seeing double

with no vintage set to chase currently, i really haven't paid a lot of attention to older cards over the past year or so. the one card i did decide to seek out finally made it in to my hands a couple of months ago. it's a 1955 topps doubleheader jim gilliam card

that he also shares with red sox hurler ellis kinder

as you can probably gather, the card folds and unfolds, with kinder (with gilliam's lower left leg)

being the primary image. gilliam is revealed when you unfold the card. i thought it was pretty neat and liked the idea of adding another gilliam card to the collection.

there are other, less interesting ways to get more than one player on a card, too. for example, there are some modern team cards, like this 2011 topps dodgers cognac parallel

that replaces the team leaders concept from the 1980's.

more common are "combo cards", like this 2011 topps heritage chrome parallel

matt kemp and andre ethier were a dynamic duo in topps' eyes back in 2011 i guess.

topps has maintained the combo cards in heritage in recent years, adding them as an insert set to the high numbers release. here's the 2020 heritage high number combo card 

that i am most interested in.

last year, panini included "historical duals" in their absolute release. the dodgers were represented by teammates roy campanella and gil hodges

not to be outdone, topps issued an online only set called dynamic duals. i've shown one of these dusty baker/steve garvey cards before, but i've added the dual autograph card

and the blue parallel card

to my collection since then.

topps issued the set again this year, with don sutton and clayton kershaw

being featured on the "cooperstown calling" insert.

i really wish that topps would bring bunt back to the real world and issue some of their digital cards as real, tangible cards. here is one that i would love to own and be able to slide into a 9 pocket page

of course, topps does include then and now cards in heritage. the dodgers have been well represented through the years, thanks to the dominance of sandy koufax and others. here are a couple cards from 2013 topps heritage

and 2015 topps heritage

respectively.

i didn't bother to scan any league leader cards or all-star cards which have historically been used to get two guys on one card, but i did scan a few rookie cards that fit the bill.  these three cards are from 2000 pacific omega

they are short printed cards that are considered part of the team set and i just recently tracked them down.

similarly, this 2002 fleer platinum card

finished up my team set, and is also a short print.

this 2004 topps rookie card of eventual journeyman edwin jackson (and greg miller)

is numbered like the omega cards, but that's because it's the gold parallel. not because it's a "base" short print.

there was a time - around 2007 and 2008 - when i felt that topps was using combo cards as filler and really forcing the issue. some of those cards back then were pretty bad, but for the most part i like the idea of multi-player cards when there is a valid connection between the two.

of course, there are other sorts of "double" cards in my collection - those showing the double play turn at second base. here are a couple i haven't shared before:

1998 pacific invincible tripp cromer gems of the diamond

2020 topps dansby swanson gold parallel

and 2022 topps stadium club chrome fernando tatis jr

you can't tell in the scan, but that is the dodgers' will smith sliding in under tatis.

i like double play cards, too - just don't call them combo cards!

show your money makers

it has taken me awhile to get to this post for a couple of reasons, but when i first saw night owl write about his top cards in terms of monetary value as determined by tcdb, i knew i would eventually share mine, too.

one of the reasons i waited was because i wanted to get this card in hand:

that is, of course, a 1963 topps ken mcmullen rookie card. it also features pete rose. i already had one of these, but i wanted one that was authenticated. authentic altered is a-ok with me, especially when the front looks as great as it does. the altered part has to do with the back:

paper loss and pen marking. i guess the original owner was a white sox fan, and i am just glad the defacing was limited to the back.  i bought the card on ebay, and it got sent through their authenticating process which just means that i received what i purchased.

earlier in the year when i was hanging out with fuji, we talked a bit about tcdb and i mentioned i had an unauthenticated version of the rose rookie card and that i was looking to pick up an authenticated version and then send my other raw card in to see if it would come back authentic. and so, a few months ago i finally pulled the trigger on an authenticated version, but haven't sent my other one in yet. i am guessing that it is a reprint even though it was advertised as authentic back when i bought it many years ago and someday i will find out for sure.

anyway, here are the top 12 valued cards in my dodger collection, according to tcdb:

#1 - 1955 topps sandy koufax

#2 - 1952 topps jackie robinson

#3 - 1955 topps jackie robinson

#4 - 2008 topps red hot rookie exchange clayton kershaw

#5 - 1954 topps jackie robinson

#6 - 1963 topps ken mcmullen

#7 - 1953 topps jackie robinson

#8 - 2006 fleer greats of the game bat barrel autographs steve garvey

#9 - 1956 topps sandy koufax

#10 - 2021 leaf lumber off the end of the bat relic steve garvey

#11 - 1952 topps duke snider

#12 - 1953 bowman color duke snider

just like night owl, i looked up my 100th priciest card, and it's this one

that's a 1953 bowman color pee wee reese. i've got two of them thanks to my double play collection.

keep in mind that these lists are only as good as the data, and there are many cards that don't have dollar values assigned to them, including my certified vin scully autograph from topps mint or my many 1/1 cards featuring steve garvey and others. there are also some high end cards that i own that are not on tcdb (2022 topps dynasty steve garvey cards, for example) and then there is condition to consider as well.

with my dodger collection now fully entered on tcdb, i plan to begin entering my complete sets, mini-collections, and hall of famer collection next, which will surely impact this list (thanks to vintage mickey mantles and a mike trout rookie and so on and so forth). it will be interesting to see where the list ends up!

1950's represent!

sometime around the year 2000, i began putting together "sampler" sets of topps sets from 1952 through 1969. i had no intention of ever completing any of those sets, and i figured it would be a fun idea to pick up a card from each team and each subset for those older sets.

i finished the task in a few years (it was a low priority), but then decided to scrap the collection as i began putting together the 1965 and 1957 sets.  now, i've decided to put together a "representative card" mini collection that will make it easier for me to see a great card from each topps flagship set from 1952 on.

i'll show off the cards occasionally, along with a reason for choosing that particular card. i won't use a card that is in my dodger collection, or any other collection for that matter, so i should wind up with a good variety.  here are the cards that represent the 1950's in this mini collection:

1952 - chuck stobbs

this card is one of the first that i added to my 1952 sampler, but that's not the only reason that i've chosen it for this project. it's a great looking, colorful card, and features stobbs (a pitcher) posing like a slugger with the bat resting on his shoulder. stobbs was only 18 when he debuted with the red sox in 1947, and looks the part of a young ballplayer five years later.

1953 - ralph kiner

the first (but not only) pirate and hall of famer to represent the 1950's. this kiner card was in a lot of vintage cards that i bought back when i started the sampler project. this was his final pirates card as he was dealt to the cubs during the 1953 season. he only played for 10 years, but stuck around the game for the remainder of his life.

1954 - ed and john o'brien

another pirates card! this one was picked up for the sampler as the only 'combo' card in the 1954 set. i know it's not really a combo card, but i wanted it in my sampler anyway. neither o'brien brother suited up for the pirates in 1954, but both were with the club in '53 and again from 1955 to 1958.  both played the infield and also pitched, with ed's 1957 topps card even listing his position as "ss-p". 

1955 - joe amalfitano

i chose this card because amalfitano was well known to me as the dodger third base coach for most of tom lasorda's managerial reign. 

1956 - wally moon

the unibrow makes this card, although i am also about 95% sure that the catcher appearing here is roy campanella.

1957 - elmer valo

the valo card is well recognized as one of the highlights of the 1957 set, and it was one of the first that i added to my sampler collection. it is also the card that helped me decide to pursue the complete set - something i hadn't committed to doing when i first showed one of the valo cards from my collection.

1958 - pete whisenant

whisenant here is one of the few (only?) black background cards in the 1958 set, and it creates a striking piece of cardboard. for the 1958 set, i not only had at least one card from each team and subset, but also at least one card featuring every different color background.

1959 - roberto clemente

here's the only card in this collection that wasn't part of my sampler set. no, this clemente belonged to my dad, who must have picked it up as part of a deal for some 1959 dodger cards. he had no other clemente cards, and his star player collections didn't include clemente. however it came in to his possession, i am thankful as it made its way to me a couple of years ago.

i used to own a 1951 topps luke easter card, but sold it off a few years ago. i don't plan to pick up a 1951 card for this collection, but if i were to do so, i would probably seek out easter again.

which cards would represent the 1950's in your collection?

up next, the 1960's represent! stay tuned...

updating the topps dodger autograph project once again, 60 years apart

the last time i updated my topps dodger autograph project (obtain a card from each flagship release signed by a dodger - ideally for free), i noted that i had sent out a 1955 ed roebuck card in hopes of replacing one of the last two cards in the project that i paid for.  well, the 85-year old member of the dodgers' first world series championship team did not disappoint.

