Post War Cards – Vintage Sports Cards – Baseball – Basketball – Football

The Time Managers Were Traded and Topps Airbrushed Their Baseball Cards

April 3, 2025 by John

Frank Lane was infamous for making many trades, including players like Norm Cash, Rocky Colavito, Roger Maris, Red Schoendienst, and Early Wynn. Among the over 400 trades he made in his career included one for managers. In 1960, when he was the GM of the Cleveland Indians, he sent Joe Gordon to Detroit and brought Jimmy Dykes over to the Indians in the middle of the season.

Many baseball fans may remember Joe Gordon more for playing with the Yankees and Indians. He was the MVP in 1942, a 9x All-Star, 5x World Series champion, and entered the Hall of Fame in 2009. He began his managing career with the Indians in 1958 but had a rocky relationship with Frank Lane. So Gordon, in 1959, said he wouldn’t return to the team the following year, so Lane fired him. However, he rehired him shortly after that. Gordon was 49-46 with Cleveland in 1960 when Lane sent him to Detroit.

Gordon would go 26-31 with Detroit in 1960 but wouldn’t re-sign as their manager. Instead, he became Kansas City Athletic’s coach for the 61 season, where he went 26-33 before being fired and replaced by Hank Bauer. So we never got a Topps Baseball card with Gordon in a Tigers uniform. Gordon would be a head coach again in 1969 for the Kansas City Royals, going 69-93 before resigning.

For his 1960 card, Topps used the same photo from the 1959 Indians Picture Pack. They then used the same image, with a little airbrushing, for his 1961 Topps card as the Athletics Coach.

1959 Cleveland Indian Picture Pack – Joe Gordon

Jimmy Dykes was also a player before becoming a manager. He played for 22 years between 1918 and 1939 before becoming a manager between 1934 and 1961. He was the player/manager for the Chicago White Sox from 1934 to 1939. As a player, he was a 2x All-Star and 2x World Series champion.

Dykes had a record of 44-52 with the Detroit Tigers in 1960 before being sent to the Indians, where he would go 26-32. He stayed on as the Indian’s coach in 1961, going 77-83 before retiring.

Topps used the same photo they used for Dykes’ 1960 Topps card for his 1961 card. I haven’t been able to find a team photo or type 1 for the 1960 Dykes card; if you have one, please leave a comment down below.

It wasn’t uncommon for Topps to reuse and airbrush images throughout the vintage post-war era. But, as far as I know, this is the only case of a trade involving a pair of managers forcing Topps to do a little of their magic airbrushing.

Happy Collecting!

A Unique 1968 Topps Non-Sports Multi-Issue Uncut Sheet Featuring Hot Rods, Target Moon, And Who Am I Cards

April 2, 2025 by John

Here’s a cool uncut sheet I ran across in the June 2008 Classic Collector catalog: a 1968 Topps Non-Sports Multi-Issue Full Uncut Sheet of 132 cards.

Before the pattern repeats, there appear to be two rows of 1968 Topps Hot Rods cards, two rows of 1968 Topps Target Moon cards, and two rows of 1968 Topps Who Am I? (No disguise) cards. Also, my hobby library resources are inconsistent, but these may have been 1967 releases.

Let me know if you’ve seen another copy of this sheet, or have bitter insight on the date of its distribution, and don’t forget to check out more uncut sheets in the archive.

Happy collecting!

Unearthing a 1978 Eddie Murray RC Panel: A Nostalgic Find From Oregon Trail Auctions

April 1, 2025 by John

In the fifth part of my deep dive into 1978 Topps baseball cards, I explored the allure of Topps Dynamite Magazine Panels. So, I was pleased to find this 1978 Eddie Murray RC insert while perusing the September 1996 Oregon Trail Sports Auctions catalog!

In the 1978 Dynamite Magazine Panel deep dive, I even highlighted a Chronicles of Fuji post from June 2013 when the author sniped a copy with Murray on it off eBay for under $30; maybe it’s the same one!

