A Tribute to Harmon Killebrew

This installment of the Card of the Week (or not quite a week) features the 1975 Topps Harmon Killebrew card, number 640 in the set. The 1975 Topps set was noted for it's two color frame around the photos, a radically different look than the previous sets had. It was almost as though Topps was trying to cash in on having drugged up people look at the card borders and have strange trips.

The reason for the card, and Killebrew in particular, is actually a melancholy one. This card was actually the final card produced by Topps during his playing career, and it feels like a fitting tribute to this great player. Killebrew, as some of you may not have heard, was battling esophageal cancer. Now, at age 74, he has decided to end his battle, and is settling into hospice care to live out the rest of his days.

Killebrew, even when looking at the inflated numbers of the steroid era, still rates as one of the top sluggers in baseball history. His 573 home runs ranks 11th on the all-time list, just behind Mark McGwire. His eight seasons with 40 or more home runs is second all-time, trailing only Babe Ruth. He also made 11 All-Star games, and won an MVP award in 1969.

Killebrew was known as a humble, gentle person, whose nickname of 'Killer' was the furthest possible from his way of being. When asked about his nickname once, Killebrew said "I didn't have evil intentions, but I guess I did have power." With 573 career homers, there is no guesswork as to how much power he truly had.

Card of the Week Part 7 - 1921 Exhibit Babe Ruth

This week, the featured card is the 1921 Exhibit Babe Ruth. Exhibit produced a litany of various cards, focusing on the pop culture of the time. Their cards ran the gamut of topics, from sports to entertainers to fighter planes and even Benito Mussolini and strippers (seriously). From 1921, when Exhibit began it's foray into the trading card business, to 1971, it is estimated that they produced over 14000 different cards on various topics.

Exhibit, not being a tobacco or candy company, had a different way of distributing these cards. As most people during that time frame went to bars or amusement parks for entertainment, they created a card dispencing machine, the sole purpose of which was to sell these cards. This was significant for the time, as previously cards, regardless of topic, were intended as a secondary piece of advertising. For Exhibit, the cards were the purpose.

The card featured is the Babe Ruth from the inagural set. Unlike most items featuring Ruth, this one has him in a fielding position, which is exceedingly rare. Notice how he seems to be staring off into the distance, even as his body is, theoretically, facing the field of play. Yet, even dispite his seeming nonchelance towards fielding being captured for all time, Ruth was a solid fielder for his time. In 1921, he had a .966, which was actually .006 higher than the league average. Over his career, his defensive wins above replacement, which compares a player to the league average, finished at a positive 7.4. All in all, Ruth was not a liability in the field of play.

This is a very rare card, with a very rare image of Ruth, capturing a skill that he still had, but was not considered as noteworthy as his prodigious power. Exhibit did quite well to use this as the picture for this set.

Card of the Week Part 6 - 2010 Prestige Aaron Hernandez

Above is the 2010 Panini Prestige Aaron Hernandez rookie card. This card was one of 104 rookie cards included in the base set (which included four cards not listed on the main checklist), and one of 26 different short prints. Panini has refused to announce a print run for the short prints in the set, or the odds to gettting one of the short prints in a box, so as to avoid placing an artifical cap on card values. Instead, they are relying on the secondary market and the principles of supply and demand to set prices.

Several of the rookies in the set have both a base card and a short printed draft variation. These include some of the bigger names in the 2010 draft, such as Tim Tebow, Sam Bradford, and Ndamukong Suh. Also, Gerald McCoy has two cards, both of which are short printed.

For a first time football set for a company known mainly for producing stickers, this was an excellent debut. Included in the 104 rookie cards were players who started to get more playing time and hobby love throughout the year, such as Blair White and James Starks. The rookies themselves are listed in alphabetical order by first name, with the exception of cards 301 through 304, which were not listed on the checklist that came with the box.

