[zeprock]

Totally agree . . .

That's why he's front and center on my sig.

[zeprock]

Mark......Im going to pick up 523...525...535...536 for you....

Mark, I will be sending 76, 221, 317, and 557

Thank you to both elberson and garrisc for sending cards to whittle down my birth year 1959 collection to just the elusive Gibson rookie. Cards have arrived and they look awesome! I am amazed that you would actually go out on the inter-webs and find those cards for me. That was very generous of both of you and I want it known that I am extremely appreciative.
~Mark

[garrisc]

Thank you to both elberson and garrisc for sending cards to whittle down my birth year 1959 collection to just the elusive Gibson rookie. Cards have arrived and they look awesome! I am amazed that you would actually go out on the inter-webs and find those cards for me. That was very generous of both of you and I want it known that I am extremely appreciative.
~Mark

Glad you liked them Mark. Hope you get the Gibson soon.

Scott

[elberson]

Same here......enjoy......now can you hear somebody whispering from behind the corn field.......finish it!!!!!!

[zeprock]

Another food issue post today. Trading cards and cereal have gone back a long way. Here are nine cards from my collection that at one time or another could be found in the cereal aisle.


1952 Wheaties #BB2A Roy Campanella/Action (Cut off from the back of a Wheaties box in 1952.)
1962 Post #61 Carl Yastrzemski (From back in the day when Post cereal cards came off the box as opposed to being in the box.)
1971 Kellogg's #65 Pete Rose (I pulled this one from a box of Frosted Flakes back in 1971.)


1984 Topps Cereal #14 Nolan Ryan (This card was randomly distributed in an unmarked box of Ralston Purina cereal along with two other player cards and a checklist. This 33 card set mirrors the 1984 Ralston Purina set with the exception of a Topps logo instead of the RP logo.)
1989 Cereal Superstars #11 Don Mattingly (Cards from this 12 card set were included in specially marked Ralston Purina cereal boxes.)
1989 Topps Cap'n Crunch #6 Cal Ripken (I learned early on that the trick to eating Cap'n Crunch cereal was to eat it half a bowl at a time because it was delicious for the first few bites but once it got soggy and became Cap'n Mush, it wasn't so good. The "crunchberries" were an interesting idea but when they tried the Peanut Butter Crunch, they lost me. These cards came two to a pack along with a piece of gum inside specially marked boxes.)


1994 Post Canadian #10 Ken Griffey Jr. (These cards were issued by Post in Canada in boxes of Alpha-Bits, Honeycomb and Sugar-Crisp cereals.)
1997 Wheaties All-Stars #NNO Greg Maddux (These unnumbered cards, unrecognized by Beckett, were issued on the back of Wheaties cereal boxes. There were three boxes featuring 6-card groupings by Topps, and one 6-card grouping by both Pinnacle and Upper Deck for a total of 30 cards. Many of the players are featured on more than one group. For example, this Maddux card came off an Upper Deck box. I have another Maddux card with him in a different pose from a Topps box.)
2007 Upper Deck Kellogg's Japan #9 Albert Pujols (Yes, they have Kellogg's cereal in Japan and that's where this card was pulled.)

[cweiland]

Hey Mark, food issue Posts are the best. Love them, thanks for sharing. Those curled up and cracked Kelloggs cards were fun. I remember my mom bought some Tupperware from a door-to-door salesman. She bought a vertical cereal container with a lid that poured. That container was such a big deal because then we could pour the cereal into it and get to the cards instead of pouring the cereal out onto the kitchen table or using our dirty hands to dig to the bottom of the box. Then we had the 3 Hostess cards on the bottom panel of the boxes of Ho Ho's, Ding Dongs and Twinkies. I would cut the bottom panel off and set the box back in the cupboard. My dad would go in and grab the box and everything would fall out of the bottom. He would yell, "Where is the bottom of the box, you kids??? Growing up in the 70s was such fun. Lots of good baseball memories.

