhos. I also added another '52 Bowman Red Sox card to my collection (Vern Stephens) to go with my other one (Clyde Vollmer).

Even though the players on and the condition of these cards aren't the greatest, that's not a significant concern of mine when it comes to cards from as far back as 1952. 

Frankly, I'm just pleased to have these in my collection in the first place, for I would have difficulty tracking these cards down at the shows I attend.

Now that I have all the photos scanned for this post, I realize that most of the cards shown were ones that my Dad picked up. However, there is a handful that I chose myself, including the 2 1977 Topps cloth cards above which will fit nicely in the Willie Stargell and Lou Brock PCs.

These cards, along with Hostess and Kellogg's sets, are my personal favorite oddballs from the 1970s. Lou Brock's card, in particular, with the powder blue uniform and funky hat, is definitely a standout. 

I'm sure there's a more technical name for these that I'm forgetting, but, for now, I'll simply refer to them as cloth cards.

Out of all the things that make vintage Baseball cards so phenomenal, my Dad and I, collectively, love the various combo cards the most. Whether it's Mays and McCovey's Fence Busters card or Mantle and Mays' Manager's Dream, combo cards were extremely prominent, particularly throughout the 1960s.

I suppose our collective appreciation of combo cards is what led my Dad to grab a whole bunch of them when he had the opportunity to do so. Most of these cards feature just 1 player that I collect, but the Pride of the NL includes 2 (Mays and Musial). 

After deliberating it for a while, I decided to add this card to the Willie Mays PC for no particular reason other than I haven't bought a card of his in a while.

As pleased as I am with my Dad's choices for vintage cards, specifically the oddballs, I'm especially proud of the vintage cards that I was able to grab for bargain prices. 

Starting off with my final purchase of the show, this gorgeous 1955 Topps Monte Irvin card which ended up being one of the biggest bargains of the entire convention at just $5. 

Though 1955 Topps isn't one of my favorite sets of the decade, Irvin's card is pretty close to perfect, from the blue background to the action shot on the left.

As I mentioned, this card was my very last purchase of the entire show. Earlier on, however, I seized the opportunity and grabbed another of Irvin's Topps cards.

Although the surface leaves something to be desired, Irvin's 1954 Topps card is another fantastic pickup, and I couldn't be more pleased to add it to my collection. Thanks to these 2 cards, I've built up a nice vintage Irvin collection, and I definitely see myself adding to it when presented with the opportunity.

I'm equally glad to have both of these vintage cards in my possession, but there's something about the '54 card that's more organized and refined than the '55 Topps alternative. I don't have strong opinions about either set, but I do have positive opinions on each of these 2 cards.

Despite how fabulous the 2 vintage Irvin cards are, I couldn't think of a better vintage pickup than this 1966 Topps Jim Palmer rookie in terms of bargain vintage cards. 

For less than half the cost of a blaster box, I added this sought after rookie of one of the greatest pitchers of all-time to my collection. Now that's what I call a steal.

At a Baseball card show last year, I purchased a redemption card for a Jim Palmer autograph in which he signed a reprint of his iconic '66 rookie card. Now, roughly 1 year later, it's all come full circle, and I have this treasured card in hand. 

Top 5 Baltimore Orioles Autos/Relics

The Baltimore Orioles are one team on a short list of clubs that I'm willing to write one of these top 5 auto/relic card posts for. 

Along with previous subjects like the Red Sox, Cubs, Cardinals, and Athletics, I have a fair share of Orioles relics and autograph cards, making it a lot easier for me to formulate a strong list of 5 standout cards.

I've only pulled 1 or 2 Baltimore Orioles hits from packs myself, meaning that most of the Orioles relics and autographs in my collection were purchased by either myself or my Dad. 

Nevertheless, this revelation makes sense, for I vividly remember my Dad returning home from a Baseball card show a few years ago with a ton of HOF relic cards that he found for incredibly low prices, including a large stack of Brooks Robinson cards.

Although relic cards aren't as popular as they once were, I enjoy picking up relatively inexpensive jersey and bat cards at the show. As far as collecting hits are concerned, I'm not fussy over whose cards I collect. 

Truth be told, I care more about the price of the card and the set design than I do about the actual player. By purchasing less expensive relics or even some autos at the Baseball card show, I've been able to boost my hits collection, allowing me to write posts like this for several different teams.

Every time I write a top 5 cards post, for either a player or a team, I always try to feature a wide range of different cards, even though I'm only showcasing 5. This time around, however, I unintentionally chose cards of just 2 different players; Brooks Robinson and Jim Palmer.

While I'm not too keen on featuring cards of just 2 players, the 5 that I selected are truly the greatest Orioles relic cards and autographs in my collection. Beginning with a Brooks bat relic from 2004, here are my top 5 Baltimore Orioles autos/relics.

#5 2004 Topps Tribute Hall of Fame Tribute Relic

There were a couple of Orioles relic cards that, based on set design alone, I preferred to the one shown above. However, the thing that I appreciate most about the '04 Topps Tribute HOF card above is the sizeable bat relic that Topps included.

Arguably, a smaller bat relic would've gelled better with the other numbers in the year 1983, but Topps went out of there way to include a large, game-used bat relic of the 15-time All-Star. 

The Tribute set design from '04 is very elegant, especially with the gold box around the words "Hall of Fame" at the bottom. The photograph is standard, nothing too special, but it succeeds in working well with the rest of the elements of the card.

#4 2006 Fleer Greats of the Game Decade Greats

Even when Fleer was taken over by Upper Deck in 2006, the Greats of the Game brand remained one of my favorite Baseball card products. The set designs are classic and the checklists feature players who are often underrepresented as far as Baseball card products are concerned. 

The previously mentioned relic card sets, especially from the 2006 release, are spectacular. This includes Decade Greats card above and another Brooks Robinson game-used bat relic. 

The card sticks primarily to orange and black, Baltimore's team colors, and features a simple yet effective design that draws attention first to the bat piece, then to the black and white photo of Robinson.

#3 2002 Fleer Box Score Hall of Fame Material

I promise that this is both the final Brooks Robinson card and the last bat relic in the top 5. After this card from 2002 Fleer Box Score, I'll move onto the top 2 where both the cards feature Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer.

Speaking of the HOF, the #3 card on this list is from the Hall of Fame Material relic card set, featuring yet another game-used piece of Brooks Robinson's bat. I really love the brown border as well as the sepia photo, for they both contribute to the overall feel of the card.

I can't quite describe what it is, but I'm a huge fan of the style of this card. My only criticism is that the Orioles logo should reflect the time in which Robinson played, not the actual Baltimore logo from 2002.

#2 2011 Topps Tribute Dual Relic

I don't have all that many dual, triple or quad relics in my collection, but I cherish the ones that I do have, especially the Palmer card from 2011 Topps Tribute. This is the base version of the dual relic cards from the set, so it's serial numbered out of 99 copies.

When scanned, the card background appears to be a mix of pink and gold, but it's more of a shiny silver color in real life. Like the first Tribute card on this list, multiple elements come together to create an impressive card, including a nice gold ink facsimile signature above the 2 relic swatches.

#1 2018 Topps Archives Topps Rookie History Autographs

The only autographed card on this list also happens to be one of my favorite autos or relics in my entire card collection. For the price of a blaster box of cards, I purchased a redemption card for this Topps Rookie History on-card auto of Jim Palmer, one of the greatest pitchers of the 60s/70s.

Topps was quite successful in recreating the 3-time AL Cy Young award winner's rookie card for this 2018 Topps Archives autograph insert set. Not only am I thrilled that the autograph is on-card, but it's also serial numbered out of 125 copies on the back. Talk about getting a bang for your buck.

I still love each and every one of the relic cards featured on this list, but none of them could top the spectacular HOF autograph that earned the #1 spot.

Well, That Was Fast

The brief suspense has officially ended, and a whopping 3 days after I redeemed my Jim Palmer autograph redemption following Sunday's Baseball card show, the prized pickup officially arrived in the mail on Wednesday afternoon.

To recap, I purchased this redemption for an autograph of Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer for roughly the price of a blaster box at Target a few days ago, a bargain that will likely be remembered for years on end. 

However, before I sprang for it and purchased the card, I searched online for what the autograph would look like. I was very fond of the pictures I spotted online, but seeing is really believing. Therefore, I'm pleased to say that the card looks even better in person, and Palmer truly could not have signed the card any better.

Because the autograph set is called Topps Rookie History, all of the cards in the set are reprints of their original rookie cards. In Palmer's case, the usually stagnant 1966 set appears far more exciting when paired with an iconic card such as the 3-time Cy Young award winner's rookie.

Other than the unnecessary Topps Rookie History stamp, I wouldn't change a single thing about this card. The card also confirms that I was correct not to purchase a hobby box of Topps Archives, for I highly doubt I could've landed a better card in an expensive box of this product.

Better yet, the autograph is serial numbered on the back, 42/125 copies, to be exact. The back of the card isn't exactly thrilling, but it does its job of informing and congratulating the collector on the card.

When I spotted this redemption card, especially for the low price, the primary question to ask myself was "why not?" rather than "why?" The price was within my budget, the card features a player I collect and a Hall of Famer, and I've already amassed a respectable collection of Orioles relic cards and autographs of guys that played alongside Palmer, like Brooks Robinson and Boog Powell.

