I can't help falling in love with you

or

My first glimpse of the 1910-1911 T3 Turkey Red Cabinets.

Jed Drinkwine had a nice offering of these cards at the recent card show. According to The Catalog, the

"Turkey Red cabinet cards were obtained by mailing in coupons found in Turkey Red, Fez and Old Mill brand cigarettes. Turkey Reds measure 5-3/4" x 8", and feature full-color lithograph fronts with wide gray frames."

"The series consists of 25 boxers and 100 basebaseball players. Coupons issued in the cigarette boxes indicate the first 50 baseball player cards were produced for spring, 1910, delivery, with the 25 boxers produced later that year and the final 50 baseball players issued in 1911."

"Backs are known in three styles: 1) checklist with no ordering information, 2) checklist with ordering information, and, 3) with an illustrated ad for Turkey Red cigarettes. The checklist backs are found on both low-and high-number cards, the ad backs are only on cards #77-126."

To me, the cards had a camel-colored edge, not gray. The colors were striking and the cards looked like they were printed yesterday, save for the wear. I wanted one. Couldn't afford it. And seeing as how I've promised to take my wife on a cruise to someplace warm for our upcoming 20^th anniversary, I won't be getting one this year.

The above photos, which I took at the recent card show, don't do them justice.

Here are some links for more info and better photos of the T3 series:

* Craig Diamond's T3 Turkey Red site

* Vintage Cardboard's T3 Turkey Red reference page

* Dave's Vintage Baseball Cards

* T207.com's T3 Gallery

* ebay.com's current listing of T3 Turkey Red cards

* PSA's T3 HOF set registry (there are 25 Hall of Famers in this set)

* My old friend, Orval Overall (image hosted at CenturyOldCards.com)

If you want to impress your friends and dazzle them with your disposable income, Robert Edward Auctions will have a 1911 T3 Turkey Red #9 Ty Cobb PSA EX 5 up for bid (est. $10,000/$15,000; res. $5,000).

Card Show dealers of note

Last weekend I attended a card show in town. I met and spoke with three dealers that I want to share with you.

This is Mark Dill. He is the owner of Dill's Sports Cards, based out of Dandridge, TN. A county over from me. He had a very nice selection of 1950's and 1960's cards. I was only interested in the baseball. He might have had other sports. I really don't remember. Turns out that he works with a friend of mine at a school in my county. That friend bought my old house a year and a half ago. Small world. One thing that I really liked is that he had all of his cards sorted in binders by year. Prices were clearly marked by card. Example: $1 for all cards, except for high number. $2 for high number. Makes it pretty easy. When he asked me what I was collecting and I said, "Earl Wilson" he was able to comment on the player and guide me towards the correct binders. We talked about what he collects, the state of the hobby and the show. If you want to get in touch with him, he can be reached via: dillssports AT cs DOT com .   Edit: The email I just sent Mark bounced.  I'll contact him via phone and see if he has another one.


This is William D. Campbell, Jr., CEO of Pinespursports. They specialize in Autographed Sports Memorabilia. He's holding up an Andre Thomas game used jersey. Among other things he had a very fun offering of Travel Reports and Spring Training Reports from 1976 and 1978. William was generous with his time and stories.  Edit: The Andre Thomas jersey is to William's right.  He is holding up a coach's jersey from a Brave's OldTimer's game.  Jersey number 16.


Jed Drinkwine is the owner of Jed Drinkwine's Vintage Cards. Jed is holding an autograph of Babe Ruth from an autograph book. The page is fully intact with a photo of Babe. The signature is the largest that I've ever seen of Babe. Bold and crisp. Jed also had some great singles from the late 1950's through the 1970's that he was selling for $1. Buy more than 10, get a better deal. I pulled about eight of them aside, hockey, baseball, football, but I returned them to the box as I was trying to stay in my assigned budget.

Jed also had a very nice collection of T3 Turkey Reds. Not the ones that Topps calls Turkey Reds with current players, but the ones from about 100 years ago. I fell in love with them and will share some photos and my thoughts on them in another post.

All three dealers were kind enough to let me take the photos and spend some time with them. I learned some, saw some things that I probably won't see again and look forward to doing some business in the future.

WWJD ?

I just read an interesting article over at USA Today's website.  The story is about four MLB teams that have scheduled games on Good Friday afternoon.  The teams are the Tigers, Rockies, Royals and Brewers.  According to the MLB schedule site, the Indians are also playing a game during the afternoon.

Now, in light of my declaration of not wanting to discuss religion on this blog, I'm going to step up to that line and put my foot on it to see if it is paint or chalk.

My thoughts are that it is okay.  As far as this entry's title...  I think that Jesus would enjoy a nice game of ball on Good Friday afternoon.  In a stadium with real grass and the sun warming the crowd.  And it would be the National League.  If a pitcher is going to play, he should bat.

I don't mean to stir up the pot, I just didn't have much to talk about on cards or memorabilia tonight.

1954 Topps Luke Easter (card # 23)

image lifted from an ebay auction

Random cards

Knowing that I hadn't posted anything today I was scratching my head as far as what to share, which reminded me of the 1981 Topps Scratchoffs. The cards were to be played as a game of baseball. They were sold, with bubble gum, three cards to a panel. National League cards were green, American League were red. 108 different players but 144 possible panel combinations. Years and years ago I started a small Dale Murphy collection to have to trade with a Murphy collector. We never traded and now I've got some oddball stuff hanging around. Dale Murphy was one of the premier outfielders of the 1980s. He was a seven time All-Star, winning the Golden Glove five years stratight (1982-1986). He was also the National League MVP two years in a row (1982 and 1983). This is a 1981 Topps Scratchoffs Dale Murphy (card #72).

