Saturday Night Five: Don Larsen

The past few days, I've really enjoyed reading fellow bloggers New Year's Resolutions.  It's always fun to see other collector's interests and projects, along with the variety of ways people collect cards.

As much as I do value "goal setting" in life, I've decided not to sit down and write out hobby goals this year.  The main reason is that I'm not really sure which direction I want to go in regards to collecting.  There are a few things, I think I want to do as a collector... but I haven't committed to them 100% and adding them to a list of goals seems a little premature.  The same thing can be said for blogging.

Regardless of which direction my collection and blog goes, I do want to continue writing on a regular basis.  I'd like to try and write a Saturday Night Five post at least two or three times a month, because it's a simple way to showcase some of my favorite cards in the collection without doing a lot of research.  

Sometimes the athlete or hobby topic featured in the series will be completely random, however I'm going to try my best have them related to current events within sports or our hobby.

On Wednesday, baseball fans around the world were saddened to hear about Don Larsen passing away at 90 years of age.

Tonight, I thought I'd show off five of my favorite cards to remember him.

1958 Topps #161

After digging through my vintage box and binders, this appears to be the only Topps flagship card of Larsen from his playing days with the Yankees.  The cartoon on the back mentions his famous perfect game, but also talks about his ability to hit.

The year this card was released, Larsen hit four home runs and drove in thirteen runs while batting .306 in 57 plate appearances.

2002 Upper Deck World Series Heroes Jersey #WSJ-DL

This card represents my only memorabilia card of Larsen and highlights the fact that he's the only pitcher in MLB history to pitch a perfect game in the World Series.  In fact, almost ever card in this post refers to that historical event.

Topps had Larsen sign for their Finest Moments sets in 2002 and 2003:

2002 Finest Moments Autographs #FMA-DL

2003 Finest Moments Autographs #FMA-DL

And both cards highlight his perfect game.  They also discuss it on the back of his Archives autograph:

2003 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs #FFA-DL

Well there you have it.  Five of my favorite Don Larsen cards.

But there's actually one more I really want to share, because it comes from one of my favorite autographs sets:

1999 UD Century Legends Epic Signatures #DL

In fact this card is the reason I own the other three autographs of Larsen.  Earlier in the year, I purchase a four card lot of Larsen autographs, because I needed the Epic Signatures card for my set.

This is the only Larsen card in this post that doesn't mention his perfect game.  

However it does pair nicely with the Yogi Berra, the gentleman who caught Larsen's gem:

1999 UD Century Legends Epic Signatures #YB

You don't have to be a New York Yankees fan to appreciate Larsen.  Heck... you didn't even have to watch him play.  He pitched his final MLB game five years before I was born.  Yet I knew his contribution to baseball history before I started collecting cards as a nine year old.  

Rest in peace Mr. Larsen.  My thoughts are with your family, friends, and fans.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!