A memory and a story of renewed interest in this hobby of ours!
I may have mentioned this before (ok...maybe a few times) that one of my biggest collecting regrets happened when I was a third grader at Immanuel Lutheran School in the far Northwest suburbs of Chicago. The time would have been around 1974 and the setting would be old Mrs. Bickel's third grade cl*ss room which was a cl*ssic old school house room with drafty windows and chalk boards all around. It was in this cl*ss room that a collecting memory was burned into my young brain, never to be forgotten.
It was known to all of my cl*ssmates that I was a huge baseball fan and collected baseball cards. It was not unusual for a friend to bring in a card or two that they found around their house and give it to me because to add to my collection. It was on a fall day, right after the World Series had ended that a cl*ssmate walked into the room before the first bell rang and handed me a large brown shopping bag and said I could have what was inside. I eagerly opened the bag and my jaw dropped to my cold, wooden desk with a thud. Inside this bag were treasures I had never before laid eyes on. Hundreds of baseball cards thrown haphazardly into a bag with little regard for condition. Cards that were bigger in size than any I have ever seen were now in my hands with names I could only recognize from the many baseball history books I had learned to read a few short years earlier. There was Pafko, Berra, Lockman and some guy named Shoendinst (or at least that is how my young mind pronounced it). There was Aaron and Banks and some guy named Mantle. I could not believe my luck that someone had decided they no longer wanted these treasures and had p*ssed them on to me.
In all my excitement I failed to realize the final bell had rung, my cl*ssmates were all in their desks and Mrs. Bickel was standing at the front of the cl*ss, taking attendance. With my head still in the brown bag, discovering names I had never before seen I was tapped on the shoulder and brought back to reality. As I looked up to see who could possibly be ruining this incredible moment for me I realized it was the teacher who apparently did not like baseball cards nearly as much as I did because if she did she would have realized the importance of this moment. As I tried to explain my point of view, her old, boney hand reached out and grabbed by treasured bag and brought it to her desk where it hit the bottom of her drawer with a resounding flop. They were gone....all gone. Mickey, Yogi and Andy were now in my teachers desk. All I could think about was getting those cards back in my hands but it was never to happen. The years have diminished my memory and for the life of me I cannot remember why I never got the cards back. Perhaps it was because this was literally and old school religious school where you never questioned the teacher and I was too afraid to ask. I would have never mentioned it to my parents as they would have probably kicked my back side for not paying attention in cl*ss rather than blame the teacher for taking away my prized possessions. Either way those cards are long gone buy forever burned into my memory. I loved them for the nostalgia they represented with the color television theme and I loved them for the memory they gave me. I vowed that, one day, I would put that set together and relieve that third grade nightmare I have vivid memories of.
Flash forward to a few months ago. On the Net54 boards I saw someone advertising a small lot of '55 Bowman's at a decent price. I knew this was now the time to start putting the nightmare to rest and we worked out a deal. As it turned out the cards I purchased were cards that were recently found at a garage sale and their only owner opened the packs as a third grader and put them aside for decades before selling them this past summer. The cards were even sold in the original Phillies cigar box from that same time frame where these new treasures rested all these years. After hearing this I knew this set was meant for me.
I have now purchased another lot from another Net54 board member who is graciously holding even more for me for when I can scrape the funds together to buy them. I have even made a few more purchases from Ebay and have found a renewed interest in collecting that had once escaped me. No shiny refractors or numbered parallels for me. Just musty smelling cardboard with a colored television border and names I had long ago forgotten, staring back at me. Andy, Yogi and yes, even Mickey. Hello old friends. Where ya been?
Here is what I have accumulated so far and will update this thread when more arrive. Many of these cards are the very tough high number series which I am quite happy to have purchased at such a decent price.
Thank you for indulging me on this journey.
