Twenty-Four of 24

Last week, I was on my annual trip to Ashland, Oregon when I heard the news that Willie Mays passed away.  It was one of those moments where it felt like everything around me paused to allow me to soak in the news.

Mays was literally one of the greatest to ever play the game, but he played his final MLB game a little over a week after I turned one.  In other words, I never had the opportunity to watch him play in person.  Even if I had, I wouldn't remember it.  Thankfully there are enough interviews, documentaries, statistical data, and highlight films out there to cement The Say Hey Kid's legacy.  Plus he has been a Bay Area resident and fan favorite since the Giants left New York and moved to San Francisco in 1958.

I've never considered myself a Giants fan.  However I am a baseball fan and a collector who likes collect just about anything related to the sport.  Over the years, I've added a few of his cards and collectibles to my collection and today I wanted to show off twenty-four of them as a tribute to him.

Most of the stuff are cards, but there are a couple of other items included.  Originally, I was going to rank them... but that was easier said than done.  Instead... I've just put them in chronological order.

Here we go...

1955 Red Man #7

Yeah, I know.  Many of you aren't into slabbed cards.  But when it comes to vintage, it gives me a little peace of mind.  The ranking thing might not have happened, but I guarantee this card would have been in the Top 5, along with this card:

1956 Topps #130

The 1956 Topps baseball set is my favorite baseball card set design of all-time, so you know this card is going to be one of my favorite cards of Mays.

1956 Topps #31

If you're wondering why I included Hank Aaron's card in this post, it's because the painting of him sliding into home was actually based on a photograph of Willie.

1963 Topps #3

One of my favorite side PC's is my collection of Topps league leader cards that depict only hall of famers.  This card is the coolest one I own, because it features five of them... four of which were first ballot hall of famers.

1964 Topps #9

San Francisico Giants fans must have been pretty excited to see three of the top four home run hitters in the NL hitting for them.  They led the National League with 197 home runs that year.  The Atlanta Braves were a distant second with 139.

1964 Topps Giants #51

I absolutely love this oddball issue.  In fact, it's one of my favorite baseball sets from the 1960's.

1962-65 Jay Publishing Photo

This is one of those non-card items I was referring to at the beginning of the post.  This photo is printed on super thin paper... almost like newsprint.  I'm guessing they were mass produced, because they sell for a fraction of what vintage baseball cards sell for.

1966 Topps #1

I'm guessing a kid who pulled Willie's 1966 Topps card would have been pretty stoked back in the day.  He was coming off his MVP Award winning season in which he led the National League in a bunch of different categories including home runs, slugging percentage, and on base percentage.

1966 Topps #215

How could I not include this card?  My only complaint about this card is the photo selection.  It would have been so much cooler had they all been looking in the same direction.

1967 Topps #423

This is one of those cards, I had seen hundreds of times over the years and in the back of my mind I knew I'd eventually buy it.  I'm just embarrassed to admit that it took me almost forty years to do it.

1967 Topps Posters #12

There was a time (before the Hobby Boom) when late 60's and early 70's Topps insert sets were pretty affordable.  This poster insert and the game card are both part of complete sets I purchased during that time.

1968 Topps Game #8

This card is part of a thirty-three card set... in which only eleven cards allowed a player to reach base safely.  Topps honored Mays with the best card in the set.

We've reached the halfway mark... and we're entering the 70's:

1970 Kellogg's #12

This Kellogg's card is another favorite of mine.  Like many other collectors out there, I'm a big fan of the Kellogg's lenticular sets of the 70's and 80's.  The 1970 baseball design is my favorite.

Up next is another collectible that doesn't fall into the baseball card category:

1971 Mattel Instant Replay #NNO

Eighteen years before Topps and LJN teamed up to release their Topps Talk Player and cards, Mattel did something similar with their Instant Replay player and records.  Unfortunately, I don't have own the player and I didn't find a recording of the Mays on YouTube.  However, there are several examples of other sports on there.

1972 Kellogg's #54 (RBI 1855)

1972 Kellogg's #54 (RBI 1856)

Your eyes aren't deceiving you.  I'm showing off two copies of Willie's 1972 Kellogg's card.  The one on the left is considered the "error" card with his incorrect MLB career RBI totals with the one on the right being the "corrected" version.

This set is littered with error/corrected versions.  Based on the PSA Pop Report, the corrected cards are slightly more common.

Next up is probably the most common card in this post:

1982 Topps Kmart #8

I'm pretty sure this is the first Willie Mays baseball card I ever owned.  Well... not this exact copy... but one just like it.

Back in the 80's the Kmart my parents shopped at had hundreds of these box sets that sat there on the display for what seemed like years.  At the time, I wasn't a fan of anything Kmart related... including this set.  But over the years, I've grown to appreciate this set.

1987 Topps Traded Bronze Premiums #5

This metal medallion replica of Willie's 1953 Topps card was once awarded to a dealer who purchased a case of the 1987 Topps Traded sets.  I included it in this post, because it's an oddball issue you don't see around every day.  If you're interested in seeing the other Topps Traded Bronze Premiums that Topps produced, click here.

