Buck Herzog T206 Pickup: New York VAR, Piedmont Back, Double Name, Slabbed a PSA 1.5 (MC)

I added another T206 to my slowly-growing collection with this Buck Herzog pickup. An eBay score, the most appealing thing to me was the sweet double-name at the top of the card. The card boasts good clarity and I genuinely can never have enough T206s in my collection. T206s > modern.

Herzog -- nicknamed "Choke 'Em Charley" -- played in four World Series and for four franchises (including a short stint as a player-manager). He grew cantaloupes; had a love-hate relationship with John McGraw; was assumed to be Jewish by many during his career; was once traded for three HOFers including Christy Mathewson; once fought Ty Cobb; and faced hard times later in life following a stint with the B&O Railroad and time spent working at a racetrack. 

Celebrating My 31st with A Scarce Vintage Steal: 1914 Piedmont Art Stamp - Christy Mathewson, SGC Authentic!

I turn 31 today and the last year has felt like a nano-second. Granted time has generally moved really fast since, oh, 18 or 19, but this last year especially has been flying by. One item that has eluded my Zack Wheat Collection for ages has been a 1914 Piedmont Art Stamp, an item I've only seen once. It was an eBay auction years ago and I did not know quite how rare and scarce they are. It clicked once I saw the final price was $100-150 higher than expected. I've always wanted one and I still search, but the set is so cool I've kept my eyes open for one of just about any player I could get my hands on.

I recently found my perfect piece of cardboard when a beautiful Christy Mathewson turned up on the bay. Slabbed an SGC Authentic, the damage to the bottom still leaves Matty's name and image and that's all I really care about. I'll take this over a complete card with a million creases any day of the week. The T330-2 set almost entirely features the same images as seen on the classic T205 set.

Here's the back and I can still make out the important details from this 100 plus-year-old issue despite the bottom chunk that is gone forever. This is my second Christy card but first from his playing days, joining a post-career Cuban oddball.

Work Perks: 2019 National PSA Promo Set: Wagner, Cobb, Mathewson, LaJoie, and Shoeless Joe

PSA was giving away a promo set of 5 cards at the 2019 National commemorating some of the all-time great pre-war players. Pre-war is my jam so I asked around until one of the leftover batches of cards was available.

Cobb is by far my favorite of the bunch.

Chief Meyers 1909-11 T206: Sweet Caporal Back, Fielding Pose, PSA 1

I was able to add another beautiful T206 to the collection recently for under a blaster and a half. I was even able to knock off five bucks with a timely eBay coupon. The newest addition is none other than Chief Meyers, who primarily played for the Giants but ended up spending two seasons with the Brooklyn Robins including a trip to the 1916 World Series.

Meyers, as with just about every other player of his time who had Native American blood in him, garnered the nickname Chief. He was a California native who attended Dartmouth. He served as the primary battery mate for Christy Mathewson; served in WWI; and became a police chief after baseball.

1913 National Game: Roger Bresnahan!

I snagged another new Hall of Famer and oddball item all wrapped up into one for less than a blaster and a half. It is both my first 1913 National Game card and my first card of Roger Bresnahan. It's a wonderful vintage addition.

It's slabbed an SGC 30 and I think it's slightly undergraded. It presents very well for the grade and the back really stands out. The red pops so much more in-hand.

Bresnahan's SABR profile is fascinating and I'd recommend it. He played all nine positions; pitched a complete game shutout in his debut at 18 years old before being released a year later during a salary dispute; was one of the first catchers to bat at the top of the lineup; and helped bring into the game a number of equipment and safety measures for catchers.

Bresnahan also formed a battery with some guy named Christy Mathewson.

"Laughing Larry" Doyle T206 Pickup: From The Charles Bray Collection

I added another T206 to the collection recently with this eBay auction win. I really liked the pose and missed out on a beautiful Authentic but was able to snag this PSA 2 (MK) for a good price shortly thereafter.

Here's the "With Bat" variation of Larry Doyle's Monster card. It's got a Piedmont back and comes from the Charles Bray Collection. Bray helped Jefferson Burdick compile the American Card Catalog, was the first full-time card dealer, and held the first auction exclusively related to card collecting. While the provenance of a card isn't super important to me in making a purchase I thought it would be cool to own a little piece of cardboard history.

"Laughing Larry" was the NL MVP in 1912, the NL Batting Champ in 1915, a coal miner in his early days, and a great friend of Christy Mathewson.

Home Run Baker: 1909 E90-1 American Caramel, Graded A PSA 1

A recent eBay 20% coupon went live and I simply couldn't resist taking advantage of such a major deal being offered. I took my time and waited until the coupon was winding down, debating what to buy. I finally settled on the below and couldn't be happier with the deal I got after the 20% off.

This PSA 1 E90-1 American Caramel features Home Run Baker, the Hall of Fame third baseman who split his career between the Philadelphia A's and the Yankees. Walter Johnson once called Baker the most dangerous hitter he ever faced. I assumed he had hit a lot of homers based on the nickname, but he never eclipsed 12 in a season and ended his career with 96.

Baker garnered the nickname with game-winning homers in two 1911 World Series games against a pair of Hall of Famers in Rube Marquard and Christy Mathewson. He did lead the AL in home runs three straight seasons and then tied for the lead the following season. While I wasn't planning on spending money at the time, it's another beautiful addition to my vintage collection.

This Guy's Nickname Was Cocaina

I recently stumbled across a card I had to have. It wasn't a player I collect, or a set I collect, or a team I collect. While the set is cool and I was happy to add my first card from said set, the driving force behind my desire to own this card is that the player's nickname was not just Cocaina, but it was listed on the back of this 1945-46 Caramelo Deportivo beauty.

Manuel Garcia is his legal name and it's been slabbed an SGC 20. It was less than half a blaster and is the second Cuban issue in my collection, joining Christy Mathewson. It's a beautiful vintage pickup.

Here's the legendary back. I had hoped to pick up a couple more cards from the set from the same seller on eBay, but he stopped messaging me back.

Celebrating Christy Mathewson's Birthday With A 1946-47 Propaganda Montiel Cuban Baseball Card!

The one and only Christy Mathewson would be 137 today if he had not died due to complications from being gassed with mustard gas while protecting a fellow soldier during a training exercise in World War I. And, you know, if people lived to be 137.

By chance I stumbled upon this gorgeous 1946-47 Propaganda Montiel card of Mathewson and after debating for days decided to take the plunge and go for it. I was the sole bidder and more importantly the card cost me absolutely nothing out of pocket as I had some eBay Bucks and a $100 eBay gift card from SwagBucks after completing a bunch of surveys and other various tasks. Free makes everything better, always.

Mathewson, aside from being a phenomenal player and one of the first five Hall of Famers, is a fascinating guy to study. His intellect, skill at checkers, and involvement in helping to expose the Black Sox makes for a great read.

I've wanted a Cuban card for some time and had my eyes on a lesser player from the famous 1950-51 Toleteros set which features Josh Gibson's rookie. To land a Cuban card of an equally significant player and have it be from the 40s was enough motivation for me. The card is gorgeous as well which I was thrilled with as it's a condition-sensitive set; it only garnered the authentic tag as it is clearly hand-cut.

If only my years of Spanish classes had actually materialized into understanding the language. The back is clean which is not always the case with these as they were often glued into scrapbooks.

On a side note, as I mentioned I was able to accrue $100 just from doing surveys in my down time. Of course, I put that towards cardboard, and I'd recommend you guys take advantage of that opportunity. Follow this link (I would pick up some extra points as your referral) and add some sweeeeet vintage to your collections.

http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/GregZakwin