1 Hoyt Wilhelm
2 Al Dark
3 Joe Coleman
4 Eddie Waitkus
5 Jim Robertson
6 Pete Suder
7 Gene Baker
8 Warren Hacker
9 Gil McDougald
10 Phil Rizzuto
11 Bill Bruton
12 Andy Pafko
13 Clyde Vollmer
14 Gus Keriazakos
15 Frank Sullivan
16 Jimmy Piersall
17 Del Ennis
18 Stan Lopata
19 Bobby Avila
20 Al Smith
21 Don Hoak
22 Roy Campanella
23 Al Kaline
24 Al Aber
25 Minnie Minoso
26 Virgil Trucks
27 Preston Ward
28 Dick Cole
29 Red Schoendienst
30 Bill Sarni
31 Johnny Temple Rookie Card
32 Wally Post
33 Nellie Fox
34 Clint Courtney
35 Bill Tuttle
36 Wayne Belardi
37 Pee Wee Reese
38 Early Wynn
39 Bob Darnell
40 Vic Wertz
41 Mel Clark
42 Bob Greenwood
43 Bob Buhl
44 Danny O'Connell
45 Tom Umphlett
46 Mickey Vernon
47 Sammy White
48 (a)Milt Bolling Frank Bolling on Back
48 (b)Milt Bolling Milt Bolling on Back
49 Jim Greengr*ss
]
50 Hobie Landrith
51 El Tappe Elvin Tappe on Card
52 Hal Rice
53 Alex Kellner
54 Don Bollweg
55 Cal Abrams
56 Billy Cox
57 Bob Friend
58 Frank Thomas
59 Whitey Ford
60 Enos Slaughter
61 Paul LaPalme
62 Royce Lint
63 Irv Noren
64 Curt Simmons
65 Don Zimmer Rookie Card
66 George Shuba
67 Don Larsen
68 Elston Howard Rookie Card
69 Billy Hunter
70 Lou Burdette
71 Dave Jolly
72 Chet Nichols
73 Eddie Yost
74 Jerry Snyder
75 Brooks Lawrence Rookie Card
76 Tom Poholsky
77 Jim McDonald
8 Gil Coan
79 Willy Miranda Willie Miranda on Card
80 Lou Limmer
81 Bobby Morgan
82 Lee Walls
83 Max Surkont
84 George Freese
85 C*ss Michaels
86 Ted Gray
87 Randy Jackson
88 Steve Bilko
89 Lou Boudreau Manager Card
90 Art Ditmar
91 Dick Marlowe
]
92 George Zuverink
93 Andy Seminick
94 Hank Thompson
95 Sal Maglie
96 Ray Narleski Rookie Card
97 Johnny Podres
98 Jim Gilliam
99 Jerry Coleman
100 Tom Morgan
101 (a) Don Johnson Ernie Johnson on Front
101 (b) Don Johnson Don Johnson on Front
102 Bobby Thomson
103 Eddie Mathews
104 Bob Porterfield
105 Johnny Schmitz
106 Del Rice
107 Solly Hemus
108 Lou Kretlow
109 Vern Stephens
110 Bob Miller
111 Steve Ridzik
112 Granny Hamner
113 Bob Hall
114 Vic Janowicz
115 Roger Bowman
116 Sandy Consuegra
117 Johnny Groth
119 Joe Astroth
120 Moe Burtschy Ed Burtschy on Card
121 Jake Crawford Rufus Crawford on Card
122 Al Corwin
123 Marv Grissom
124 Johnny Antonelli
125 Paul Giel
126 Billy Goodman
127 Hank Majeski
128 Mike Garcia
129 Hal Naragon
130 Richie Ashburn
131 Willard Marshall
132 (a) Harvey Kuenn Spelled Kueen on Back
132 (b) Harvey Kuenn Spelled Kuenn on Back
133 Chick King Charles King on Card
134 Bob Feller
135 Lloyd Merriman
136 Rocky Bridges
137 Bob Talbot
138 Davey Williams
139 Shantz Brothers
140 Bobby Shantz
141 Wes Westrum
142 Rudy Regalado
143 Don Newcombe
144 Art Houtteman
145 Bob Nieman
146 Don Liddle
147 Sam Mele
148 Bob Chakales
149 Cloyd Boyer
150 Billy Klaus
151 Jim Brideweser
152 Johnny Klippstein
[
153 Eddie Robinson
154 Frank Lary Rookie Card
155 Gerry Staley
156 Jim Hughes
157 (a)Ernie Johnson Don Johnson on Front
157 (b) Ernie Johnson Ernie Johnson on Front
158 Gil Hodges
159 Harry Byrd
160 Bill Skowron
161 Matt Batts
162 Charlie Maxwell
163 Sid Gordon
164 Toby Atwell
165 Mickey McDermott Maurice McDermott on Card
166 Jim Busby
167 Bob Grim Rookie Card
168 Yogi Berra
169 Carl Furillo
170 Carl Erskine
171 Robin Roberts
172 Willie Jones
173 Chico Carrasquel
174 Sherm Lollar
175 Billy Shantz Wilmer Shantz on Card
176 Joe DeMaestri
177 Willard Nixon
178 Tom Brewer
179 Hank Aaron
P>
180 Johnny Logan
