Topps TTM Project: the 1950s

Cards previously posted have a link to that post. Enjoy!

1951 Bob Feller (post)

1952 Billy Pierce

1953 Roy Sievers (post)

1954 Bobby Shantz (post 1; post 2)

1955 Monte Irvin (post)

1956 Virgil Trucks (post)

1957 Gene Conley (post)

1958 Chuck Harmon (post)

1959 Whammy Douglas (post)

There we go, the 1950's in ttm autos! Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

A Grand Card Comes to Town

I was able to score the vintage lot in the recent Grand Cards trade away. The entire lot was better than advertised, but what drew me in was this card:

I've seen this card of Squirrel Sievers on the 'bay but could never quite pull the trigger. Scoring it in a trade was awesome. I'm a big fan of the Squirrel and this card has an almost comic-book-hero feel to that you normally associate with Babe Ruth. You've got the slugger following through on a mighty swing perfectly framed by the borders of the design. Behind him lurking in the shadowy dugout his teammates spit sunflower seeds and look on. The fans above them lean in as if to see where the ball he hit is going, presumably far out to right.

And yet the composition is a little too perfect. The picture of Sievers has a painted look to it that contrasts sharply with the rest of the card. And the fans, why are they so much more excited than the players in the dugout? They almost seem to be watching different games. And then there's the looming office building just above the grandstand and the sunlight that seems to be pouring in from that direction without illuminating anything. 

I'm guessing (maybe incorrectly) that this is an early attempt to compose a single card out of various elements, to create drama that otherwise isn't/wasn't there. And I'll admit, the effect is startling for a card from that era. It shows that this sort of thing can go way beyond, say, photoshopping GWB into the stands or Mantle into the dugout. 

Thanks again for the trade GC!

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

The Squirrel Strikes Again: Roy Sievers Part II

Not so long ago I posted about some mail from Roy "Squirrel" Sievers, 1949 ROY and a hard-hitting OF/1B for 17 seasons with the Browns, Senators, White Sox, and Phillies. He was kind enough to sign two cards for me, as well as answer a few questions about his career.

When I first sent those cards off, unbeknownst to me, Daddy D had stuck a 1961 Sievers in the mail that arrived a few days after I wrote Mr. Sievers. Additionally, my dad and I had several conversations about mid-50's baseball, all of which in one way or another made their way back to the Washington Senators and a friend of my dad's who today might be the only Nats fan in existence. Well, really wished I included Daddy D's card (as a surprise for him later) and I really wanted to give the others to my dad and his friend, but that's three cards and I only had two. Great idea, poor execution.

Until I decided to write to Mr. Sievers again and (quite humbly) ask for a couple of more autos. I hope I wasn't too annoying, and a big "Thank you" is on the mail, but these are really going to make a Merry Christmas for the old men in my life.

First up: 1953 Topps.

I really, really dig this card. It's happy Mr. Sievers, having returned to the majors after a brief stint back in the minors. LOVE the two-tiered grandstand over his right shoulder, sparsely populated with fans before or after a game, hints of the cityscape filling in the rest of the space behind him. There are even a few clouds up there: an absolute classic from the '53 set. Here's the back:

The '53s are slightly oversized for modern cards and awesome. The kind of info included on the back reminds up how much the game has changed culturally in the past 60 years. Not only did Mr. Sievers have an off-season job, but he was an inspector in an auto plant. Can't imagine ANYONE playing in the Series doing anything like that.

And then there's this card, 1950 Bowman:

It's the RC, and it's signed ROY '49. There's some really nice symmetry in that. This card is beautiful, and everything I dig about the best of the early '50s Bowmans. I even picked up another copy just to have an unsigned copy. It looks like Mr. Sievers is in foul territory behind the left field line, with the center field stands being behind him. We've got the large scoreboard and the empty stands back there, maybe a few smokestacks beyond that. It's a great posed shot, and the colors are tremendous, but it really gives you a sense of the player in a down moment, before or after a game, when there's no one else around but some guys taking extra swings in the cage and some rookie named Sievers posing for his first baseball card in a time when baseball cards were no big deal.

Thanks again Mr. Sievers!

Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Old Man Update: Horse Trading with Daddy D

So, the old man has been here 72 hours. Pleasantries exchanged, Wally Moon gifted, a Chicago Whales T-shirt received, we're down to business. We don't know when he's leaving, he doesn't know when he's leaving. In the mean time, we're trading cards.

I dig Roy Sievers. He was the toughest batter Bobby Shantz had to face (per Mr. Shantz himself) and a he had some great lifetime numbers for the Browns, Senators, White Sox, and Phillies, and was ROY in 1949. He also laid some great sigs on these cards I sent him. First, the 1960:

The funny thing is that here he looks like a dude that eats nails for breakfast. In both of these he's about as serious as I've seen a ballplayer look. Pretty bad day, I guess. I mean, compare it to the 1956:

That's happy Mr. Sievers. And now, I know that about half of the 1956 set is in the running for "best card from the 1956 set." This card, however, is definitely in the top 10%. Those are some classic shades he's sporting there in the background, and I love the empty stands behind him as he makes the catch. Which leads us to the question of "What kind of catch is that?" Pretty strange, looks like he's about to break his back.

So, Daddy D gives me this card, but is holding out on a sweet 1959 he brought. We're currently in negotiations.

He also brought a small stack of "look but not for trade cards" he wants up on the blog for various funny reasons and I, as the dutiful son-in-law in want of a 1959 Sievers, will gladly oblige. I'll be getting to these over the next few days, and they are pretty awesome.

Finally, I'll be a little behind on trade posts as a consequence, but let me say to the folks I've traded with recently that y'all are awesome and I can't thank you enough for your generosity! I hope you dig the cards I sent you as much as I dig these, and they'll be up on the blog soon!

Have a great one!