#155 Frank Overmire

#155 Frank Overmire

Progress: none, 2nd of this card

How acquired: $5.04 on eBay

Condition: Very Good

When I first started collecting this set about ten years ago, this Frank Overmire was one of my early favorites.  I didn't really anticipate ever actually owning most of the stars, but if I couldn't own the real stars, I may as well try to own a card that looked like one.  This Overmire just has the look of a card that should cost a lot.  And given his MLB resume, it certainly costs more than it should.  But it still calls out to me on eBay, and when I had the chance to pick up this second copy, I couldn't resists.

Stats: 10 seasons, 58 wins, 50 complete games, 3.96 ERA, World Series Ring with Detroit in 1945

#139 Ken Wood

#139 Ken Wood
Progress: none, 2nd of this card
How acquired: $4.69 on ebay
Condition: Fair

This was not an intentional acquisition.  I had a brief run awhile back where I was able to acquire a good number of these from a couple of sellers at reasonable rates.  $4.69 would be at the high end for a duplicate Ken Wood, at least on my budget, and not one I would target.  But for a 1st copy that crosses off a need, anything under $5 is typically my goal.  Due to my own stubborn habit of not updating my need list until a card is actually in hand, I failed to realize that I had picked up a Ken Wood less than a week earlier in another purchase, and it was in the mail.  I'm not losing any sleep over it, but this card actually cost about 50¢ more than my first one, and is in worse shape.  Oh well.

Stats: 6 seasons, 223 hits, 34 homer runs, .234 avg.

#307 Frank Campos

#307 Frank Campos
Progress: 1st of this card
309 of 407  75.9% complete
How acquired: $11.50 on eBay
Condition: Very Good

This Frank Campos has some water damage in the corner, but is in other wise great shape.  I'm a fan of any card in this set that has that shield patch on the sleeve, and this Campos is no exception.  It's a good looking baseball card, and the way the "W" on the jersey sort of looks like the Wu-Tang logo does nothing to change my opinion on that.

I overpaid for this Campos, but these 300+ number cards just seem to cost a little more, even when the player on the front is Frank Campos, who had 41 career hits over three seasons.  This was actually the last card I needed to complete the run from 1-310 and I just didn't have the patience to hold out for a better priced, worse looking copy.  I wanted to finish.  Obviously one card remains to be posted.  Those of you who have been paying attention can probably guess who that is.  

Stats: 3 seasons, 41 hits, 13 RBI's, .279 avg. 

Best Hall of Fame Showing: N/A

#287 Steve Bilko

#287 Steve Bilko
Progress: 1st of this card
308 of 407 75.7% complete
How acquired: $12.00 on ebay
Condition: Fair

This Steve Bilko was not a fun card to track down.  Bilko spent ten seasons in the majors, but was only a regular in two of them ('53 and '61), the other eight he struggled to get on the field.  Which made shelling out $12 for this card one of the more painful transactions of the first 308 cards I've picked up.  These 5th series cards are just tough.

Adding to my distress is that I just find this card to be not that nice to look at.  Beyond the fact that it's in pretty rough shape (which doesn't really bother me) I just don't like the shot.  To start with, it's horizontal, and I'm not wild about the horizontal cards in this set.  I'm also not wild about all the blue sky.  Maybe in better shape it would look nicer, but as it is, it just makes the card look pale.  And finally, it's just a crummy picture.  Bilko's face is obscured by his shoulder, you can't see much of the bat, and the position I'm sure makes Bilko look closer to 280 than his already robust 230.  It's just poor cropping.  In any event.  I now sit two cards away from completing the run of first five series from #1-310.  

Stats: 10 seasons, 432 hits, 76 hits, 249 avg.

Best Hall of Fame Showing: N/A

#268 Bob Lemon

#268 Bob Lemon
Progress: 1st of this card
307 of 407 75.4% complete
How acquired: $9.49 on eBay
Condition: Fair

I wasn't familiar with Bob Lemon, but that's just because I'm not very bright.  Lemon is a Hall of Famer.  He had a brilliant 13 year career with Cleveland.  During his prime Lemon made seven straight All-Star teams, won 20 or more games six times, led the AL in wins three times, and finished in the top 10 of MVP voting six times.  He helped the Indians win 2 AL Pennants, and went 2-0 as a starter posting a 1.65 ERA in Cleveland's 1948 World Series victory over the Braves.  Solid at the plate, Lemon hit 37 career home runs and finished with 147 career RBI's.