Happy collecting!

The One Hit Wonders of the 1953 Bowman Color Baseball Card Set

March 31, 2025 by John

PSA described the 1953 Bowman Color set as one of “the most beautiful modern-era sets of baseball cards produced.” It’s got some classically gorgeous cards, like the Pee Wee Reese leaping card, the excellent multi-player card of Hank Bauer, Yogi Berra, and Mickey Mantle, plus cards of other individual stars of the day like Roy Campanella, Ed Mathews, Warren Spahn, and Stan Musial. But among the stars are three gorgeous cards of one-hit wonders, players whose only major baseball card release was in this set. Here are their stories.

1953 Bowman Color #83 Jack Daniels

Despite having one of the best names in the history of MLB, Jack Daniels only stuck around baseball for a single season. But he got a baseball card in the iconic 1953 Bowman Color set!

Jack spent seven seasons in the minor leagues before making the Boston Braves roster for the 1952 season. That year, he mainly played as a right fielder and hit .187 with 2 home runs and 14 RBIs. Those numbers weren’t good enough to stick in the big leagues, and “Sour Mash Jack” played six more seasons of minor league ball before ending his baseball career. Over his minor league career, he smashed 167 home runs, including 34 for the AA Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Association in 1956.

1953 Bowman Color #98 Hector Rodriquez

1953 Bowman Color #98 Hector Rodriguez – Reverse

Perhaps Rodriquez could have had a longer career had he not been a shortstop. As a member of the Chicago White Sox organization, he was stuck behind Chico Carrasquel and Luis Aparicio, who played the same position. So, for his one year in MLB, Hector Rodriguez played third base. In 1952, he hit .265, hit one home run, and batted in 40 runs. He also walked 47 times, which means his on-base percentage was .346.

He was a native of Cuba and played in the Negro Leagues and the Mexican League before his season with the White Sox. He followed up his only season in Major League Baseball with a successful career with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League. He was inducted into the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. And his 1953 Bowman Color Baseball card is awesome.

1953 Bowman Color #142 Larry Miggins

Larry Miggins played in parts of two major league seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals (1948 and 1952) but only got one major baseball card with his 1953 Bowman Color example, which is fair since, in 1948, he only had a single plate appearance.

Miggins played outfield and first base. His career statistics were a .227 batting average, two home runs, and 10 RBIs. He also played nine years of Minor League Baseball from 1944 to 1954, during which he hit .265 with 143 home runs.

Just making it to the Major Leagues is a significant achievement, and there are plenty of players who make it to the league but never get a licensed baseball card. But Daniels, Rodriguez, and Miggins did, and their cards are in one of the more popular post-war releases.

Happy collecting!

A Majestic Relic: The Stunning 19th Century Football Broadside from Ohio

March 30, 2025 by John

I’m not a 19th Century Football expert, so I can’t teach anyone much about the following piece, but I do know that this Football Broadside was appropriately described as “Majestic” in the 2006 auction catalog it was offered in.

Here’s how Mastro described it in that April 2006 catalog:

From a regional, northeastern countryside activity to a widely followed and highly esteemed national pastime and slowly becoming a worldwide phenomenon professional football now needs very little advertisement for fans of any intensity or persuasion to know that, come Fall, the only question that has to be answered is, “are you ready for some football?!” The offered exemplar hails from an era that predates even the leather helmets of the early 20th Century, and in fact, is one of the earliest football broadsides known to exist. Presented here is a truly majestic and impeccably well-kept, 19th Century survivor. This over one hundred-year-old relic bills a contest between two early American football teams from the NFL’s birth state of Ohio a meeting between a squad from Youngstown and the other from Akron. The piece reads, “FOOTBALL YOUNGSTOWN VS. AKRON ** YOUNGSTOWN HAS NEVER BEEN DEFEATED ** Buchtel College Grounds GAME CALLED AT 3:30 Saturday Oct.9.” The bold red and blue print have remained impressively crisp and vibrant, and the large, full body image (21″-tall) of the gridiron athlete at the left of the piece also reveals exceptional clarity. The item’s lower left exhibits the manufacturer’s “Werner Akron, Ohio” notation, and although the relic’s 25″ x 39″ visible area demonstrates slight wear at the unobtrusive and understandably age-induced folds, the piece displays unbelievable condition: EX overall. Set within a 47-3/8″ x 32-1/4″ wood frame. Please note: Due to the size and/or weight of this lot, the cost of shipping may be substantial. Minimum Bid $1,000

