Waiting for Brissie: No More!

I posted this a while back, on a ttm I got from Lou Brissie.

It would took some saving up of monies, but I decided I HAD to ask him to sign a '49 Bowman and a '48 Leaf. Both are available on the 'bay for double-digit BINs, so I decided to wait to see if anything turned up. I imagine hunting large game is roughly the same, as a) I was gnawing off a limb in the interim, just waiting to pull the trigger and b) there aren't a whole lot of folks out there who run auctions of cards from the '40s, much less auctions of any given player.

Well, I managed to catch an off grade '49 Bowman for cheap ($5!!!) so I was really stoked about that. Shortly thereafter I won a '48 Leaf Lou Brissie, only to have it never show. After three weeks the seller refunded my money, which I appreciated, but still...three weeks wasted. Rather than pack up my weapons and head back out into the savannah, I went BIN and scored one for around $20 including s/h. That's WAY too much, but it's a seller's market with those kinds of cards, and it's one I really wanted. I'm also really reticent to try a ttm with a card that cost that kind of money (I know, for most it ain't that much, but for my budget it's a TON), but again the situation forced my hand.

Mr. Brissie is from SC, which I still can't get over. I wrote him another letter, thanking him for the first ttm he did for me, requesting two more sigs (a little much, I know), and telling him how proud I am to have a player like him be from my home state.

This past Friday, these returned to ND:

First, I know: $20 for a card with a crease like that?!? Let me tell you, having Mr. Brissie's signature on it makes it worth the expense. The '48 is a classic set, and I love the info on the back. I can't imagine being a young man in the late '40s whom Connie Mack calls "Another Left Grove." That's pretty amazing praise. I know that in the current 24-news cycle we're constantly bombarded by "next-Nolan Ryans" and "next-Roger Clemens" on a daily basis, but back then, and from a HOF manager like Mack, that's A+ praise. It's also a Philadelphia A's card, which is another plus.

Next, the '49 Bowman:

There's a lot to like about the '49 Bowmans in general. The layered effect of the printing on the front, the multicolored back...they are nice cards, though generally completely overshadowed by the amazing '50 and '51 sets. I love how the '48 Leaf lists Brissie's hometown as Ware Shoals and the '49 Bowman lists it as Anderson. Both are in the upstate, and both are small towns, but Ware Shoals makes Anderson look like NY City in terms of size. I also dig the advert for the baseball bank on the back, if only because that kind of superfluous stuff irritates collectors so much on cards in 2009. It takes up 1/2 the card! I wonder if kids in '49 got angry about it or just sent away for the bank---has anyone ever seen one of those?

Mr. Brissie, thank you so much for the autographs! It's really excellent to have the signature of a ball player from SC on those cards.

Have a great one everybody, and have a good night Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!