Initially, I was very annoyed that this card cost so much.   However, after doing my research, and feeling like a fool, I am no longer upset that this card set me back almost $10.  Having reconsidered Lemon's status, it feels like a bargain.  

Stats: 13 seasons, 7x All-Star, 207 wins, 128 loses, 3.23 ERA

Inducted into The Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976



 

#175 Billy Martin

#175 Billy Martin
Progress: 1st of this card
306 of 407 75.2% complete
How acquired: $50.00 on eBay
Condition: Good (PSA 2 MC, technically)

Billy Martin is one of the big guns in the first 310 cards, and I had to pay accordingly, which wasn't a very pleasant experience.  I'm not as wild about this Martin as I was few of the other big names that set me back, such as Rizzuto and Berra.  I'm not sure why, I like Billy Martin, but this card just didn't generate the same excitement for me.

I caught a bit of a break on the price of this card, as ridiculous as that may sound, due to the fact that it's miscut.  If you notice, the back of this card is severely miscut, with the bottom of the card next to it appearing along the top.  It's done in such a way though, that you could be forgiven if you just thought that was the regular design.  It's not like it has someone else's name showing up on the back.  So it really doesn't bother me at all.  The coloring is a little faded (I think), and I'm a little disappointed in that, but ultimately, I'm just happy to cross this off my need list and add it to my ongoing efforts with this set.

Stats: 11 seasons, All-Star, 877 hits, .257 avg., 5x World Series Rings (4 as a player one as a coach), 1,253 wins as a manager

Best Hall of Fame Showing: 0.3% 1967

Martin's #1 was retired by the New York Yankees in 1986

This Martin came encased in a PSA slab.  I'm not a "graded card guy."  If you are, that's great, I won't try to talk you out of it, but it's just not for me.  I like to touch my cards.  Feel them in my fingers the same way some random person long lost to history did when they first pulled it from a pack, smell them (I know that's weird), and wiggle them to see how sturdy they are, you get the idea.  However, that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the benefits of PSA, or BVG, or SGC.  When I'm dropping what I consider to be a lot of money (like $50 on this Martin) for a card on eBay, I like the added reassurance that the card is genuine that these graded card services provide.  A little extra piece of mind.  Still, once I have it, the cards coming out.  I wish there was an easier way to do it.  Would it kill these companies to leave a slot or something that a screw drive could be easily inserted into to get these cases open?  Instead, I have to break out my tools and I actually cut my finger in the process of opening this one.

The first thing I did was crunch the corners off.  It takes a little elbow grease, and while I like handling my cards and can live with whatever extra "damage" that may cause, I'm not out actively looking to make them worse.  So it's a little nerve racking to be taking these tools to the case.

Once I removed enough of the corners, I was able to slide a screwdriver into the case.  It wasn't too difficult to pop the thing open from there. (You can see a dab of my blood below the "Y" in Billy Martin on the PSA tag)

Properly freed from his plastic prison, I was able handle my '52 Martin (after cleaning my cut) the way Sy Berger intended it to be all those years ago.  From there, Martin took his place in my '52 binder creating yet another completed page.  As any vintage set builder can attest to, the completed page is one of the most satisfying feelings there is to be found in collecting.

#81 Vernon Law

#81 Vernon Law
Progress: none, 2nd of this card
How acquired: $1.84 on eBay
Condition: Very Good

"Very Good" is a generous assessment for this card given the missing corner by the #81.  But all my grades have been pretty generous.  Just consider it grading on a curve.  My first copy of this card was one of the first ones in this set I ever picked up.  Someone applied a sloppy splash of red lipstick to Vern on that card, which makes this copy a big upgrade.

Vernon was not slouch of a player, racking up 162 wins and the 1960 Cy Young Award over 16 MLB seasons.