Happy collecting!

Mickey Mantle’s 1958 Topps Contract Extension: A Hobby Treasure

March 29, 2025 by John

A true piece of hobby history! Mickey Mantle’s 1958 Topps contract extension—signed by Mantle, Frank Scott, and Sy Berger!

The scan above is from Mastro’s November 1999 Fine Sports Millenium Auction, where it sold for $4,119. Here’s the complete item description:

A truly unique document released from the Topps archives over a decade ago. This is the actual contract extension signed by the 26-year-old superstar, giving Topps the right to produce baseball cards with the Mick’s image in 1959. The standard one-page contract extension is typewritten on Topps Chewing Gum stationery and is dated Oct. 1, 1958. It basically states that Mickey Mantle and Topps agree to extend their original agreement dated April 1, 1957, and that all the same terms and conditions apply (meaning he probably got five dollars and a toaster!). Signed boldly in blue ballpoint pen by Mickey Mantle, accepted by Topps executive Sy Berger, and witnessed by Mickey’s agent, Frank Scott. Accompanied by a letter from Guernsey’s, the auctioneers who originally sold the Topps archive. An important document linking the King of Baseball Cards to his maker.

When Guernsey’s auctioned it off as lot BB462 in 1989, they described it as a “Topps extended contract of exclusive 1957 agreement, signed by Mantle on 10/1/58.” It sold for $1,300 ($1,430 with the 10% Buyers Premium).

Guernsey’s also sold the “original exclusive contract signed between Mantle and Topps, 4/1/57, binding for years 1958-60.” Reading the extension, I think the pictured contract just extended the agreement into 1961, and wasn’t about giving Topps the right to produce Mantle’s card in 1959 as Mastro wrote, but, I’m not a lawyer!

Guernsey’s sold 11 different lots of Mantle contacts and checks in their famous Topps Auction; the one I’d most like to see is the original Bowman contract for the 1951 baseball season that Mantle signed on 4/17/1951!

Happy Collecting!

A 1950s Stan Musial Rawlings Die-Cut Advertising Sign

March 28, 2025 by John

I’ve shared plenty of vintage advertising signs before, but I think Stan Musial deserves more focus since he had fewer major card releases than his peers. Here’s a great Rawlings die-cut sign from the mid-1950s.

This one was offered in Ron Oser Entperises April 2001 catalog with the following description:

A circa 1955 Rawlings 17″ x 26″ cardboard sign which features a full body photo of Musial with fan-filled stands in the background, facsimile “Stan the Man” signature below. The oddly-shaped sign would fit together to form a store stand-up display. The lower right corner of the display has a few creases, otherwise, the body of the display is very clean. This Musial die-cut ad piece is incredible looking and if you have the glove or just happen to like the Cardinals or advertising pieces, this one will thrill you. Nicely framed to 21 x 28 inches. Minimum Bid $400

Heritage sold the similarly designed Musial Pro Leaguer Advertising Sign in October 2022 for $288, which they described as follows.

1950’s Rawlings Stan Musial Pro Leaguer Advertising Sign. Fine image of “Stan the Man” dominates this heavy cardboard advertising sign measuring approximately 18×16″ at its tallest and widest dimensions. Considerable water damage is apparent, and bat has been restored. We believe this is only part of the full display. Easel on back is missing.

Happy collecting!