The Little Red Book of Baseball, 1954: Roy Campanella and Al Rosen

Here's a recent acquisition that covers two of my PCs. I spotted this randomly while searching and couldn't hit the Buy-It-Now button quickly enough. For just $7 shipped I was able to add an oddball item to both my Roy Campanella and Al Rosen Collections.

Fortunately for me both of these fine gentlemen were named MVPs in 1953 so they often appear together in these vintage publications from 1954.

This time they are found within the pages of the 29th edition of the above "The Little Red Book of Baseball" which championed itself as baseball's book of official records, as noted on the sweet front cover.

1952 Num Num Al Rosen: SGC AUTH!!!

Oddball Al Rosen cards top my list of needs for the Indians' third baseman. There are a handful of his cards that price themselves out of my collection because they're rare and rarely appear. Today's post features one such card I was able to land and snag using a smallish chunk of my tax return which made it an even sweeter pickup. Released with potato chips, pretzels, and other snack items, this Cleveland-area set is even harder to find with the tab intact: 1952 Num Num!

The card was slabbed as Authentic by the folks at SGC likely due to the fact -- as the seller noted in the eBay listing -- that the card is likely trimmed. Any trimming, of course, matters little to me as these Num Nums are not easy to find and Rosen isn't usually available when any do become available for the taking online. And of course when they can be found they are usually not found with the tab.

Here's the back which goes into great and intimate detail about Rosen's life. Included in the bio: Rosen's Jewish ancestry (just part of why I love collecting The Hebrew Hammer); that he was Florida State middleweight boxing champion; he was a goodwill ambassador for a brewery; and he was single at the time the card was produced (hey ladies!).

Perhaps the coolest part of this Num Num release is that if someone collected all 20 tabs they could send them to the Num Num Food company and receive a signed ball by an Indians' player in return. However, it was an Indians' player of the customer's choosing as they could insert the name of the player they wanted on the reverse of the tab, as seen on the scan of the card back.

1955 Armour Coins Red, PSA 7: Al Rosen!

I added a new oddball item to my Al Rosen Collection with a recent eBay win. Slabbed a PSA 7, it's a Red 1955 Armour Coins of The Hebrew Hammer.

I already own the Yellow Armour Coin from 1955 and there are a few more colors of Flip coins that I hope to eventually track down.

I like these quirky tiny PSA cases for whatever reason.

HOF Pickup: Bob Feller Signed 8x10!

I picked up this signed 8x10 of Hall of Famer Bob Feller from work. The black-and-white image is cool and the price was too good to pass up even if Feller was more than happy to sign anything and everything at any time.

Honestly, you can never have enough HOF signatures. It's my first Feller. The Heater From Van Meter threw three no-hitters; was part of the 1948 Cleveland Indians team that won the World Series (with my boy Al Rosen, no less); won the Pitching Triple Crown in 1940; was inducted into the Hall in 1962; and spent four years in the Navy during World War II.

1967 Topps Posters Roberto Clemente, A Collecting Shift, and My 2016 Goals.

I thought I'd start 2016 off with a representation of what the year will hold collecting-wise for me. I've begun a fairly prominent re-boot to my collection in the last couple of months. I've almost cut my eBaying down to nothing and have made a strong push to complete the various sets on my Want List, and I plan on those things being the major goals in the new year.

I want to complete all of those sets plus 2016 Allen & Ginter when it hits. I'm going to just focus on my main essential PC guys -- Kemp, Kershaw, Martin, Getzlaf, Campanella, Wheat, Seager, Rosen, Alworth, John Gibson, Tomlinson -- as well as vintage and oddball vintage in-particular, as with the below poster. An occasional non-PC item that I just really like will probably be purchased here and there but I've been fine cutting those types of transactions out so I'll continue with that move.

I want to trade more and hold some giveaways to condense the collection and give back to our stellar card and card-blogging community. I've got some really cool stuff I picked up in 2015 (and even in 2014) that I have yet to post so I want to clean out the drafts folder and get everything posted and showcased.

Anyways, I snagged the above 1967 Topps Posters Roberto Clemente from my LCS, aka work, for just $2.50. I love Clemente and the shot used; I have a very small PC of him that I add to when it doesn't break my wallet.

Trade With Too Many Verlanders: Printing Plates, Relics, Vintage, and Ginter, Oh My!

I completed my fifth trade with the legendary Dennis from Too Many Verlanders. You can check out the first here, second here, third here, and fourth here. Dennis and I agreed to a blind trade, and he sent along some awesome stuff that hit multiple areas of my collecting ways.

Bobby Ryan! I believe this is my first printing plate of the former Anaheim Ducks' sniper. I'm too lazy to check that at the moment I'm typing this but I'm 99.99999% sure of it. I miss Bobby.

A sweet new Bison relic in which the bat slices spell out "The Bison." Fitting, really. It's numbered 29/36 and is the Base Parallel.

The Hebrew Hammer! This beauty is an upgrade in every way condition-wise over the 1954 Topps that currently resides in my collection of the 1953 AL MVP.

I was probably most excited to see these nine cards fall out, as they knock off 7 of the subsets I was working on from various years of Allen & Ginter past. They were the most surprising cards I received and I'm stoked to cross them off my Want List.

A heavy as can be Kemp pin. Also, it's a new Bison.

A Dre auto. He's so close to 10/5 rights, which is scary.

