I'm dang near caught up. Which is good, because I am heading to a card show tomorrow; my first in at least four months. So, let me knock this off right quick now. Here is the 16th autographed 1961 Fleer card I have added to my collection:
This one set me back the princely sum of $19 delivered, which I consider a bargain for a member of the baseball Hall of Fame. Kiner's career was cut short, after 10 major league seasons, due to back issues, but was elected to Cooperstown in 1975. He had a long career as a NY Mets radio announcer. At the time of his death in 2014, he was the last living player featured in the 1960 and 1961 Fleer Baseball Greats sets. Only 5 other players featured in those sets lived into the 21st centurey (Lou Boudreau, Marty Marion, Bob Feller, Ted Williams, and Eddie Joost.)
What I am listening to: Things Have Changed by Bettye Lavette
It's cold outside and I am not interested in going outside and doing anything. There is plenty to do around here, but I think I'll crank out another post before I go dormant again.
It has been a long time since I added anything to my two player collections: Paul Blair and Johnny Antonelli. I have likely exhausted most of the major issues for both men and am down to the rare oddball/regional issues. Of course, there are numerous non-licensed cut-auto issues over the last decade. But, I don't really collect those as they generally don't feature photos and are issued in deliberately low numbers (Artificial scarcity makes my blood boil and is why I gave up collecting modern set issues (I'm looking at you, Heritage!)
But, I continue to keep an eye on EBay in case anything new (to me) pops up for these PCs. A few weeks ago something did:
A 1961 Kahn's Wiener Antonelli. This is considered card #1 in the 43 card set. The cards aren't actually numbered, as you can see below. But, Antonelli is first when the card subjects are alphabetized. So, card #1. Kahn's was an Ohio meat company, so this set only features players from the Indians, Reds, and Pirates. The set features Hall of Famers Bill Mazeroski, Frank Robinson, and Roberto Clemente.
A quick review indicates that this is the 62nd unique Antonelli card in my collection. That includes a couple Stratomatic cards.
What I am listening to: Corazon Espinado by Santana
Well that last one was fun, but it is time to move back to the shallow end of the pool. Here is my 15th autographed 1961 Fleer card, Ossie Bluege.
I picked this up for $19 delivered.
Ossie Bluege had an 18 year MLB career between 1922 and 1939, all with the American League Washington Senators. He put up a .272/.352/.356 slash line over that career. That is just slightly above replacement level, as he put up a total of 28.3 WAR over his playing days. He was considered one of the better third baseman of his era and modern fielding metrics support this notion. He also managed the Senators from 1943 through 1947. Overall, during his 5 years at the helm, he out up a 375-394 win-loss record, though he did lead the team to two second place finishes in 1943 and 1947.
His on-field career ended after 1947 and he went on to a long career in the front office, first as a one man farm director and later as the team comptroller (he was an accountant in the off-season during his playing career and executive secretary.
While he could be considered a baseball lifer, he probably isn't all that well known by modern fans. One claim to fame that should resonate with modern baseball aficionados is the fact that he was the guy that originally scouted and signed future Hall-of-Famer Harmon Killibrew
What I am listening to: Psycho Killer by Talking Heads
