1950 Bowman Reds Team Set

12 cards total in this set. A much improved design over the 1949 Bowman set. My only gripe is the small card size, but Bowman fixed that with their 1951 release.

26 Grady Hatton
27 Herman Wehmeier
62 Ted Kluszewski
63 Ewell Blackwell
80 Howard Fox
81 Ron Northey
116 Red Stallcup
168 Bob Scheffing
172 Harry Lowrey
173 Lloyd Merriman
197 Johnny Wyrostek
198 Danny Litwhiler

1958 Autographed Redlegs Baseball

This is the oldest team autographed baseball in my collection. While some of the signatures have faded over time, many of the key signatures are still visible. Of the 29 signatures on this baseball the 20 that can be read include: Smokey Burgess, Bob Purkey, Joe Nuxhall, Ed Bailey, Pete Whisenant, Willard Schmidt, Alex Kellner, George Crowe, Dee Fondy, Bob Henrich, Frank Robinson, Jerry Lynch, Jay Hook, Dutch Dotterer, Tom Acker, Ted Wieand, Hal Jeffcoat, Brooks Lawrence, Vada Pinson, and Roy McMillan. Not a bad looking baseball for being almost 70 years old.

1952 Topps Cincinnati Reds Team Set

19 cards total in the low series base cards

6 Grady Hatton
13 Johnny Wyrostek
29 Ted Kluszewski
69 Virgil Stallcup
80 Herman Wehmeier
113 Dick Sisler
118 Ken Raffensberger
135 Dixie Howell
137 Roy McMillan
142 Harry Perkowski
144 Ed Blake
151 Wally Post
156 Frank Hiller
161 Bud Byerly
171 Ed Erautt
176 Hank Edwards
179 Frank Smith
249 Bobby Adams
297 Andy Seminick

1953 Topps Cincinnati Reds Team Set

21 cards total in the base set

7 Bob Borkowski
12 Howie Judson
28 Eddie Pellagrini
45 Grady Hatton
47 Bubba Church
95 Willard Marshall
105 Joe Nuxhall
110 Herman Wehmeier
116 Frank Smith
118 Gus Bell
152 Bob Adams
153 Andy Seminick
162 Ted Kluszewski
206 Ed Bailey
209 Jim Greengrass
226 Ed Erautt
236 Harry Perkowski
237 Clarence Podbielan
252 Hank Foiles
259 Roy McMillan
276 Ken Raffensberger

1954 Topps Cincinnati Reds Team Set

14 cards total in the base set

7 Ted Kluszewski
22 Jim Greengrass
46 Ken Raffensberger
69 Bud Podbielan
71 Frank Smith
120 Roy McMillan
123 Bobby Adams
125 Harry Perkowski
136 Connie Ryan
138 Bob Borkowski
162 Herman Wehmeier
182 Chuck Harmon
184 Ed Bailey
208 Grady Hatton

1955 Topps Cincinnati Reds Team Set

12 cards total in the base set

3 Art Fowler
44 Corky Valentine
56 Ray Jablonski
69 Ed Bailey
74 Bob Borkowski
82 Chuck Harmon
120 Ted Kluszewski
153 Bud Podbielan
170 Jim Pearce
174 Rudy Minarcin
178 Bobby Adams
181 Roy McMillan

1956 Topps Cincinnati Reds Team Set

20 cards total in the base set

25 Ted Kluszewski
36 Rudy Minarcin
47 Art Fowler
86 Ray Jablonski
90 Cincinnati Redlegs Team Card
123 Roy McMillan
137 Al Silvera
158 Wally Post
162 Gus Bell
178 Joe Black
192 Smoky Burgess
212 Johnny Temple
218 Joe Nuxhall
224 Bud Podbielan
242 Hershell Freeman
249 Johnny Klippstein
289 Hal Jeffcoat
305 Brooks Lawrence
308 Chuck Harmon
324 Rocky Bridges

1957 Topps Cincinnati Reds Team Set

26 cards total in the base set

9 Johnny Temple
32 Hershell Freeman
35 Frank Robinson
66 Brooks Lawrence
69 Roy McMillan
73 George Crowe
93 Hal Jeffcoat
103 Joe Nuxhall
128 Ed Bailey
157 Wally Post
165 Ted Kluszewski
180 Gus Bell
219 Tom Acker
222 Alex Grammas
228 Smoky Burgess
233 Art Fowler
274 Don Hoak
279 Bob Thurman
294 Rocky Bridges
296 Johnny Klippstein
322 Cincinnati Reds Team Card
341 Don Gross
358 Jerry Lynch
370 Warren Hacker
373 Pete Whisenant
393 Raul Sanchez

