#246 George Kell

#246 George Kell
Progress: 1st of this card
289 of 407   71.0% complete
How acquired: $3.25 on eBay
Condition: Poor

This George Kell clearly spent a long time very well secured inside a scrap book.  It's also either badly miscut or trimmed (maybe both).  I lean towards miscut and think the odd edges are due more to whatever solution was used to detach this card from it's scrapbook resting place.  I don't think it was soaked, but I'm pretty sure it was spot treated with some sort of solvent.  Which I don't mind at all.  

Don't misconstrue any of this as complaining.  This is a rare "win" picking up this card at this price, even in this shape.  Hall of Farmer's in this set tend to typically set me back more than the $3.25 that this one did.  Kell's career numbers may be borderline for the Hall of Fame, but he spent thirty plus years calling the Tigers Broadcast after his career.  I fall in the camp that likes the Bob Wolf's of the world getting into Cooperstown, so for me, Kell is an easy choice and very deserving.

Stats: 15 seasons, 10x All-Star, 2,054 hits, .304 avg., 385 doubles, 78 home runs, AL hits leader '50 (218), '51 (191), AL Batting Champ '49 (.343), AL doubles leader '50 (56), '51 (36)

Inducted into The Baseball Hall of Fame 1983


State of the Blog:  I have 20 more "new" cards to post at the moment.  I also have probably another 20-30 duplicates, which I may post as a group, or I may post individually.  Two of the "new" cards are slabbed in PSA cases, and I may do separate post for the breaking of the case and the card itself.  The point being, this blog as an end date, and it's rapidly approaching.

You can do the math.  20 "new" cards to post, and this George Kell is number 289.  That brings the total up to 309.  There are 310 cards in the first four series.  Card #1 Andy Pafko is the only one left that I need.  And that's completely by chance.  When I chose the Pafko to use on the banner of this blog, it was the lone "expensive" card that I was actively trying to purchase.  Back then, I didn't want to spend more than $30 on one.  Five years later, I don't want to spend more than $60, and am having no luck.  But sooner or later, likely before I post all of the cards I have to post, I'll pull the trigger on one.  They're not hard to find, just hard to find for the price I want to pay.

I figure a complete run of cards #1-310 neatly sleeved in a binder is a good jumping off point for me.  It'll feel "complete."  Granted, there are another 97 hi-numbers to bring the set total to 407.  They famously include the signature Mantle card, as well as Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella, Eddie Mathews, Bill Dicky and some other familiar names.  And the truth is, I could probably own ~90 of them within another five years if I allowed myself $100 a month to go after them.  But I just can't justify it.  This is a hobby for me.  A harmless hobby, as I tend spend $20-50 a month on ebay and the occasional packs from target.  I want to keep it that way, and I don't want to be 100% locked in to buying one or two horribly worn hi number 52's a month at the cost of not buying anything else.

So, once I have a Pafko in hand, I will be devoting my efforts to the 1953 set.  This will allow me to keep the same budget I have now, and still be able to pursue the 1970's sets I'm working on, and occasional pack of cards from Target (and obviously, Tim Wallach cards).  I'll still track '52 hi numbers, and if I end up with one, I'll post it, it just won't be a priority.  Which is all a long way of saying, my 1953 blog is up and running, and I'll be updating it about once a week until I finish here, at which point I'll update it more regularly.  So please, check it out: