What a treasure trove of sports memorabilia in Chicago this weekend. Carlton Hendricks of Sports Antiques.com has posted his first batch of photos from the National Sports Collectors Convention. Check them out here. Below are some of my favorites.
Here is a group of 5 very rare Spalding trophies dating to the early part of the 20th Century. Below is a great memorabilia display featuring bobbleheads, gloves, hats, display boxes, a signed football and a very rare bobblehead set of the Beatles (second shelf from the top on the far right). These two statues are extremely rare. They were made in Germany in the late 1800's and depict early American Baseball players. Right now the manufacturer and exact age escape me, but as soon as I can find some additional background info I will pass it along.
From the category called "INSANE" we get probably the goofiest insert card ever found in a Baseball pack. Topps Allen & Ginters 2008 release features numerous "1 of 1" DNA cards that feature hair from the famous. Last year, Topps caused an uproar with this insert set when George Washington's hair was pulled from a box and sold on eBay for thousands. The 2008 version tries to take it to the next level by including DNA samples from a Woolly Mammoth. This limited card has recently been pulled and now you can check it out on eBay here. eBay Auction Link: Woolly Mammoth hair:
Today is the first day of one of the most anticipated shows of the year. Every card manufacturer and vendor will be there. Limited edition cards can be had from companies like Topps and Upper Deck. On top of that, some of the best the hobby has offer will be on display. Vintage cards from the 1800's, trophies from the turn of the century, vintage uniforms made of wool and modern cards loaded with uniform pieces and signatures are available to view and purchase. Athletes from William "The Fridge" Perry to Steve Sax are on hand to sign their names.
Right now I'm wondering, "why am I not there?"
Fortunately, DMcD is there and he has posted some pics that were taken today. Go here to check them out. Below, is a part of Mastro Auctions display.
Here is some vintage 19th Century cabinet cards.
All that talk about him ending up in Arizona was starting to get me worried. The Angels give up on Casey Kotchman and throw in minor league pitcher Steven Marek.
I just got an email from the Dodgers PR Department highlighting several Dodger players who will be signing autographs this coming weekend and next weekend. Below is the list of where to go. Friday, July 25 – 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Blake DeWitt at:Staples Los Angeles 11341 National Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90064 (310) 445-4041
Saturday, July 26 – 12:00 p.m.- 1:00 p.m. Chad Billingsley at:AT&T Los Angeles 3764 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90010 (213) 388-9444
Saturday, July 26 – 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Corey Wade at:Wal-Mart Santa Clarita 25450 Old Road Valencia, CA 91381 (661) 253-1911
Saturday, July 26 – 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Jeff Kent at:MACY’s Northridge – Men’s Department 9301 Tampa Ave # 2500 Northridge, CA 91324 (818) 885-6611
Saturday, August 2 – 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Andre Ethier at:AT&T 3851 Overland Ave Culver City, CA 90232 (310) 559-2019
As some you of you know, the 29th Annual National Sports Collectors Convention is taking place the weekend of July 30th to Aug 3rd in Chicago. This is the prominent show in the hobby. Dealers from across the country come out to show their best stuff. For vintage collectors this is the place to go shopping. All the card manufacturers give out free promos and autograph guest from every sport imaginable show up. It's a show you don't want to miss.
To add some mystique, the National and Sportsbuy.com have come together to offer the most hated Cubs fan of all a crazy deal. They are offering Steven Bartman, the idiot who interfered with that foul ball, $25,000.00 to come to the show and put his autograph on the picture below. Is this crazy? Will he even show up? Is this a big set up? Who knows? All I do know is that the Chicago press is starting to report it and this Baseball fanatic city is bound to go a bit nuts about the whole event.
Thanks to collector Bob from NY I get to show off his uncut sheet of 1949 Bowman Baseball cards. It has 4 rows of 9 cards each and features, prominently in the center, Jackie Robinson. This is his Bowman rookie card. The consistent red backgrounds on the sheet give it a art deco look. The best thing about how this is displayed is that you can see both the front and back of the sheet. If you are interested in the piece I know Bob would look at any offers, just let me know and I'll send you his email.
OK. Now I'm just trying to catch up. The Card of the Week, however belated, is a 2008 Upper Deck card of Washington Nationals outfielder Justin Maxwell, #325. Justin is taking a swing while up to bat inside Nationals Stadium during construction. Construction workers stand in the background. One fellow is on the right taking his own photo of the spectacle.
Thanks to Roger, who sent me an email pointing out these auctions, I get to expand a bit on the leather tobacco inserts I wrote about a month ago. Below is a collection of leather premiums that sold on eBay last week. Instead of Baseball players featured on the face like the L1's these leather items feature the ladies. They are called Hamilton King Girls and are commonly known as L5 in the standard catalog. They measure 8.25" X 12.50" and where redeemed through with a collection of coupons in packs of cigarettes in 1908.
These leathers appear to highlight women from different parts of the country and their hobbies. Check them out below.
Above is the Atlantic City Girl and sold for $224.72. Below is the Coney Island Girl which sold for $133.50. What is unusual about these leathers is how different they from the Baseball version. The Baseball leathers had drawings printed on the front. These Hamilton Girl's are pressed into the leather to give it texture and then painted.
The below item has me scratching my head. What exactly is a Comfort Girl? My imagination is running wild. It sold for $99.99. UPDATE: Well, Roger tells me that this is actually Old Point Comfort which is a beach in Virginia. Whoops!!
The Antique Roadshow will be in Chattanooga, TN featuring Minor League Baseball Memorabilia. Check out the story here. There is a behind the scenes video. (Hat Tip: SCD)
I just came across this. The Long Beach Armada of the Golden Baseball League has an audio archive of nearly all of their games this year available for download. If you were interested in the games against the Chinese National Baseball Team in May you can listen to them here.
A New York Times writer shares his 1930's autograph scrapbook and a couple of stories; including being told, “I don’t ever want to see you again,” by Hall of Famer Lefty Grove.
Check out Mark Langill's interview of Tommy Lasorda recalling his days at Yankee Stadium at LA Dodger Talk. It's a great listen.
"Mr. Mint" Alan Rosen is a little pissed off at the obvious portrayal of him in the upcoming film "Diminished Capacity" featuring Alan Alda and Matthew Broderick. Read about it at The Baseball Card Blog and Infield Dirt.
An Indians fan is mourning the loss of their best player, CC Sabathia, by auctioning off, on eBay, his fanatic allegiance and enthusiasm to another team for the rest of the season. He receives some well deserved criticism from the truly faithful in the "Question & Answers" section.
Vintage Baseball Card Forum poster Joseph recently went on a special tour at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and discovered a hidden treasure trove of Baseball history sitting on shelves in the basement. The rumors are that they have over 35,000 three dimensional artifacts in storage, as well as, a couple of million items within their library. Unfortunately, due to the lack of space and funding for a new building they can never show everything.
Above is a pic of the basement. You can readily see a Joe Cronin autographed ball and various trophies.
It would be a wonderful thing if the Hall of Fame could find a way to display most of what they have. Why not partner up with some Major League teams to sponsor Baseball museums at their ballparks. In fact, since Dodger Stadium is planning their own museum in their upcoming makeover maybe they can strike a deal with the Hall to bring over some items. It could potentially be a mutually beneficial relationship. Consider the cross promotional benefits. The Dodgers would be able to show their fans some great rare items and the Hall could promote their facility and sell souvenirs. It's a win-win.
If you've forgotten about 89.3 KPCC's radio series about the history of the Dodgers, like I had, then go ahead and check them out. They are up to Part 5.
Last year they held the inaugural event at Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the Buffalo Bills, in a match between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres. It was one of the best hockey games I saw last year on TV. It was freezing cold, but 71,217 enthusiastic fans showed up. This year they will be playing at Wrigley Field- home of the Cubs.
This weeks card of the week really isn't a card at all, but is instead a Sporting Life team composite print circa 1906-1907 of the Scranton Baseball Club. Sporting life magazine was one of the premier baseball journals of the time. From 1902 to 1909 they sold these large 13" X 14" prints to fans throughout the country. They are very rare and look great framed and matted. This particular print was sold in a portfolio book of 24 different teams, but they where also sold individually for 10 cents a piece.
The reason why the 1907 Scranton Baseball Club of the New York State League is notable is because it includes one of Baseballs more mythical players- Archibald "Moonlight" Graham. See him on the bottom left below. As we all know his story was highlighted in the movie called "A Field of Dreams." Graham played in one game in the field, but never got a chance to bat. He was left standing in the on-deck circle while the final out was recorded to end the game. He would never appear in a Major League game again. He ultimately left Baseball to became a doctor in the town of Chisholm, Minnesota. Doc Graham was beloved there as he worked in the town for fifty years.
The print below is, from my understanding, one of the few known Baseball vintage artifact/ memorabilia pieces known to exist of "Doc" Archibald "Moonlight" Graham. (Hat Tip: Vintage Baseball Card Forum)
Three games under .500 and only half a game out of first. You gotta love the National West.