as promised, this card replaces fellow '55 rookie don zimmer's card in the project, with zimmer now taking roebuck's spot representing the 1963 topps set.

another update to the project is warranted after receiving this 2015 topps juan uribe card

the day after roebuck's appeared in my mailbox.  those cards were issued 60 years apart, but are linked in a number of ways, including this project i suppose.

i also received a return from chris hatcher just the other day, which fills the 2017 topps spot in the project

getting 2017 out of the way with my first request of the year is nice, and a change of pace from the past two seasons. it's too bad that there's no chance of replacing the 1951 topps card on the list below, but here's hoping one of the 2016 flagship cards i've sent out finds its way back to me (come on, zach lee!).

update (9/22/17) - zach lee delivered!

awesome!

and here's one more update (10/28/18) - mike morgan signed and returned a 1991 topps

 and this card

that means that the 1989 topps traded set is now represented in the project!

another update (11/2/18) - kyle farmer signed and returned his 2018 topps card.

now to see about update...

updating again (2/24/19) - ross stripling signed and returned his 2019 topps card.

here's the updated tally of the project:

1951 topps - preacher roe (purchased)

1952 topps - rocky bridges

1953 topps - bobby morgan

1954 topps - charlie thompson

1955 topps - don zimmer (purchased) ed roebuck

1956 topps - randy jackson

1957 topps - carl erskine

1958 topps - joe pignatano

1959 topps - fred kipp

1960 topps - chuck essegian

1961 topps - bob aspromonte

1962 topps - norm sherry

1963 topps - ed roebuck don zimmer

1964 topps - ken mcmullen

1965 topps - dick tracewski

1966 topps - john kennedy

1967 topps - phil regan

1968 topps - jim campanis

1969 topps - jeff torborg

1970 topps - al mcbean

1971 topps - sandy vance

1972 topps - manny mota

1973 topps - wes parker

1974 topps - claude osteen

1974 topps traded - jim wynn

1975 topps - ron cey

1975 topps mini - joe ferguson

1976 topps - bill russell
1976 topps traded - dusty baker
1977 topps - steve garvey
1978 topps - dave lopes
1979 topps - charlie hough
1980 topps - jerry reuss
1981 topps - doug rau
1981 topps traded - ken landreaux
1982 topps - dave goltz
1982 topps traded - jose morales
1983 topps - ron roenicke
1983 topps traded - rafael landestoy
1984 topps - fernando valenzuela
1984 topps traded - mike vail
1985 topps - burt hooton
1985 topps traded - mariano duncan
1986 topps - enos cabell
1986 topps traded - franklin stubbs
1987 topps - steve sax
1987 topps traded - matt young
1988 topps - len matuszek
1988 topps traded - jay howell
1989 topps - mickey hatcher
1989 topps traded - mike morgan
1990 topps - kal daniels
1990 topps traded - juan samuel
1991 topps - tim belcher
1992 topps - roger mcdowell
1993 topps - dave hansen
1993 topps traded - tim wallach
1994 topps - jody reed
1995 topps - chris gwynn
1996 topps - todd hollandsworth
1997 topps - brett butler
1998 topps - greg gagne
1999 topps - jose vizcaino
2000 topps - jeff shaw
2001 topps - chan ho park
2002 topps - andy ashby
2002 topps traded - joel hanrahan
2003 topps - jim tracy
2003 topps traded - ron coomer
2004 topps - edwin jackson
2004 topps traded - milton bradley
2005 topps - chad billingsley
2005 topps update & highlights - jason phillips
2006 topps - bill mueller
2006 topps update & highlights - mark hendrickson
2007 topps - james loney
2007 topps update & highlights - andy laroche
2008 topps - delwyn young
2008 topps update & highlights - casey blake
2009 topps - matt kemp
2009 topps update & highlights - brad ausmus
2010 topps - juan pierre
2010 topps update & highlights - ronnie belliard
2011 topps - hong-chih kuo
2011 topps update & highlights - matt guerrier
2012 topps - nathan eovaldi
2012 topps update & highlights - matt treanor
2013 topps - randy choate
2013 topps update - clayton kershaw
2014 topps - ricky nolasco
2014 topps update - scott van slyke
2015 topps - juan uribe
2015 topps update - brett anderson
2016 topps - zach lee
2016 topps update - mike bolsinger
2017 topps - chris hatcher
2018 topps - kyle farmer
2019 topps - ross stripling

as always, thanks to these players who sign through the mail, and thanks to the lost collector for the idea.