[zeprock]

Bill Mazeroski was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2001 by the Veterans Committee based primarily on his defensive skills. His resume includes 6 All-star selections, 7 Gold Glove Awards and a couple of World Championships. Bill probably gave the shortest HOF induction speech of all-time when he broke down in tears after two and a half minutes into his 12-page speech and was unable to continue. I currently have 138 Beckett recognized cards of "Maz". Here's nine from my collection featuring a bunch of vintage including his rookie card plus a couple of bat chips.


1957 Topps #24 Bill Mazeroski RC
1958 Topps #238 Bill Mazeroski
1959 Topps #555 Bill Mazeroski AS


1960 Topps #55 Bill Mazeroski
1961 Topps #312 World Series Game 7/Bill Mazeroski (This card depicts Maz on what was undoubtedly the happiest day of his baseball career.)
1964 Topps #570 Bill Mazeroski


1972 Topps #760 Bill Mazeroski
2006 Greats of the Game Decade Greats Memorabilia #BM Bill Mazeroski Bat
2006 SP Legendary Cuts Legendary Materials Gold #BM Bill Mazeroski Bat/225

[DrMitchJ]

Bill made it into the Hall for one thing, and one thing only ... single handedly beating one of the most potent of the Yankees teams with one swing of his bat. If not for that HR I do not think he would have been a household name. He went from a local above-average, Pittsburgh player to a national hero for all the Pittsburgh fans and Yankee haters. His stats are barely okay (.260 BA,138 HR) his fielding admirable for a second baseman, and he may very well have been the greatest teammate ever, but like some in the Hall, he just does not belong. IMO. I have nothing against him personally since I never met him, nor was I a Yankee fan when he beat them, but as a baseball fan today, if the bar for being in the Hall is set that low, I have a few dozen more deserving players to induct immediately.

[zeprock]

Here are nine cards that I have from 1961.


1961 Topps #35 Ron Santo RC
1961 Topps #150 Willie Mays
1961 Topps #287 Carl Yastrzemski (This Near Mint card would probably be worth more if I hadn't had Carl devalue it by writing his name across it when I met him back in 1987. I didn't know any better.)


1961 Topps #290 Stan Musial
1961 Topps #300 Mickey Mantle
1961 Topps #344 Sandy Koufax


1961 Topps #388 Roberto Clemente
1961 Topps #415 Hank Aaron
1961 Topps #484 Hank Aaron MVP

[zeprock]

Sparky Anderson was the first manager to win World Series titles in both leagues taking the Big Red Machine to the championship twice in '75 and '76 and then taking the Detroit Tigers all the way in 1984. Before he became a Hall of Fame manager "George" played one year of MLB for the Phillies and batted .218 in 1959. I currently have 90 different Beckett recognized cards of Sparky. Here are nine from my collection showcasing an assortment of vintage, including a couple from his playing days, a high-numbered short print, an auto and a jersey swatch.


1959 Topps #338 Sparky Anderson RC (Even as a 25 year-old rookie, he had white hair.)
1960 Topps #34 Sparky Anderson
1970 Topps #181 Sparky Anderson MG (This is his first manager card.)


1971 Topps #688 Sparky Anderson MG SP
1972 Topps #358 Sparky Anderson MG
1974 Topps #326 Sparky Anderson MG/Shepard/Scherger/Grammas/Kluszewski (Featuring his coaching staff including the great sleeveless wonder, Ted Kluszewski.)


1981 TCMA 60's II #300 Sparky Anderson (This card depicts him with the Triple A Toronto Maple Leafs.)
2002 Greats of the Game #71 Sparky Anderson Autographed (I mailed a couple of cards to Sparky a few years before he passed and asked him to sign them for me. He did so rather quickly. The other card I had him sign is a 2005 Upper Deck Classics showing him in his Reds attire. That card, as well as all of these, is one of many featured on my website.)
2003 SP Legendary Cuts Historic Swatches #SA Sparky Anderson Jsy/350