Finally, random goodness. That Piazza looks sooooo much better in-hand. The Martin is a new parallel /150 and the Kemp was one I was surprised to find I did not already have in my collection.

Thanks as always Dennis! BB4L!

1956 Big League Stars Statue: Al Rosen!

Following up on yesterday's acquisition of a 1956 Dairy Queen Statue of Roy Campanella comes the similar product I mentioned in that post. I was able to land a 1956 Big League Stars Statue of my other vintage staple, Al Rosen!

For a paltry $9.83 shipped this beautiful oddball of The Hebrew Hammer now calls my Rosen PC home. These little statues are really, really cool and the craftsmanship is spectacular.

Here is Al's rear side for anyone interested in seeing it.

1955 Armour Hot Dog Coins: Al "Flip" Rosen (Yellow Variation)!

I recently added a unique and rarer Al Rosen to my Flip PC. I got very lucky and stumbled upon the auction the morning of its conclusion and thankfully took it down quite easily for $5.05 delivered to my door. My latest Rosen, for your enjoyment (but probably mostly my enjoyment):

It's a yellow Armour Coin from 1955! These coins were released in three separate years and came in packs of Armour Hot Dogs (I adore unique vintage food releases). There's a blog devoted to the Armour Coins which details all the color variations and other attributes of these oddball coins.

The backs are pretty cool. I'd be more than happy to add a few more colors and start a mini-rainbow of these hot dog-origin'd coins but it's not something I want to dump a chunk of cash into so the price would have to be right. That's especially true considering that -- according to the blog I linked to above -- there are 15 different colors the Rosen coin can be found in.

1954 Red Man Tobacco: Roy Campanella WITH THE TAB, Slabbed SGC 35!

Sometimes you just have to marvel at a steal when it lands in your lap and thank the cardboard gods for your good fortune. Some time ago I did just that when this GORGEOUS 1954 Red Man Tobacco -- WITH THE TAB!!! -- of my main man Roy Campanella arrived on my doorstep after an eBay coup.

For less than $27.50 shipped to my doorstep this fantastic new addition to my Campy Collection is mine, all mine! It's been slabbed a 35 by SGC and is my first Red Man of Roy, but hopefully not my last. These are so, so hard to find with the tab and in decent condition, so I'm just as pleased as can be that this wonderful card fell to me without destroying my wallet.

What's not to like? A beautiful portrait of Roy with ball-in-hand paired with that ever-important Brooklyn B, and the card has held its great color as well.

Here's the back. If you read the fine print you can see why these are so often found sans tab, as is the case with two of the three Al Rosen Red Mans I own. The stubs were meant to be collected and sent in to Red Man in exchange for a hat.

Upgrading My 1952 Bowman Al Rosen

Anyone who has followed this blog for any length of time knows that I LOVE my vintage cardboard to be well-loved and appreciated by its past owners. Creases, corner and edge wear, writing, and the like mean little to me as long as certain aspects of the card are intact and present. That being said, if the chance to upgrade one of my vintage cards presents itself -- or I can simply add another copy of the card -- I'll jump quickly at that opportunity.

Such was the case when I realized the shop I work at had a copy of Al Rosen's 1952 Bowman offering that bested the copy I've housed in my Rosen PC for many moons. It still falls into the category of well-loved, with multiple creases, edge and corner wear, and left to right centering issues. The eye appeal, however, is much improved. For just a few bucks, it was an easy upgrade to make.

Here's the back of Flip's '52, or the "Flip-Side" as The Underdog likes to say.

Oh, and the original copy.

Pickup: Baseball Stars of 1954, w/ Cover Boys Roy Campanella and Al Rosen!

I let the below go once before on eBay and I didn't see it again for months. I wasn't sure I ever would, and the price was not even prohibitive the first time around. Thankfully it eventually reappeared and it was not passing me by a second time.

Featuring my two main vintage collections as cover boys -- Roy Campanella and Al Rosen -- it's a book straight out of 1954 that was had for right around $10. It catalogs and details 28 of baseball's stars in the mind of author Bruce Jacobs. The cover still has tremendous color and it was a no-brainer and a must, must-add considering who resides on said front cover.

Freebies From Cardboard Catastrophes!

And by freebies, I mean completely unnecessary goodies that Jeff from Cardboard Catastrophes sent me way. I felt we were even from previous trades; he did not. I'll hopefully find something to send his way, but in the meantime I wanted to thank him for the below cards he graciously sent my way.

Al Rosen! I'm always happy to add cardboard of the late Hebrew Hammer, particularly when it's a new addition to my Flip PC. This Obak offering is numbered 04/50 and serves as my 6th certified auto of the 3rd baseman and '53 AL MVP.

The second card is this TTM signature of former Dodger Bob Aspromonte, who penned his John Hancock on his 1961 Topps card.

Jeff, many many thanks good sir!

R.I.P. Al Rosen

Al Rosen passed away yesterday at the age of 91. He's easily one of the most underrated third baseman in baseball history and if not for injuries which ended his career at the too-early age of 32, he'd be in the Hall of Fame. He was a great player, a class act, and a great trailblazer for Jewish players.

R.I.P., Hebrew Hammer.

Black-Back

Red-Back

Dairimaid Lid

1954 DOPE Book, The Sporting News

1954 The Lone Ranger. Volume 1, Issue #73. Al Rosen on the back cover.

20/55