There were only a handful of copies on eBay within a price range I was comfortable with but one stood out above the rest and I was determined to land it: the above Johnny Podres, slabbed an SGC 10. The seller had it listed for a reasonable BIN with a Best Offer option so I submitted what I thought was a fair enough offer. It was quickly accepted and for $14 delivered I landed what is essentially Podres' rookie, although technically it's a pre-rookie to his 1953 Topps offering.
Podres is pictured in a stoic portrait shot looking off into the distance. He was a member of the Montreal Royals in 1952, then the Dodgers' AAA affiliate. The set features only three teams and they're all Canadian, as you might imagine: the Montreal Royals, Toronto Maples Leafs, and Ottawa Athletics.
Prominent future Dodgers include Podres, Walter Alston, Tommy Lasorda, and Jim Gilliam. I'd love to nab the Gilliam one day, even more so than the Alston or Tommy. Putting together the Montreal Royals team set is....tempting.
The backs are really cool although it might be difficult to tell in Johnny's plastic tomb. All of the writing is in red and kids are clearly encouraged to send in 25 cents and the "front panel from 2 packages of FROSTADE" in order to receive a "smart new plastic six-shooter!".
My favourite part of the back -- and I absolutely adore everything about it -- is that it lists Podres' 1951 team which I previously did not know existed. I didn't even know the league the team played in existed. For the '51 campaign Johnny pitched in the Mountain States League for the Hazard Bombers of Hazard, Kentucky.
Baseball Reference also lists the Newport News Dodgers of the Piedmont League as a stop for John in '51. God I love the internet.
Very cool! Congrats.
ReplyDeleteHow great would it have been if Roberto Clemente got a card like this a couple years later when he played for Montreal?!
Thanks Gav! And it would be amazing! Well, not for my wallet, but you know lol....
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