Of course, I chose Paul Blair, a player from my childhood. I had a Paul Blair model baseball glove and his cards were my entry back into the hobby. As it currently stands, I have 112 unique Paul Blair cards in my PC. Here are my favorites in no particular order.
This 1993 Nabisco All Star Legends is probably the most valuable card in my Blair PC. It was not issued through the mail, like the more common cards from this set. It was only issued in person and regional card shows. It rarely comes up for sale on EBay, but when it does it often sells for over $100. I actually have two, neither of which cost me more than $25.
This 1965 Rookie Stars card is, as you may have surmised, Paul Blair's rookie card.
I'm not trying to troll Night Owl here, though I have to admit it is a nice side benefit. No, I like this 1967 Topps World Series card because it captures a key moment in his career, which many cards of the time never did, what with all the spring training posed and head shots.
1978 Topps. This was during the period when I followed the Yankees religiously. I even cut out box scores, taped them in a notebook and kept running statistics, game by game.
This Pro-Cards card appeals to me on several levels. It is an oddball, I like the design, and it features my favorite player as a coach of my hometown Rochester Red Wings
2000 Upper Deck Legendary Lumber. It's a nicely designed card that features Blair and, for some reason, Lou Pinella. There is a Gold version of this card where the cutout is the NY letters and is surrounded by the bat relic chip.
This 1999 SI Fleer Greats of the Game auto card is it. The very first card I got when I decided to get back into collecting.
1993 Upper Deck Baseball Assistance Team three panel card, based on the T202 Hassan triple fold cad from 1912. This is part of a 165 card set that might be fun to collect. In fact, I think I will. a 24 pack box (with 12 cards per pack) is going for around $30 on EBay. Of course, I'll need to find an appropriate Ultra Pro sheet for them.
My favorite modern era set is the 2004 Fleer Greats of the Game set. It was the best of the several GOTG set, with thick embossed cards and a great checklist.
1981 The Franchise, a regional issue set featuring members of the 1966 Baltimore Orioles.
So, there they are. Now I am off to do some yard work before it gets too hot.
Sorry for the ignorance, but I had never heard of Paul Blair prior to this post. He was retired before I was born and despite man gold glove awards didn't seem to get a lot of recognition. I am amazed at how many current cards he has. Very fun to look at these cards.
ReplyDeleteThanks for entering the contest.
Young whippersnapper. *shakes fist*
DeleteMy other player collection is Johnny Antonelli. Another good player, in his time, but mostly forgotten today. He played from 1948 to 1961 and retired before I was born. I knew him mainly as the owner of a chain of tire stores in Rochester, NY.
Awesome collection. Didn't realize Blair played with the Yankees. Lol. Actually don't know much about him... but whenever I have seen his cards, he's featured with the Orioles. Hope you stayed cool while doing the yard work.
ReplyDeleteYes, he was the player sent to right field in the infamous incident where Billy Martin pulled Reggie Jackson in the middle of an inning.
DeleteAs was stated earlier, I don't believe I'd heard of Paul Blair before this post. There are certainly some nice (autos and mem) cards in there. I love seeing collections from folks that enjoy collecting players other than just the mega superstar names!
ReplyDeletePaul Blair was the coolest ballplayer great centerfielder and all around good guy ..we used to wait outside the players exit of Memorial Stadium in Baltimore if the players didnt have to catch a bus for a road trip they used to sign a couple auto's on the way to their car but Blair uesed to sit in his Cadillac convertible and sign until every kid got his signature I am 54 now and still have all the things he signed for me ,. A really special person ..PS it was horrible when he went to the Yanks
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome! Thank you for sharing that. I never met him in person and it is nice to hear his personality matched the image on the cards.
ReplyDelete