1958 Topps Cincinnati Reds Team Set

34 cards total in the base set

12 George Crowe
27 Bud Freeman
34 Bob Thurman
49 Smoky Burgess
63 Joe Nuxhall
75 Gus Bell
103 Jerry Lynch
118 Harvey Haddix
126 Stan Palys
131 Bob Henrich
149 Tom Acker
157 Dee Fondy
160 Don Hoak
205 Johnny Temple
214 Willard Schmidt
237 Bill Wight
242 Johnny Klippstein
254 Alex Grammas
285 Frank Robinson
294 Hal Jeffcoat
311 Bob Purkey
330 Ed Bailey
346 Steve Bilko
360 Roy McMillan
374 Brooks Lawrence
376 Charley Rabe
386 Birdies' Young Sluggers
396 Dutch Dotterer
420 Vada Pinson
428 Cincinnati Reds Team Card
466 Pete Whisenant
478 Johnny Temple
484 Ed Bailey
490 Frank Robinson

1959 Topps Cincinnati Reds Team Set

34 cards total in the base set:

14 Pete Whisenant
25 Don Hoak
58 Eddie Miksis
67 Brooks Lawrence
81 Hal Jeffcoat
97 Jerry Lynch
111 Cincinnati Reds Team Card
120 Chuck Coles
136 Jim O'Toole
158 Walt Dropo
171 Willard Schmidt
184 Harvey Haddix
201 Tom Acker
210 Ed Bailey
224 Claude Osteen
232 Eddie Kasko
255 Del Ennis
271 Orlando Pena
288 Dutch Dotterer
312 Don Newcombe
335 Johnny Temple
356 Bob Mabe
365 Gus Bell
389 Joe Nuxhall
405 Roy McMillan
431 Whammy Douglas
435 Frank Robinson
448 Vada Pinson
489 John Powers
490 Frank Thomas
494 Don Pavletich
506 Bob Purkey
518 Mike Cueller
541 Bob Thurman

1951 Bowman

I've noticed the past few days that more and more collectors out there are starting to bust into 2014 Topps. Although I will eventually pick up my Reds cards to add to my collection later in the year, for now I'm focusing on vintage. This past week I was able to snag a 1953 Topps Kluszewski and my first 1951 Bowman cards. Between the two that I snagged, this Connie Ryan is my favorite. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for cards that use artwork to depict players instead of photography. It just screams "Old Fashioned"! To me, this card is the embodiment of what made baseball cards great in the 50s: renaissance artwork - check, long demolished old grandstand in the background - check, standard player pose in wool uniform with stirrups showing - check, greenest grass ever seen by the eyes of man - check. The only complaint that I have with this set is the use of the big black box with the player name on the front of the cards. I would have preferred that Bowman either use a facsimile autograph or just remove the name from the front altogether. Anyway, I'm excited to add some vintage to my collection and can't wait to grab more in the coming weeks.

1950 Bowman

I finally landed my first 1950 Bowman Reds cards over the weekend thanks to a certain eBay seller I deal with that had a sale on all of his cards. I'm very impressed with these cards primarily for their artwork and their size. Talk about tiny.....these things measure only 2 1/16 x 2 1/2 in size. While they are small, the cardboard doesn't appear flimsy. Not only do I like the art, I enjoy the player write-ups on the card backs. Sure, they're lacking in statistics but in terms of storytelling, these are a home run.

And then there were two!

Yesterday I received the final 1952 Topps Cincinnati Reds low numbered card I needed for my collection. While I'm excited to get the Edwards card knocked off my list, I know that I still have a daunting task ahead if and when I decide to grab the nine high number cards I need for my team set. With my 1952 Topps Cincinnati Reds Low # team set now in hand, that only leaves me with the wrapping up my 1953 and 1957 Topps Reds team sets to accomplish all the goals I made back in January of this year. Onward and upward!

1953 Topps

Last week I was FINALLY able to start making a dent in my 1953 Topps Cincinnati Reds team set. I have mixed feelings for the 1953 set when I compare it to the 1952 set. While the photos seem so much more alive with color than 1952, I'm a little disappointed that Topps placed the signatures on the back of the card, sort of as an afterthought, instead of having them front and center on the front. I do find comfort in the fact that every single Reds card in this set has settings from the ballpark in the background instead of just a plain background color that was on some Cincinnati cards in the 1952 set. I will say that this is one of the better designs of the 1950s that Topps put out, IMHO, compared to the 1954, 1955, and 1958 sets. Besides, you really can't go wrong with vintage cardboard now, can you.

