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.

Setting Myself Up For Failure?

Sure, I like to collect Reds cards. Not sure if you knew that or not, but I just wanted to make that clear. But what you might not know is that I'm also an avid set collector. Prior to my return to collecting baseball cards I concentrated on collecting Topps sets (flagship and updates). I had a nice collection prior to 1993 when I had the complete Topps run from 1981 to 1993, but when I decided to sell everything in 1997 to help pay for my wife's engagement ring. Since returning to the hobby I've decided to be a little bit more selective on the sets that I chase. I've made it a rule to only collect one set from a given year. I've also decided that if a particular year doesn't have anything that interests me, I won't chase a set just for the sake of having something from that year. Finally, I won't duplicate a manufacturer and set EVER. For example, if I have 2005 Donruss Studio set I won't get a 2001 Donruss Studio set even if that means I don't have any sets from 2001 AND I like the 2001 Donruss Studio set. Fairly straightforward right? Anyway, a few weeks back I saw a post from Night Owl about finally completing his 1971 Topps set. I had always loved the 71 set and when I started poking around to see who was in the set I was completely blown away: Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, Joe Morgan, Hank Aaron, Steve Carlton, Red Schoendienst, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Fergie Jenkins, Leo Durocher, Don Sutton, Willie McCovey, Gaylord Perry, Juan Marichal, Willie Mays, Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Jim Palmer, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Earl Weaver, Jim Bunning, Bill Mazeroski, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Carl Yastrzemski, Tony Perez, Johnny Bench, Sparky Anderson, Bob Lemon, Ted Williams, Al Kaline, Phil Niekro, Bert Blyleven, Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew and Thurman Munson. I'm sure I missed a hall of famer or two but that's still an impressive list. So I've decided to add the 1971 Topps set to my chase. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to complete it, but the who's who of baseball past that's in this set will have this as the pinnacle of my set collection. Sure I could fail trying to put this together, but I'm definitely going to try!

Contest over at 30-Year Old Cardboard

He's giving away some great stuff. Check it out here.

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!

What brought you back?

This is a question I love to hear answered by many in the sports card community. I was a collector from 1986 to 1993. I decided to get out of the hobby in the fall of 1993 after graduating from high school and my time was monopolized with college and work. Anyway, when I moved with my wife from southwest Ohio to northeast Ohio in the fall of 2001 I was bit by the baseball card bug once more after watching the 2001 World Series between the Yankees and Diamondbacks. There were a couple of card shops close (3 to be exact) so I decided to stop in and see what was there. Since I had collected the Topps flagship sets growing up I decided to get a few packs of 2002 Topps Series 1. Once I opened them I was instantly hooked once more. It doesn't matter how many times I open a pack of cards, it always seems like the first time and I'm always reminded of the first time I opened a pack of 1986 Topps my Mom brought picked up for me from a small hole in the wall convenient store in Point Pleasant, Ohio. Memories...that's what brought me back to the hobby. What about you?

The Joy and Heartache of Collecting Vintage

As I slowly whittle away at my overly ambitious 2012 collecting goals I decided to post some of my thought on my vintage collecting since that's what I've been concentrating on this past year. I love vintage cards. I don't know why, but there's just something about them that evoke the glory days of baseball when titans like Aaron, Mantle, Mays, Robinson (Frank that is), Banks, and Williams (of the Red Sox variety) graced us with their presence on the diamond. When these stars appear on the cardboard, along with a background of ballparks that are long gone and belong to the ages, it's like you're staring at a window looking back through the sands of time at a game that truly was the national pastime. Trying to collect Reds cards from the 1950s and 1960s has proven rewarding, but difficult at the same time. While I love adding these pieces of history to my binder, it's a grueling process since I only have a monthly budges of around fifty dollars and since I'm a stickler for condition, I want my cards to be free of creases, marks, and paper loss... something that's not easy when it comes to paper that's more than a half century old. Anyway, while it's painfully slow and time consuming to collect vintage cards, there's nothing more rewarding in the hobby than to look down at your binder and see a completed page staring up at you.

1958 Topps

So when it comes to completing a team set from a particular year, I have the attention span of a gnat. I always try to finish a year before I start on another one, but when I was surfing ebay the other day I came across a crazy good find of 12 1958 Topps Reds cards for $32.99 that included shipping. While I'm not a huge fan of the 1958 topps set, particularly the Reds with the nasty yellow background that's present on most of their cards, I do like the vintage sets and the Mr. Redlegs image that's on most of the older sets. Another gripe I have with this set is that most of the cards are portrait shots with only a few action shots sprinkled in. Such a disappointment, but oh well. Anyway, getting back to my find on ebay...while the combined lot amounted to a little less than $3 a card, what made this find truly amazing was the fact that this card was included...a second year Frank Robinson card. How sweet is that? I was a little disappointed when I received the package and found that one of the cards (Dutch Dotterer) had a big crease down the middle of the card, but the others were in great shape. So ultimately I got 11 1958 Topps Reds cards for $3 a piece. Can't complain for getting a second year Robinson for $3 can I?