Jackie Robinson HR Ticket!

Since my entry into the ticket world there have been a few must-haves on my mental list of things to find on my eBay adventures. Some have proven easier than others and some have proven to be more expensive than others. When those two categories overlap, I am an unhappy collector indeed. What that has to do with today's showcased piece, I don't know, as it wasn't overly expensive and wasn't the hardest thing to track down. Rambling, I am.

Nabbing a stub from a game in which the one and only Jackie Robinson went deep was an absolute collecting necessity and eventually patience paid off with this beauty from a 1952 contest against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jackie left the yard for the 75th time in his illustrious career while driving in three runs, walking twice, and scoring one run. Other notables from the game:

• Roy Campanella had a hit
• Duke Snider had two hits, a walk, and a run scored
• Gil Hodges had a hit and a run scored
• Pee Wee Reese had a hit, a RBI, and a run scored
• Carl Erskine threw a complete-game shutout
• Ralph Kiner had a hit and a walk

After purchasing this raw online, I sent it in for grading and got a 3 from PSA.

Anyone else start dabbling in tickets or think they might?

A Stunning '50s Type 1 PSA Slabbed Photo: Roy Campanella & Gil Hodges!

I genuinely think I may collect Type 1 Photos and little else for the foreseeable future as I keep finding amazing pieces to add to my budding collection of vintage photography. Today's featured art was an eBay purchase:

Click on the above photo to open it up and see it in all its glory. Roy Campanella is mid-swing during batting practice at a Vero Beach Spring Training outing as newly-minted Hall of Famer Gil Hodges looks on, smiling ear to ear. I literally absolutely adore all aspects of this badass photo!

Here's the back -- I dig when the paper caption remains intact. This one is a 1952 offering from International News Photos and makes for a swell score for my Campy PC on top of being another photo addition.

1951 Topps Teams Brooklyn Dodgers, Slabbed a PSA 1

Here's a piece I searched and searched for and could not be happier to finally have (I mean, I've had it for a couple of years, but you know...). It's another of those underrated and underappreciated vintage issues that for whatever reason gets little love but features a slew of stars on one piece of cardboard.

This absolutely fantastic 1951 Topps Teams card features the '50 Brooklyn Bums. There are two versions, Dated and Undated (the 1950 is either present or gone). I'm now realizing all of this time later that this raw copy I bought and submitted is labeled incorrectly.

The team shots of the '50s are absolutely awesome and the yellow border on these really pops. They are super tough to find in good condition and this PSA 1 is well-deserving of that designation.

What I truly love is the amount of stars these give collectors the opportunity to have in their collection with just one item. Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges -- that's 5 HOFers, not to mention the other Dodger stars of the time like Don Newcombe and Carl Furillo.

It's a most welcome addition to my overall collection and specifically to both my Campy and Jackie PCs.

A Vin Scully Interview.

There's a tremendous interview with the legendary Vin Scully in the latest issue of Westways, the Auto Club magazine. It's well worth a few minutes of your time.

Koufax, Campy, Drysdale and More!

I picked up a team card with some fantastic names on it. Koufax, Campanella, Drysdale, Snider, Reese, Newcombe, Podres....the way a team card should be.

It'll fit splendidly in my Campy Collection, and was had for $5.50 delivered. The coolest thing about this vintage bad boy is that it's from the Dodgers' first year in L.A., which also means it features the last Blue Crew squad to call Brooklyn home.

Whomever previously owned this 1958 Dodgers' team card/checklist made use of said checklist to the fullest.

My 2013 IBWAA Hall Of Fame Ballot (Hint: I Voted People In)

I had a vote for the Hall of Fame through the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America, run by Howard Cole. It's set-up the same way the BBWAA runs things, where you can vote for 10 guys. I believed more than 10 guys were worthy, but unfortunately I couldn't vote for everyone. Here's the ballot I submitted with players listed in alphabetical order:

1. Bagwell
2. Biggio
3. Bonds
4. Clemens
5. Edgar Martinez
6. McGwire
7. Piazza
8. Schilling
9. Trammell
10. Larry Walker

Others who had my vote but were left off of the ballot due to the voting limit:

Larkin (who wasn't elected by the IBWAA in 2012)
Raines
Marvin Miller

The guys who are borderline in my mind but I'd have no problem voting for and kind of want to:

Gil Hodges
Kenny Lofton

A Hall of Fame without Mike Piazza is a Hall of Fame I don't respect.

Thanks, as always, to Howard for allowing me to participate and have a vote.

The Worst Conditioned Card In My Collection.

Another Fuji-inspired post. His latest inquiry involves the worst conditioned card in our collection. I have a few that I thought about but settled on my Dodgers' Sluggers card featuring Roy Campanella, Gil Hodges, Carl Furillo, and Duke Snider.

It's got creases, paper loss, soft and rounded corners, ink spots, writing, and is generally well, well-loved.

There's not much of a story behind it, other than I didn't expect my bid to hold, it's a card I had long wanted to add to my collection, and I think every card collector should have a copy in their collection.

Please keep voting for me! Thanks amigos and amigas!

And last but certainly not least, Happy Birthday Mom!

Dodgers' Sluggers, Well-Loved.

A card that any Dodgers' fan would love to have, and one I needed, no matter the condition. And as you can plainly see, this one is no spring chicken. Rounded, rough, and frayed corners, surface scratches everywhere, worn edges, and creases. I still love it. Sadly, there is no equivalent when looking at the present-day Dodgers. Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and a bunch of nothing, really. I'd throw-in Jerry Sands, but beyond Jerry, A.J. Ellis is a stretch power-wise (though 2012 has been a pleasant surprise) and everyone else is terrible.

I'd love to pick up a second, cleaner copy to replace this one in my Campy Collection, and have this low-grade version just be part of my larger Dodgers' PC, or even my small Snider PC.

I probably overpaid for this, but it was one of those bids you place - well, I've found myself placing them, I won't speak for anyone else - where you don't actually expect to win, but you can't possibly see the card selling for so little, so you bid. I certainly had no expectations of my last-second bid succeeding, but it did.