Better yet, the card's from one of my favorite sets, Topps Archives, and maximizes the potential of utilizing a past Topps Flagship set. Really, besides the stamp, there's nothing to fault this card for.

It feels awesome to have this card in-hand for the first time, and I was incredibly impressed with how fast Topps shipped this card out. I might have to start factoring this card into the category of some of the best cards in my collection. That's how crazy I am about this autograph.

It's not every day that I add a new Hall of Fame autograph to my collection, and it's all thanks to the unpredictable wonder that is the Baseball card show.

Top 5 Cards; Jim Palmer

After I redeemed my Jim Palmer redemption auto after the Baseball card show on Sunday, Topps wasted very little time in shipping the 2018 Topps Archives card. According to the USPS tracking, the redemption is set to arrive in the mail this Thursday. 

In the meantime, it appears that I've been successful in ridding myself of my case of writer's block, thanks, in large part, to new cards coming into my collection. 

I have a team collector's package ready to recap later this week, not to mention the redemption card which will come in the mail any day now, and before I know it, I'll be right back at the Baseball card show on Monday.

Needless to say, there's a lot going on when it comes to Baseball cards, and it's forcing me to stay busy which I view as a very good thing. But before I can move on to a new package of cards, I wanted to do a top 5 cards post for Jim Palmer, inspired by the redemption card that I picked up at Sunday's show.

Palmer was undeniably one of the greatest pitchers in Baseball history, but he doesn't receive as much recognition as he should. He amassed well over 2,000 strikeouts, finished just shy of 300 wins, and maintained a 2.86 ERA while pitching in 3 different decades.

I may not be spoiled when it comes to vintage base cards of Palmer like I am for other players, but card companies like Topps and Upper Deck have helped grow my 78-card player collection over the years. Behold, my top 5 favorites.

#5 2018 Topps Big League

Even while writing this post, my choice of Palmer's 2018 Topps Big League card surprises me, yet the more I study it, the more confident I am in this choice. Topps chose to feature Palmer alongside fellow Orioles legends, Ripken Jr. and Brooks Robinson, in the 2018 Big League set, and they nailed the Palmer card, in particular, by choosing a logo appropriate to the time period in which he played.

The Big League set was a surprisingly well-received release in 2018 and one that I'm glad to see return this year, especially if retired players, like Palmer, are featured to the extent that they were in the 2018 set.

#4 1971 Topps 

I, unfortunately, do not have Palmer's base card from 1971 Topps, but this card commemorating the 1970 AL Playoffs is nevertheless a great option. While I wish the photo was in color instead, the black borders of the '71 set never fail to impress me, and this card is no exception. 

The photo choice is near-perfect for this card, and Topps was able to nail the balance between how much space the borders take up. If the postseason highlights card looks this nice, I'd love to get my hand's on Palmers base card from the 1971 Topps set.

#3 2005 Upper Deck All-Star Classics Box Scores

I have a feeling that these inserts from 2005 Upper Deck All-Star Classics are somewhat rare, for there is only 1 of them listed on the entire COMC site. The Palmer card is the only one that I have from the entire set, and the inserts themselves feature a very unique concept that we don't usually see on Baseball cards.

In the case of Palmer's card, the entire box score from the 1977 MLB All-Star game is featured with the National League on the left and the American League on the right. Moreover, you can see who played, scored, drove in runs, and got a hit, and the box score will tell you that the NL defeated the AlL this year with a final score of 7-5.

#2 1976 Topps

My other copy of this card is occupying spot #450 in the 1976 Topps set while this one is a part of my Jim Palmer player collection, and it's also my 2nd favorite Palmer card that I own. The image quality may not be stellar, but the Orioles jersey looks pretty cool on this card because of how it's practically red rather than the lighter orange we're used to seeing nowadays.

Speaking of orange, the color combination at the bottom of this '76 Topps card is the typical Orioles orange along with a lighter shade of green. In true 1976 Topps fashion, an intriguing color combination is featured, and surprisingly, it looks pretty great.

#1 1967 Topps

This time around, in regards to the choice for spot #1, it wasn't a hard decision. Frankly, there's just nothing that could beat this World Series highlights card from 1967 Topps, honoring game #2 of the 1966 Fall Classic between the Baltimore Orioles and the L.A. Dodgers.

The design reminds me of 1955 Bowman because of how it's made to look like an old-fashioned TV, equipped with "tuners" that list the game number and the final score. Better yet, the photo is in full black and white, not a sepia/yellowish color like the '71 set. This time, it's an action image in full that also happens to be in black and white as well.

