Thursday, February 11, 2021

landing seven '57s

i picked the wrong time to make a move on my 1957 topps set build. having completed the 1965 set in june of last year, i turned my attention to '57 and started watching a few large lots that were offered for sale. by the time i pulled the trigger on one, i overpaid.  i had actually tracked the prices of complete sets a year or so ago, and considered going that route, but as everyone knows, the price of vintage has vastly increased in the past 11 months.

at any rate, i was able to add seven key cards (along with dozens of others, plus some upgrades) to my set build. perhaps the nicest of the seven key cards is this willie mays:
say hey!

the others are in not the best condition, but acceptable for my tastes.

yogi berra
this is the second "playing days" yankee yogi card that i own. the other is from 1955 bowman, and i don't really plan on keeping that one.

don drysdale
i have this card in my dodger collection, plus another copy in a different mini-collection. so this is my third big d rookie. i don't think i will add a fourth.

frank robinson
another key rookie in the set. unfortunately, i still need the brooks robinson rookie. cha-ching!

ernie banks
banks would post his second 40-home run season (he had five overall) as a shortstop in 1957. this is by far my oldest banks card, with his 1965 card being the next oldest. 

hank aaron
reverse negative uer! i first saw this card back in 1981 when the hobby was going crazy over the reverse negative cards in fleer and donruss. never thought i would own a copy. 1957 was aaron's mvp season, to boot.

yankees' power hitters
i still need the regular mickey mantle card (double cha-ching!), but i am glad to have this one. it looks like someone drew a 5 o'clock shadow on berra, but that's ok. there are six mvp awards represented on that card!

speaking of mvp's, here's an eighth card that was in the lot i purchased - card #1 in the set, ted williams
i already had this card, but this one is in better condition and is one of the cards i was able to upgrade last summer.

as i type this in mid-january, i am down to needing 82 cards to complete the set - here's my want list, by the way. my goal for this set would be to add the brooks and mantle cards this year and anything else will be gravy. if i decide to head to a card show, i'll look for singles that i need, but i probably won't bother with another lot. from here on out, landing 57's will take patience and perserverance!

16 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. indeed. and yet there are so many more still needed.

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. yes, the background and uniform colors look great on that card

      Delete
  3. Whoa. You aren't playing games.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. it's a bit of a result of a narrowed focus combined with a childlike obsession with cardboard rectangles.

      Delete
  4. I think I might be more shocked that you write your posts a month ahead of time than that you got those 7 cards all at the same time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i have so many running theme posts that it's easy to get out ahead of myself and then add these one-off posts to the calendar in the gaps between

      Delete
  5. That is one of the most impressive lot of cards I've seen in awhile! Congrats, we're excited to see you get this set completed!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks matt. i'll be sure to post the next batch of star power from this set if and when i acquire them.

      Delete
  6. So many beautiful cards in that set.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. agree. topps really did an injustice to the set with 2006 heritage and its washed out coloring.

      Delete
  7. I officially started '57 as well. Had the entire Dodgers team, and just got a Berra recently. He came with Warren Spahn. Luckily my dealer wasn't affected much by the COVID price increase that I can tell. Can't wait til that goes away. Anyway, very nice selection of the big guns here. Best of luck on your build!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. good luck on your set build as well. i'm hoping to get to a card show later this year that might feature more reasonable prices. we will see.

      Delete
  8. I went back and saw your first Teddy, and yeah does appear to be an upgrade. The good news too is that even in it's less than gradeable shape, you can probably still get a decent chunk of change for it, if you decide to sell it of course.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i probably will put it up for sale. i have a few doubles that i might lot up together.

      Delete