The Hernandez card is a great example for this set for a number of reasons. Not only is it the first rookie card on the checklist, but it is also the first short print. The set has a nice, crisp design, and does an excellent job with getting head shots of the rookies. At approximately $90 per box, with a total of four games used and/or autographs, this was a great product.

Card of the Week - Part 4

This week's Card of the Week features Jim Brown's 1964 Philadelphia card. This set came about when, in 1964, Topps decided to print cards exclusively of players from the AFL, due to the large television contract they had signed. As such, there were no cards of the NFL, and the popular Giants, Browns, and Bears. However, the Philadelphia Gum Company quickly stepped in, and began producing cards for the NFL.

For the most part, the cards in the set are incredibly well done, with photos of the players without their helmets on (aside from Y.A. Tittle and Erich Barnes) against a clear blue sky. However, twelve members of the Cleveland Browns had their photos taken in a parking lot, with Jim Brown's brand new white Cadillac as the backdrop. Why? Well, it is a cool car.

Looking at this card, it's obvious as to why Brown would want to be photographed with it. He appears to truly have a lot of pride in this possession, and it almost seems as if he was using the card as a way of promoting what he owned (sort of like a very early version of MTV Cribs or something of that ilk). Why the other 11 members of the Browns were posed near that car is entirely beyond me however. Maybe Brown talked them into it to help promote the car. Maybe Philadelphia was rushed for time due to a deadline to produce the cards. Or maybe they ran out of money for the budget, and slammed them out as quickly as possible. Either way, it is a strange background for a football card.

This is, all in all, a very nice football set, featuring 30 different Hall of Famers, 12 different rookies, and, interestingly enough, three different players who ended up with an acting career. The set has 198 cards, and is very affordable, with the most valuable card presently booking for $90, which is the Jim Brown card. Should one be looking to build a smaller vintage football set, 1964 Philadelphia is definitely one to consider.

On a personal level, this card has always reminded me of my father. Back in 1964, he was 10 years old. He played football in high school, taught my brother and I thinks like how to catch a football and how to tackle, and is a major car guy. This card, combining football and classic cars, always brings him to mind.

Card of the Week - Part 3

This week's 'Card of the Week' is actually a set: the 1991 Topps Desert Shield set. This set was a parallel to the basic 1991 Topps set, and was given distributed in pack form to the troops serving in the Desert Shield campaign. The difference is in the foil stamp in the upper right hand part of the card.

These cards are extremely rare, holding one of the highest multipliers in terms of value for any Topps set. As such, they were prone to counterfeiting. The best way to tell whether or not the Desert Shield card is genuine is to examine the foil stamp itself. The real logo is silver and does not shine brightly. The counterfeits have a stamp that is almost gold in color, and extremely bright. To get around this, people online tend to darken the photos, this way the foil stamp seems closer to the silver of the legitimate cards.

The Steve Jeltz card depicted is simply an example of the cards from the set. Yes, I fully admit to picking this card due to being a Royals fan and this being the first Royals player I located. All in all, this is an interesting set, not only due to the scarcity of the cards, but due to the historical context of the first war in Iraq.

Card of the Week - Part 1

Above is the Shoeless Joe Jackson bat card from 2001 SP Legendary Cuts. The card was a part of the Debut Game Bat set, featuring players who had yet to have a game used card produced.

The card has an interesting history. As Jackson was banned from Major League Baseball due to his alleged involvement with the 1919 Black Sox scandal, he was not able to be on any cards licensed by Major League Baseball or the Player's Union.  As such, this card ended up being pulled from production, making it a difficult card to locate.

Jackson was also a very good player, and one that would have ended up in the Hall of Fame had he not be banned. He left baseball with the third highest all-time batting average at .356. He had a career total of 1772. However, he is best known for his alleged role with the Black Sox, a matter that he was found innocent after a trial in 1921. Despite this, the commissioner of baseball, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, banned him and the other seven players, stating that baseball needed to clean up it's image.

Jackson's tale is rather tragic, and this card, and the history surrounding it, reinforces the absurdity of his suspension.