181 Eddie Miksis
182 Bob Rush
183 Ray Katt
184 Willie Mays
185 Vic Raschi
186 Alex Grammas
187 Fred Hatfield
188 Ned Garver
189 Jackie Collum Jack Collum on Card
190 Fred Baczewski
191 Bob Lemon
192 George Strickland
193 Howie Judson
194 Joe Nuxhall
195 (a) Erv Palica No Traded Line
195 (b) Erv Palica Traded Line
196 Russ Meyer
197 Ralph Kiner
198 Dave Pope
199 Vern Law
200 Dick Littlefield
201 Allie Reynolds
202 Mickey Mantle
203 Steve Gromek
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204 (a) Frank Bolling Milt Bolling on Back
204 (b) Frank Bolling Frank Bolling on Back
205 Rip Repulski
206 Ralph Beard
207 Spec Shea Frank Shea on Card
208 Ed Fitz Gerald Ed Fitzgerald on Card
209 Smoky Burgess
210 Earl Torgeson
211 Sonny Dixon
212 Jack Dittmer
213 George Kell
214 Billy Pierce
215 Bob Kuzava
216 Preacher Roe
217 Del Crandall
218 Joe Ad*ock
219 Whitey Lockman
220 Jim Hearn
221 Hal Brown Hector Brown on Card
222 Russ Kemmerer
223 Hal Jeffcoat
224 Dee Fondy
225 Paul Richards Manager Card
226 Bill McKinley Umpire Card
227 Frank Baumholtz
228 Bubba Phillips John Phillips on Card
229 Jim Brosnan Rookie Card
230 Al Brazle
231 Jim Konstanty
232 Birdie Tebbetts Manager Card
233 Bill Serena
234 Dick Bartell
235 Joe Paparella Umpire Card
236 Murry Dickson
237 Johnny Wyrostek
238 Eddie Stanky Manager Card
239 Eddie Rommel Umpire Card (Edwin on Card)
240 Billy Loes
241 Johnny Pesky
242 Ernie Banks
243 Gus Bell
244 Duane Pillette
245 Bill Miller
246 Hank Bauer
247 Dutch Leonard
248 Harry Dorish
249 Billy Gardner
250 Larry Napp Umpire Card
251 Stan Jok
252 Roy Smalley
253 Jim Wilson
254 Ben Flowers Bennett Flowers on Card
255 Pete Runnels
256 Owen Friend
257 Tom Alston
258 John Stevens Umpire Card
259 Don Mossi Rookie Card
260 Edwin Hurley Umpire Card
261 Walt Moryn
262 Jim Lemon
263 Eddie Joost
264 Bill Henry
265 Al Barlick Umpire Card
266 Mike Fornieles
267 Jim Honochick Umpire Card
268 Roy Hawes Roy Lee Hawes on Card
269 Joey Amalfitano Rookie Card
270 Chico Fernandez
271 Bob Hooper
272 John Flaherty Umpire Card
273 Bubba Church
274 Jim Delsing
275 William Grieve Umpire Card
276 Ike Delock
277 Ed Runge Umpire Card
278 Charlie Neal Rookie Card
279 Hank Soar Umpire Card
280 Clyde McCullough
281 Charles Berry Umpire Card
282 Phil Cavarretta Manager Card
283 Nestor Chylak Umpire Card
284 Bill Jackowski Umpire Card
285 Walt Dropo
286 Frank Secory Umpire Card
287 Ron Mrozinski
288 Dick Smith
289 Arthur Gore Umpire Card
290 Hersh Freeman Hershell Freeman on Card
291 Frank Dascoli Umpire Card
292 Marv Blaylock
293 Thomas Gorman Umpire Card
294 Wally Moses
295 Lee Ballanfant Umpire Card
296 Bill Virdon Rookie Card
297 Dusty Boggess Umpire Card
298 Charlie Grimm
299 Lon Warneke Umpire Card
300 Tommy Byrne
301 William Engeln Umpire Card
302 Frank Malzone Rookie Card
303 Jocko Conlan Umpire Card
304 Harry Chiti
305 Frank Umont Umpire Card
306 Bob Cerv
307 Babe Pinelli Umpire Card
308 Al Lopez Manager Card
309 Hal Dixon Umpire Card
310 Ken Lehman
311 Lawrence Goetz Umpire Card
312 Bill Wight
313 Augie Donatelli Umpire Card
314 Dale Mitchell
315 Cal Hubbard Umpire Card
316 Marion Fricano
317 William Summers Umpire Card
318 Sid Hudson
319 Al Schroll
320 George Susce Rookie Card
Comments
Glad to see that modern "GPS" (aka, internet forums, online sales, etc) helped you find memory lane again
This one is classic. "My teacher threw out my cards."