Another Goal Put to Bed!

For the past few months I've been neglecting my card collecting goals for the year by opting to chase after some bobbleheads and a World Series ticket that I had always wanted. This week, however, I decided to take a break from the nodders and chase after some vintage Topps cards that I had been eying for a while but just never pulled the trigger on. I'm very happy to announce that I have now completed my 1954 Topps Redlegs team set. One of the last remaining cards in the set was this Ted Kluszewski card. I was also able to grab my first 1953 Topps Reds cards in the process (which I will be posting about next week). Not everything was rainbows and unicorns this week as I found out that I had missed a card from my 2011 Topps Reds team set. Card #198 is MIA and has been added to my wantlist. The regular version of this card is Buster Posey, but I'm not after that one. Nope, instead I found out that there's a short print 198 that's none other than a Johnny Bench parallel. These short print parallels will be the death of my collecting!

And then there were three

Scratch another goal off my 2012 list. I recently completed my 1961 Topps Cincinnati Reds team set. While this may have seemed like a small goal, to me it was a huge accomplishment. Not only did I acquire my final Frank Robinson card, but I also knocked out the 60s decade as a whole. I know things won't be so easy as I pursue the cards I need from the 1950s...especially since most commons start in the $4-$6 dollar range. Let's not forget also that the 1952 Topps high series will be a killer to the wallet. For now, I'm just going to enjoy the fact that I'm happy that I've wrapped up the 60s and will now be concentrating solely on the 50s. Onward and upward!

GET OVER HERE!

It's always nice to finish a set. Today I was finally able to knock off my 1958 Topps Reds team set from my 2012 Card Collecting Goals list. The last card I needed from the set was the Frank Robinson All-Star card which I was able to pick up in excellent condition on eBay. With three months to go in 2012 it's becoming more likely that I won't be able to complete all my goals, especially since I was sidetracked earlier this year with picking up some World Series tickets from the 1975, 76 and 90 series for a steal. Here's hoping that I'll have to get a 2012 World Series ticket in the next few weeks!

1954 Topps

In my attempt to complete on 2012 card collecting goals before the ball drops on December 31st, I've once again become distracted in my chase. I shouldn't be complaining since I've been able to find a sweet deal on some 1954 Topps Redlegs cards on ebay from a seller who's south of me near Cincinnati. I've always been under the assumption that dealers that close to their club's hometown charge a premium for their cards, but that's not the case here. I've been able to grab five cards that I need from that year for around $4 a piece which, in my humble opinion, is a steal. I'm not really a fan of the 1954 Topps set. I feel that the design is terrible when compared to its predecessors in 1952 and 1953. Facsimile autographs are always nice to see on cards, but the giant floating heads next to the smaller action shots is terrible. Here's hoping that I can get back on track and knock out one of my goals before the end of the month.

1955 Topps

Yesterday I received seven of the twelve 1955 Topps Reds cards and I wasn't disappointed with what I saw. Although I don't like the 1955 Topps as much as the 1956 Topps, it's still a nice set to look at. The horizontal design along with the portrait and action photos and the facsimile autograph make for a classy card. The only complaint I have about the cards are the bold background colors. Yellow seems to be the favorite for Reds cards in the set (with a few reds sprinkled in), but if it were any different I guess it would be a duplicate of the 56 Topps set. My favorite Reds card from this set would have to be the Chuck Harmon card. Chuck was the first African-American player for the Reds. While he didn't put up the numbers Frank Robinson did with his stint in Cincinnati, Chuck was able to steal 9 bases in 1955 putting him on par with Gene Baker, Ernie Banks and Duke Snider. Not too shabby.

1956 Topps

I'm halfway through my 1956 Topps Reds (Redlegs) team set, so I guess you could say that I'm excited and frustrated at the same time. It's been a few months since I've crossed anything off my 2012 goals list and it probably will be a few more months until I do. Anyway, I like the 1956 Topps set. The oversized cards from 1952 to 1956 are something that I truly treasure. While I know there are many bloggers out there that like minis...I'm all about jumbo! I also like the fact that this set was also painted and didn't have the actual photos. I think Topps hit a home run when they had a portrait photo AND an action shot on these cards. Very nice. And the cherry on top...the comics on the back of the card. My favorite card of this set would have to be the Ray Jablonski card. I love seeing the dirt fly with the slide into third base. Such a nice scene. That's gritty baseball for you right there!