Here's a card that I forgot that I had. I've got a binder that has some older cards in it. I guess I tried to get one card of each year for Topps. I had to look up some info on "Red" Kress. He started playing major league ball in 1927 with the St. Louis Browns. He played his final game in 1946 with the New York Giants, after a five year absence from playing baseball. He was coaching in the minor leagues. He then coached for the Cleveland Indians, the Los Angeles Angels and finished up coaching the New York Mets in 1962. He died in November of that same year.

This is a 1954 Topps Ralph "Red" Kress (card #160). Note the crown that the mascot is wearing.

Time to update the reading queue

I figured that it is time to let you know what I'm reading...

A few years ago my parents got me some baseball books. The one that I'm currently working on is A Donald Honig Reader. That is not an accurate statement. I'm not working on it, for it is a joy to read. Very similar to Lawrence Ritter's The Glory of Their Times. Interviews with players from years (and decades) gone by. Reading the stories of pitchers brushing back Ruth or comparing sore arms with Walter Johnson is nice and pastoral.

The Ultimate Baseball Book is a collection of essays, generally grouped by era, but not always. I find it hard to sit and read it in a straight line, so I generally leaf through until I find an interesting passage. And the pictures. Wonderful, wonderful pictures. I picked up my copy at a used bookstore for $2. Worth every penny, even though it is "updated to include the 1980's." The older stuff hasn't changed. I'm happy with my copy.

I received a package in the mail yesterday from... yup, my folks. They really support me and my hobbies. Thanks, mom and dad.

Anyhow, there was a book. Les Krantz's Reel Baseball: Baseball’s Golden Era, The Way America Witnessed It – In The Movie Newsreels. The book contains a DVD with the footage that was seen in cinema houses across the country. I look forward to reading (and watching) this..

And lastly, Carl Erskine's Tales from the Dodger Dugout. I'm borrowing this from the library. It surprised me to find that the book that I checked out was an autographed copy. I'll start reading this one tonight.

Soapbox

I need to climb up onto my soapbox for a moment. When I started this blog a few months ago it was my intent to stay away from hot-button topics. Politics. Religion. Even steroids. But I feel I need to bring a topic to light.

Reading the sports card blogs has opened my eyes to many things. Some wonderful, some, well, not so much. I have seen bloggers and those that comment use the word retard or retarded. I find this type of language hurtful and painful. I'm sure that those that say or write those words probably don't give it a second thought. It may just be part of their normal vocabulary.

My daughter, Caroline, has Down syndrome (Ds). She has an extra copy of the 21^st chromosome. Clinically she has mental retardation. I know that, but seeing the r-word used with such casualness is disturbing to me.

I would ask that the readers of this blog to take a moment to think before they speak (or write). Words are powerful tools. Please stop using this demeaning word. It isn't fair to those with intellectual disabilities.

There is a campaign underway to address this issue...

Some resources about Ds and those with special needs can be found here:
* National Down Syndrome Society
* Special Olympics
* r-word.org

The other night, Caroline had a fever. She couldn't sleep very well, so into daddy's chair we went. The World Baseball Classic was still in full swing. Japan was beating Cuba. Yoennis Cespedes had just dropped a fly ball and they were playing that clip over and over again. Caroline started to giggle and laugh. She thought that it was the greatest thing. Then she said, "C is for Caroline. Also for cat. And also for cookie." She saw the C on the hats of the Cuban players. She got it.

She likes to watch gymnastics on TV. We call it flip. When watching NASCAR she'll pump her fist in the air and say (to my wife's delight), "Go Jeff Burton. Go Junior." She loves to watch her older brother play middle school football. She can identify the letters on my Rockies T-shirt and will point to them and spell it out.

The other day I mentioned that Carl Erskine and I shared something. It is that we both have a child with Ds. Albert Pujols has a step-daughter with Ds. It isn't that uncommon.


This is Caroline...


So, as you speak or write and are tempted to use the r-word, think of Caroline. Think of me. Think of the 7 million people in America that have intellectual disabilities. Think about using a different word. I thank you. And they will, too.

I'm stepping off of my soapbox now.

Autograph Day (2008)

This was a blog entry I did on my other blog, about a year ago. I have not edited it, save to add a scan of the actual autographs.

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At the end of March, Edison and I went to Tucson to be with my mom (and dad) as she went through a knee replacement surgery. The day after we arrived (and the day before the surgery) we went to Hi Corbett Field to see the Chicago White Sox play the Colorado Rockies.


It was a warm, sunny day. We got there before the gates opened, because it was Autograph Day. Who would be signing? Who knew? Not us. We rushed in with a sea of fans. Mom, not wanting to stand in line, went and found our seats behind home plate. We saw the small table where the Rockies players would be signing. After standing in line for about 30 minutes, Edison decided that it wasn't worth it. Dad and I toughed it out and had Eric Young, Jr. and Micah Bowie sign our ticket stubs. Micah commented on my Nationals hat.


Then we made our way to our seats. We watched the Rockies warm up and the grounds crew finish their preparations. The White Sox arrived in a bus, a left field gate opened and they ambled to their dugout. Edison tried to get one of them to sign his ticket, but not many were signing. Even few acknowledged their fans.

Shortly before the game started Clint Hurdle, manager of the Rockies, was behind home plate talking with some of the fans. Edison and I managed to get our tickets signed. Clint was very generous with his time.


We got to see some good players, including Todd Helton (UT alum) in a 5-2 Sox win.

Sunburns and nachos during spring training. Now that's baseball.