The 30-Day Baseball Card Challenge: Day #9

Tony, the wonderful writer of the “Off Hiatus Baseball” blog, started a fun activity based off the “30-Day Music Challenge” that Twitter users were taking. The list of challenges looks like this:

Today, we’ll continue with Challenge #9: One of your favorite cards from the 1950’s.

While working on this challenge, I realized something. My collection of cards from the 50’s is SEVERELY lacking. In fact, I could only find three cards from that decade in my collection. How is that even possible? I guess those cards don’t just fall accidentally into your lap, and I haven’t had the desire to chase any down. But, I have been working on a collection of Red Sox Hall of Famers, trying to get a Red Sox card from their playing days of every player in the Red Sox Hall of Fame. Obviously this quest will never be completed. I feel safe saying that a vintage Babe Ruth Red Sox card will never be in my collection. There are also a few turn of the century guys whose card are pretty unattainable unless I can find I card ripped in half and glued to a scrapbook. But, this goal has allowed me to add some cards that make the 11-year old me very happy. Like this one.

If you told 11-year old me that he would one day own a card from the 1952 Topps set, he would have laughed and laughed and laughed. Nobody actually had those cards. I mean, a friend’s dad was rumored to have a few, including multiple Mantles. But even that was as much legend as anything I could confirm as being true. 

But, now, here I am holding an actual 1952 Topps card in my hands. (Ok. Ok. It’s trapped in that case, so I’m holding a case in my hands. I’m pretending it’s still the same thing.) My collection contains a 1952 Topps card. It’s still fun to think about.

Another nice thing about the HOF collection is that it makes me chase down at least good players. So, rather than a common ’52 I have Parnell here. Obviously he had a decent Red Sox career, including being an all-star in ’49 and ’51. But for this post, the real draw in the ’52 Topps card.

And the fact that I own one.