Get Your Suitcase Packed: Another Fargo Addition

I know I'm backed up and again, apologies to those to whom I owe posts. These were scanned in from before I went to Honduras, and I'm gonna let them rip until I get the scanner running.

I noticed Big Nick's had a small box marked "$3.99/ no discounts" last time I was there. Had I not noticed it before? Where had it been? No matter. It was mostly vintage commons in decent shape. The randomness of the offerings (and the name written on some of them!) have me convinced they belonged to a little old lady who brought them in to make a few bucks. 

First up of the 4 cards I scored: Harry "Suitcase" Simpson, the larger version of "Briefcase" Simpson found here. 

Troll posted about Suitcase a while back, but try as I might I can't find it (help me out, T!). The '50s were FULL of great sets, and for some reason I feel like the '53s get lost in the mix. These are a REAL painted set (sorry Nat'l Chicle) and show what can be done with that kind of card production. And as you can tell by Mr. Simpson's awkward, toothy smile, these aren't even idealized portraits. Here we've got Suitcase Simpson, misaligned teeth and all, flashing a ML smile with the lip of the upper deck railing rising just over his right shoulder. And then, of course, the back:

Stengel once called him the best defensive RF in the game? Great praise! And here you also have the marks from a stamp which, I believe, says "Dolores Pederson." I'll have some more Dolores for you tomorrow, but that's all for now.

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

Nicknames: "Fire" Trucks, Whammy, Superman, and Briefcase

OK, no mail from Mr. "Fire" Trucks today, but I did get two letters. I'm out of town from Monday to Wednesday, so hopefully something shows up around then!

The coolest thing about having the blog is the kind of people you meet who know a lot more about baseball than you do. It's all relative, but I like learning more about the game and its history, especially from other folks that love and follow the game.

A while back I said I had a "top two" nicknames, which I did. Little did I know of the awesomeness of two others. So, we're up to a top four, in no certain order: "Whammy" Douglas, Virgil "Fire" Trucks, Art "Superman" Pennington, and Herb "Briefcase" Simpson.

Yep, Mr. Pennington signed it with the "Superman." The Ginter insert autos are beyond my financial reach, so as I said earlier I'm trying to contact these gentlemen through the mail. AND, there will be a Pennington giveaway a few weeks after the Trucks giveaway, so keep your eyes peeled. In case you are interested, Mr. Pennington has a website found here. He lost everything in the Cedar Rapids flood last summer, so if you are thinking on throwing down cash on the Ginter certified auto, you might consider sending him a base card and a few bucks instead.

He even answered the question sheet I sent him. Where did "Superman" come from? His mom when he was 10 or 12. I'll save the rest for the giveaway later.

I also heard back from this gentleman, Herb "Briefcase" Simpson (another article here).

How awesome is the nickname "Briefcase"!?! Now, in my utter ignorance, I had no idea Mr. Simpson's nickname was "Briefcase," so I didn't ask him how he became known as "Briefcase." Might have to send a follow up letter and ask. BUT, what was his best moment in baseball? Mr. Simpson hit a homer off Satchell Paige and his parents were in the stadium to see it! Very cool memory to share.

So, as a general question, why haven't the big THEY made a Negro League set loaded up with "hits" or whatever? Any thoughts? Given the popularity of the Negro League Ginter autos, would you bust a product with Negro League hits, cut sigs, and relics? They could even get current prominent Afro-American players involved. What do you think?

P.S. Upper Deck, let me suggest that, having lost your MLB license, this would seem to be one heck of an idea. Plus, you'd be educating the general public and providing extra income for some of these men.