Thanx for sharing Andy.
Glad to see you've retrieved some of that memory back. Super cards.
Best of luck in future quests.
Doug
Liquidating my collection for the 3rd and final time. Time for others to enjoy what I have enjoyed over the last several decades. Money could be put to better use.
<< <i>And Andrew, I am keeping your little brown bag filled with baseball cards in my black bag until you apologize for not listening in class!
Mrs Bickel was every bit as creepy as this one only much older with white hair!! LOL
Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!
Happy Thanksgiving!
<< <i>Added some additional cards to this set this past week. A Real nice Gil Hodges along with a nice Elston Howard rookie to go with a few other hall of famers.
Have a great Thanksgiving everyone! >>
Thanx and congratulations on adding some nice HOF'ers to your set.
Can we see some scans?
<< <i>
<< <i>Added some additional cards to this set this past week. A Real nice Gil Hodges along with a nice Elston Howard rookie to go with a few other hall of famers.
Have a great Thanksgiving everyone! >>
Thanx and congratulations on adding some nice HOF'ers to your set.
Can we see some scans? >>
I have been adding to my original post when I get more cards. Can you see the original posted scans?
Thanks for looking and taking interest in my quest.
Thanks for reading and looking.
Doug
Liquidating my collection for the 3rd and final time. Time for others to enjoy what I have enjoyed over the last several decades. Money could be put to better use.
They call me "Pack the Ripper"
Good luck on the hunt!
Thanks for looking.
I'm gonna PM you about something related.
Again, thank you so much for looking.
Thanks for looking
I have added the fourth of the big four to my set. I have finally found a Banks to go along with my Mantle, Mays and Aaron and now I can start concentrating on the lesser valued stars and of course, the commons.
I like the Banks but I hate the Beckett holder. They put the card in a baggie inside the holder which really just washed out the card and it looks like it is a bit cloudy. I have seen them do this before with other cards but I just cannot stand the look. I do intend to get all of these graded cards for my set graded by one company as I like continuity but for now, I am happy with the fact I have the big three pulled down as of right now.
I had thoughts of hoping the Banks would bump to a PSA six but I think that lower right corner will keep it out of that holder. Any thoughts on the potential grade?
Thanks for looking and thank you for indulging me on my quest for this set.
Thanks for looking and for those who are curious, below is the original story I wrote.
Unfortunate the new software has butchered the OP's post.
I hit the "Quote" and used the "Preview" to view this wonderful post, after the fact, and it makes for a much better and flowing presentation (like it was originally meant to BE). It would be nice if a BOARD MODERATOR would come in and fix mccardguy1 's post!
I faintly remember these TV cards.
Thanks for letting me travel down memory lane.
PS: Drifted over here from the currency forum, it's been really, really slow over there. I think every young boy collected baseball cards sometime in their early days.
Dad 1916-2014
I am glad you enjoyed your walk down memory lane. As luck would have it I live in the Lake Geneva, Wisconsin area and bought some of these cards from some Milwaukee people so you never know....maybe a few of these might be yours!
Again, thank you so much for fixing the post.
Andrew
I had originally posted this about a year ago and have continued to update the original post as I acquired new cards. The original post got all messed up when the board conversion happened so tonight I found some time to fix the coding so that all the cards show up in a nice and tidy way. Please look at my original post to see them how I had hoped you would all see them.
After the first of the year it will be time to get back on this set and work towards completing it in 2016.
I have also added a link to a Photobucket album as this was much easier to keep updated than trying to add links to this thread every time I get a new card.
Thank you so much for looking!!