baseball card Christmas ornaments.

We have a Christmas tree at The Baseball
Card Store . . .




They're reprints. Of course.

1950's autographed Yankees team ball

This is a pretty fun find:

It has pretty much everybody--Mickey Mantle,
Casey Stengel,


See Ed Ford? That would be Whitey. He was
supposedly in the service in '52, which is why
we think this is a '53 ball, but PSA does not
agree. They're calling it as '51-'52.


There's Yogi Berra. Anyway, it could possibly
have been started in '51 or '52, but then
finished in '53.


Hey, we aren't complaining--as long as it's the
real deal, right? (And yes, it is!)

1953 Topps Mickey Mantle

After their 1951 Red Backs and Connie Mack's All Stars cards, then their amazing 1952 set, they continued with a beautiful set of baseball cards in 1953.

The 1953 Topps set are prints made from small color paintings. These paintings were done by artists from black and white photographs of the players. There are very few action poses--the vast majority of the cards are portraits. This artistic approach is probably the main reason the 1953 Topps set remains one of my favorites.

This is a great portrait of Mickey Mantle; this card is currently in our
ebay store.

1933 Goudey BABE RUTH

This was the first set of cards issued by Goudey. There are 239 cards in the set, and each card carries a short player biography on the back. The cards measure 2-3/8" X 2-7/8," and feature color art reproductions of either portraits or action photos.

There are four George Herman "Babe" Ruth cards in the 1933 Goudey set; this one is an example of card number 149.

This Babe Ruth card is currently in our ebay store.

Unless someone bought it.
;)

1948 Leaf BABE RUTH

The 1948 Leaf set was the first color baseball cards issued after World War II, and consisted of 98 baseball players. The complete set consists of 168 cards, but also includes football and boxing cards. This is one of the more difficult of the post-war era sets to complete, mainly because one-half of the set (49 cards), are considered to be “short print” cards.

The 1948 Babe Ruth card was his last "real" baseball card, as he died August 16 of that year.

This Babe Ruth card is currently in our ebay store.

oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh (Mickey Mantle rookie card)

Mickey! Mickey Mantle! Mickey Mantle rookie
card (1952 Topps, obviously, not the 1951 Bowman.)

We got him from his original owner, how cool
is that? Mr. Previous Owner said,

"I have this Mickey Mantle, and it would be
worth a lot, if I hadn't taped it to my wall
when I was a kid."

Dude, it's a Mickey Mantle rookie card. Do
you really think we're going to turn you away
because you taped him to the wall?

Heck no at all. Hand it over, thank you very much.

Gaze upon the Mantle . . . oh, Snoopy, today,
happiness is a Mickey Mantle rookie card, creased
and taped as it may be!

1939 Joe DiMaggio Play Ball

Joe Di's fourth season with 100 (or more!) RBIs, he was
named the American League's MVP for the first time.
1939 Play Balls are, unfortunately, sometimes noted for
poor centering and random print marks. These cards are
about 2 1/2 by 3 1/8 inches, and there are 161 cards to
a set. This Joe DiMaggio card is currently found in
our ebay store.

Years ago (this is trisha talking), we were at a card
show, and a friend had asked I wait in line for a Joe
Di autograph. He wanted the auto in a particular spot,
and I asked the handler (for lack of a better word) if
that was okay. "Sure, sure, no problem."

But when he passed the photo through, Joe just signed
it, I don't know, somewhere NOT where I'd just asked.
Since it wasn't even my photo, and even back then,
Mr. Di's autos were NOT cheap, I was kind of startled.
Freaked out. Hey, I was only maybe 23 at the time.

I asked Mr. Di if he'd sign in another spot--he said,
"No problem." And did so, right where I asked.

This was right after the guy in front of me asked him
to sign a pic of Mr. Di and Marilyn Monroe. Joe looked
at the photo, said "This is a nice picture, I've never
seen this one before." The autograph seeker told him
where he'd found it.

"It's a nice picture. But I'm not signing this."

And he handed it back.

That's my Joe DiMaggio story.

The End.

2010 Allen and Ginter is in!

Okay, fine, it was in yesterday; sorry if you were
wanting first crack on that first case. Product
highlights include:

Topps Million Card Giveaway continues with authentic,
original T206 cards.

1 Autograph Or Relic Card Per Hobby Box.

Hobby Exclusive Cap Logo Patches are back.

Watch for the 2010 Red Hot Rookie Redemption cards.

1/1 Legends Cut Signature Cards.

Each pack contains 9 Topps Baseball cards, plus
1 Ticket to Toppstown.com card.

Scott opened a box topper and found this:


N43 Allen and Ginter Matt Holliday relic auto, 2/5.
Not a bad pull.

1941 Ted Williams Play Ball

1941 Play Ball baseball cards were the only Play Balls
issued in color, and there are 72 cards to a set. Each
wax pack came with two sticks of gum and one card. This
is the last baseball card set issued before World War II.

The Ted Williams pictured here is prettier in real life,
with a better color (but that may just be my own monitor
issue). He can currently be seen in our ebay store.

(Well, whaddya know? I already posted one of these back in
September. That one was a photo instead of a scan, and you
can really tell the difference.)

really bad baseball card humor.

So Scott is fixing to list a 1984 Fleer Update Roger
Clemens in the ebay store.

"How long do you think this will stay in the store?
I give it two weeks, tops."

"No, honey, it's a Fleer."

Been in this back room a lil' too long . . .

Zack Greinke autographed minor league jersey

That's right, check out this bad boy:



First, I thought it was pretty great to have Greinke's
minor league Wichita Wranglers jersey. Sure, he wasn't
the only one to wear it, so it doesn't have his name on
it, but still, nice, right?



This weekend we were at the Royals FanFest in Kansas
City, and the youngest son was all too happy to wait in
the ponderously huge, snaking line of Greinke autograph
hounds waiting to see the latest Cy Young-er.



So, he had this signed in silver. What say you?

Pretty, yes?