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?

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.

TTM Success: Carl Erskine Letter

Carl Erskine is one of the most legendary TTM success stories in hobby history. We sent him a copy of his 1952 Topps card through my work and when he returned it (signed, of course) he personalized the return letter to me. My bosses were kind enough to let me keep the letter.

Erskine inscribed his number as well as the start and stop years of his career which was spent entirely with the Blue Crew. He boasts one of the prettiest signatures out there. It's the second TTM item from Carl to call my collection home.

TTM Success: Carl Erskine

We TTM'd Carl Erskine at work and he not only returned every card we sent him signed but also included a plethora of extras. He sent 4 copies of the below promotional "card" and I was able to snag one for myself.

Erskine is one of the nicest and most prolific TTM signers out there.

Awesome Contest Winnings From All About Cards, Because TCSP Is Lame.

A tale of intrigue and excitement and Polish trickery awaits. Let's get right to it, shall we? A while back, I entered a contest over at All About Cards. Participants were tasked with guessing the team and decade of debut of the player whose cut auto would be pulled out of a TCSP product. I went with Dodgers and 1940s, because vintage Brooklyn Dodgers is fantastic in any form.

Lo and behold, the above popped out of the TCSP box. A 1/1 cut auto of Carl Erskine, who made his big league debut in late July of 1948. I was stoked to win, and Ian, All About Cards' excellent proprietor, put me into contact with the TCSP folks. After filling out a few forms and waiting a few weeks (I believe TCSP is located somewhere in Poland), my prize arrived. TCSP had decreed a cut auto numbered out of five or less as the prize, but what I received was anything but.

The TCSP people sent me a pair of Bryce Harper "RCs" that are each numbered out of 100 and look as though they've pilfered a photo of the Nats' phenom from a high school yearbook photo shoot. I let Ian know what had arrived, and after a bit of runaround from the TCSP staff, he was informed that they had marked me down as having been sent the cut auto, didn't really believe I had been sent the Harpers, and either way, were out of cut autos.

After being told all of this, Ian went above and beyond to rectify the situation. He sent me the Erskine cut auto he pulled, as well as the above stamp card /50 the box yielded. It's my first Erskine auto, which is pretty cool. But he didn't stop there. Among the various other things to come my way were four Ginter needs (three Hometown Heroes and one base need - scanned in the Beckett, realized after that I already had it).

Ian also sent along a pair of vintage Dodgers. Mr. Unibrow himself on a beautiful '61 is always a welcome sight around these here parts.

Last but certainly not least, Ian knocked off two cards that have been on my Want List seemingly forever. The mini Kershaw Heritage RC is just nails and an awesome add to my Kid K Collection, and young Brox is awesome as well.

Ian, you are a mensch in the truest sense of the word. You went above and beyond, and I really appreciate it. Many, many, many thanks! I'll keep you updated with the TCSP potential 8x10.

Trade With Thoughts & Sox: Sutton, Snider, Pedro, Garvey, 1992 UD

My second trade with Adam from Thoughts & Sox. Follow this friendly link to read up on our first deal.

Adam posted some trade bait a while back, and I hopped on the Dodgers. He sent those, a nice '81 Stolen Base Leaders card, and near about the entire Dodgers' Team Set from 1992 Upper Deck (19 of 30). Which includes a nice rookie/early card of Pedro. Oh, what could have been.

I had one of the remaining eleven '92 UD cards needed for the team set, so I've added the remaining ten to my Want List. I never intended to, but what the hell, I'm close enough that I may as well take a shot at completing the team set.

1979 Sutton, a pair of 1983 Garveys.

If anyone wants one of the Garveys, let me know.

Action Valenzuela!

Much thanks Adam! I have some cards in mind that I'll be sending to you, one in particular I think you'll enjoy - just need to grab it from it's current resting place. Keep an eye out for the postman; I plan to send something out in the next few weeks. Hopefully the cards will be to your liking. And if they are, post them!

Trade With "é rayhahn, rayhahn": Hong-Chih Kuo, Chad Billingsley, Mike Piazza, and Clayton Kershaw

Another trade, compliments of "Rhubarb_Runner" from “é rayhahn, rayhahn”. I passed along a bunch of Twins stuff, including a 2010 Allen & Ginter Joe Mauer Cabinet Card, from the only box of A&G which I've purchased. I'll post on that box at some point. The cabinet card can be seen at the bottom of this post.

"Rhubarb_Runner" sent me a bunch of cool Dodgers stuff, plus a few cards from my favorite non-Dodgers.

The big draw:

My first Kuo Game Used or Auto

Chad Billingsley 2006 Fleer Tradition Rookie Card

Clayton Kershaw 2008 Topps Updates and Highlights Rookie Card

A couple of nice Mike Piazza cards. The second one just makes me laugh.

Business in the front. Party in the back.

I don't know what this is. But I like it.

These are from 1993, produced by Upper Deck. I've never come across these 

before, and was pleasantly surprised to find them in David's bubble mailer. I like

them a lot. The Brooklyn Dodgers photo of Carl Erskine and the old school photo

of Johnny Podres in the middle, the mini cards on the sides of the photos.
Very cool.

"Rhubarb_Runner" was also kind enough to include a couple of David Wright cards, a nice Cole Hamels card, a James Loney card, and a 1989 Topps Jesse Orosco card, which helps me in my attempt to put that set of my early, early, early youth together.

The Mauer Cabinet Card:

Thanks again "Rhubarb_Runner", hope you enjoy the cards that are on their way as I type. I look forward to many future trades.