#33 Warren Spahn
Progress: 1st of this card
259 of 407 63.6% complete
How acquired: $30.00 on eBay
Warren Spahn is one of the biggest names to appear in this set. Of the first 310 cards, I'd put him in the top five, and maybe top three. I think the only names you can safely put ahead of him in the first 310 are Willie Mays and Yogi Berra, but he's right there in that same class with them.
Spahn is a name I've known as far back as I can remember. Somewhere, somehow, along the way his historical stature faded in my mind. It shouldn't have. Having recently looked at his baseball-reference page, Spahn's numbers are staggering (and I had no idea he spent one season with the Mets, and even had a Topps card with the Mets in '65). Spahn won 20 games thirteen times, had an ERA under three on nine occassions, and led the NL in complete games for a stretch of seven straight seasons at one point. He's 6th on the All-Time wins list at 363, and hasn't been passed by anyone since he landed there. For good measure, Spahn also cranked 35 home runs as a batter.
This particular card has a good amount of wear and tear, but it's in one piece with no extra markings. I can't say that it's the best looking card, but in this instance, I don't mind saying the name on the front alone is enough to make it one of my favorites.
Stats: 21 seasons, 14x All-Star, 363 wins, loses, 3.09 ERA, 382 CG, 63 SHO (6th all-time), 2,583 SO, World Series Ring in '57
Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973 on the 1st Ballot with 83.2% of the vote.
There is no such thing as a bad Spahn card. Congrats on the pick-up. That's a real milestone.
ReplyDeleteI was lucky enough to see him pitch a few times including one of his last career wins. He beat the Mets in Shea as a Giant.