I guess, when I have a card as eye-catching as this one, I don't really need any vintage Jim Palmer base cards. I'll take this World Series highlights card any day of the week.

Dollar Vintage and Bargain Hits; Card Show Recap #17 Part 2

I think yesterday's trip to the Baseball card show was the first time in over a year that I didn't purchase a single dime card throughout the entire day, and I'm struggling to tell if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Leaving the show without a sole dime card even surprised me, especially because I was obligated to stick to a budget yesterday, more so than usual. Typically, whenever I go to a card show with limited spending money, I stick primarily to dime cards.

With that being said, I found it difficult to be inspired while searching through the dime boxes and that's not something that usually happens to me. I put together a stack of around 40 cards or so when I simply decided that I could do without the typical pile of player collection additions that I so often bring back from the show.

Instead, I moved on to a couple of $1 vintage bins located directly next to the dime boxes. As soon as I began searching through them, I was certain that I had made the right decision. $1 vintage cards were definitely the way to go.

I continued to make progress with my 1961 Topps set by picking up 10 new cards to go towards the set, bringing my total number of needs to way below 300 cards. Other than crossing the halfway mark with the product a few weeks ago, I've noticed, time and time again, cards that I already have when searching through bins of 1961 Topps. 

It's definitely helped to validate the progress that I've made towards completing this set, especially since I haven't even been seriously collecting it for a year now. With 281 cards left to go, it's not completing this set that seems to be impossible. Rather, it's finding key cards like Juan Marichal's rookie and Mickey Mantle's base card for the right price.

While I focused primarily on 1961 Topps, my Dad took the opportunity, while searching through the vintage bins, to pick out some older cards not just of guys we collect, like Frank Howard, but other players as well. It's part of what drew me to the $1 vintage card bin in the first place, the fact that I don't need to grab a bunch of cards for my player collections to appreciate these 60s and 70s cards.

For example, we don't collect Pirates catcher Manny Sanguillen, but that didn't stop my Dad from picking up this card for only a dollar. I still have to figure out where these cards will end up, but it's hard to say no to vintage cards for this price. 

Everything about this card, from the uniform to the pink circle, looks pretty awesome and perfectly embodies the Pirates and the 1960s as a whole. When it comes to vintage, it becomes less about the player and more about the card, and I can definitely see why that would appeal to some collectors.

If there was ever such a thing as too much color than this card would perfectly fit that bill, especially since it's a 1975 Topps mini, causing the colors to be far more compact into a smaller space. However, you can never really have a card that has too much color, so instead, what you have is a pink, purple, and yellow card with an awesome action image.

Yeah, the 70s were a pretty sweet time. Honestly, it's pretty much impossible to fault this card, and it proved even more difficult to turn it down for only $1.

I wouldn't think that the team cards that also state the team's division placement from the year before lasted too long during the 1960s. I mean, seriously, who wants to look at a team card to see "8th Place" in big, block letters at the bottom. 

The inclusion serves to take away from the rest of the card, and since we don't have this kind of team cards anymore, I need to appreciate every traditional team card I can get without being told that the Chicago Cubs finished in 8th place in 1965.

After picking up a solid number of $1 vintage cards, my Dad and I realized that we still had some lee-way and could conceivably pick up a couple of hits before heading on home. Sticking with the vintage theme from earlier, we ended up with 2 hits of players from the 60s and 70s and for a great price as well.

In lieu of his recent passing, it seemed right to pick up this stadium seat relic card of Frank Robinson, featuring a piece of an authentic stadium seat from Crosley Field, former home of the Cincinnati Reds. 

At first glance, I recognized the set as 2006 Topps Heritage, a product that featured the 1957 Topps design, the same year as Robinson's rookie card. I believe this is my first relic card of Robinson and even though it's a stadium seat and not a jersey or bat relic, it's a pretty sweet piece nevertheless.

After his time in Cincinnati, Robinson moved on to Baltimore where he teamed up with a couple future Hall of Famers. One of them is a 3-time AL Cy Young award winner whose autograph redemption I picked up for around the price of a Series 1 blaster box.

This card will likely go down as one of the biggest bargains I've ever found at a Baseball card show, and I wasted no time in redeeming it. Upon further research, I learned that the autograph is serial numbered out of 125 copies, and the card features a signed reprint of Palmer's rookie card from 1966 Topps.

An iconic card signed by one of the greatest pitchers of his era? It can't get much better than that, even if I don't currently have the card in-hand. From what I've seen, recipients have already received their copies in the mail, meaning it won't be long until I add a new Hall of Fame autograph to my collection.

Sometimes, sticking to a budget isn't the worst thing after all.