This is one of the best Dodger fan uniform ever! Courtesy of Home Run Derby. Check out the video they have of her running bye in the outfield bleachers.
Barry Bonds homerun ball #756 that was branded with an asterisk by designer Ecko has finally made it into the Hall of Fame. ESPN has the full background story of the negotiations between the Hall and Ecko. (Hat Tip: SOSG) Photo from Wax Heaven.
Who's for a high-speed train connecting Southern and Northern California. It seems like the timing couldn't be better. It's on the ballot this coming November as Proposition 1.
Dmitri Young has one of the finest collections of rookie cards featuring Hall of famers. He has about 150 cards and all are in PSA 10 condition. That means they are in Gem Mint perfect condition, like they are fresh from a pack. At this coming National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago later this month it will be on display. Hat Tip: SCD:
Below is another item from HYee Auctions. I thought this deserved it's own post.
Ed Stevens was an up and coming 1st baseman with the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1945 to 1947 until he was sent down to Montreal and eventually traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates. At one time he seemed destined to be a mainstay on the big club until a certain ballplayer came up. As you may know, Ed Stevens is known to be the person who lost his job to Jackie Robinson. He writes his story below about the fateful event.
HYee Auctions always has some great and fascinating sports collectibles. Whenever they put items up for sale I always find myself checking my bank account for some extra disposable income. Unfortunately, collectors with much more money than myself always seems to beat me. Usually by large margins. So, instead, I'm forced to window shop. Check out the over 1,000 items here. They cover everything from vintage Baseball, basketball, boxing and Americana. Heck, there's everything from a photo of Standing Bear to PT Barnum.
Below is a great original photograph of three famous Dodgers in tux's doing a dancing routine. Don Drysdale, Tommy Davis and Sandy Koufax sure look spiffy. Tommy and Sandy appear to be in the zone as they look flawless in their dancing shoes, but Don looks a little lost. Is he counting his steps afraid that he might look foolish next to his teammates? Maybe he is on the verge of losing the beat.
Dairy Queen sure sounds tasty right now. Can I have a couple of hot dogs and a Blizzard please? How about a couple of vintage 1956 premium statues of Dodger greats Roy Campanella and Pee Wee Reese? These white plastic 3 inch statues were given away to adoring fans with a purchase at the ice cream shop. They are fairly rare and these examples are in incredible shape.
I don't know if Jackie smoked, but I do know that being a spokesman for the tobacco industry back then was a highly sought after position. Below are two great original promotion photos of Jackie Robinson selling Chesterfield cigarettes. They date to the 1940's .
Last but not least is a photo of one of my all time favorite non-Dodger players, Robin Yount. He simply epitomized the virtues of class and hard work on and off the field. On top of that, this photo is the greatest action photo I've ever seen. It dates to October 10, 1981.
The Yankees single A team in Staten Island have a pitcher who can throw from both sides. Yes, he is a switch pitcher. He even has a glove that he can wear with both his left and right hands. It has 6 fingers and 2 pockets.
Now imagine a situation where a switch hitter faces off against this ambidextrous Baseball freak. Well, check out the video below to see the confusion.
This is great. XM Radio has a tool that allows you to make your very own personalized bobblehead. Go and check it out here. Below is my Nephew in Bobblehead form
There is one out in the top of the 11th inning. The game is tied 6 to 6 in a game that should have been won outright in regulation. Clayton Kershaw sure can't catch a break. This was his eighth start and probably his best performance so far.
Jeff Kent is up to bat. The future Hall of Famer is the one veteran on the team who knows what it takes to make it into the playoffs. After all, he's done it before. Pierre, Furcal, Jones and Garciaparra are currently stuck in "injury hell." We can't depend on them to come back and carry this team. Only Kent can do it. He must step up.
Kent is facing Wesley Wright with no one on base. With one mighty swing he lifts the ball deep into the left field stands for a homerun. This old codger appears to be picking up his pace. The Dodgers win the game shortly afterwards as Saito ups his save total to 13.
Jeff has recorded 5 hits the last 3 games, but is still hitting a paltry .261 for the season. If we are to make it into the playoffs then we need him to carry us. His 40 year old frame needs to do it one last time.
If we are to go to the World Series this year, as boldly predicted this afternoon on ESPN, then Kent must lead the way.
Below is a great memorabilia display featuring bobbleheads, gloves, hats, display boxes, a signed football and a very rare bobblehead set of the Beatles (second shelf from the top on the far right). 
These two statues are extremely rare. They were made in Germany in the late 1800's and depict early American Baseball players. Right now the manufacturer and exact age escape me, but as soon as I can find some additional background info I will pass it along.