1989 Kenner SLU Baseball Greats #NNO

While digging through scans and binders looking for items for this post, I picked this card because it has his nickname on the front of the card.  I also liked how Kenner listed his full MLB career stats on the back.

1995 Topps Legends of the 60's Medallions #1

Here's another Mays medallion.  Like the Topps Traded Bronze Premiums, this is one of those oddball issues that fly under the radar of many collectors.  However this medallion is much bigger and heavier.  

I've written about this set before, but in short... there were twelve medallions produced by Topps that were released on a monthly basis to Stadium Club members for $39.95 each.

1995 Upper Deck Autograph #AC2

I flippin' love this card!  If I ever made a Top 10 list of my autographed baseball cards, I'm pretty sure this would be on it.

2003 Topps Gallery HOF Currency Connection #CC-WM

I reserved a spot for this "coin" card, because like a few other cards in this post... it's different.

The encapsulated wheat penny was produced in 1958... the same year the Giants moved to San Francisco.

The last two items are signed memorabilia that are undated:

Say Hey Authenticated

I've got a pair of signed Mays photos depicting "The Catch".  One is 8x10 and the other is a 16x20.  Both are certified by Say Hey Authenticated which was his company.  I've heard mixed reviews on whether or not these signatures are legit.

Rumor has it that some unscrupulous people forged the Say Hey Authenticated holograms and used them on photos with fake signatures.  Since I wasn't there to witness him signing either of the photos, I guess I'll never know.

PSA/DNA Authenticated

Unfortunately, I didn't witness him signing this baseball either.  I bought this ball at the Branham Flea Market back in 2015 for $8 and had my buddy submit it to PSA to see if it was legit.  It passed, but with any third party authenticators... who knows if it's actually legit.  

Well there you go... twenty-four Mays collectibles in honor of #24.  Rest in peace Mr. Mays.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

A Little Ray of Sunshine

This week wraps up my 23rd year in the classroom and I have a lot of mixed emotions.  A large part of me is breathing a huge sigh of relief.  The past sixteen months have been pretty stressful for many of us.  There were moments when I questioned whether or not I still enjoyed my profession.  Then in April... I returned to my classroom and things instantly turned around.  It's not back to normal... but it's nice being able to converse with my students in person... even if only three show up on a regular basis.

That's why I'm kind of bummed the school year is over.  It's hard to believe I just type out that statement, since usually I'm celebrating the arrival of summer break.  But I'm just caught my second wind and feel like I can keep teaching another few months.

Oh well... I'm sure by next week I'll deeply appreciate the rest and relaxation.

Plus... I know my students need time to recharge their batteries.  Some of them have really struggled over since the lockdown.  That's why I was very honored to receive this award recently:

It's nice to receive praise from colleagues, administration, and parents... but it's even more special when it comes from the student body.

There have been many occasions where I sat behind the computer screen and wondered if I was reaching any of them.  When I tell a joke or sing a song to my students, I usually get chuckles and immediate feedback from the classroom.

However on Zoom... they're muted and the screens are so tiny it's hard to tell if they're smiling or not.  I realize that this award doesn't represent the entire student population.  Based on the number of teachers at my school and the number of students I actually had this past year, I might have only won this award with 5% of the votes.

Regardless... it shows that I brought a little ray of sunshine to some of my students and that brings a lot of joy to my heart.

Okay... enough rambling about work.  That's not what this blog is about.  Let's move on to trading cards.  

Today I figured I'd show off a few cards that brightened my day a while back:

1968 Topps #2

Right about the time I was getting ready to return to the classroom, I received a care package from Reader James who wanted to thank me for entertaining him with my blog.

Well James... thank you for this care package which definitely hit several of my PC's.  First off is this 1968 Topps AL Batting Leaders card that features three first ballot hall of famers.  I'm in the process of tracking down every Topps League Leaders card that exclusively headlines hall of famers.

1951 Bowman #8

My interest in early 50's Bowman is fairly new.  If I were to guess... I'd say it was probably inspired by this flea market find back in 2014.  Since then I've really fallen for these gorgeous pieces of cardboard... especially the 1951's.

Up until receiving this card, I wasn't familiar with Mr. Lehner.  But if you were a kid back in 1951 and you pulled this card from a pack, you probably wouldn't have been too disappointed.  Lehner was coming off of the best season of his career.

Sadly he passed away at only 47 years of age in 1967.  Thankfully the Society for Baseball Research has taken the time to document his career on their website if you're interested in reading more about him.

1974 Topps #280

Kudos to James if he hand picked this card for me, because it features a shot of the Oakland Coliseum in the background.  I'm terrible with stadium recognition... but there are a handful I can recognize easily and this is one of them.

I will always cherish the trips to the Coliseum and Candlestick Park in my youth.  And for years, I've debated on starting a binder or Frankenset with cards featuring these two ballparks.  I'm not quite ready to commit to this project, but if I do... this Yaz will be a part of it.

1981 Kellogg's #11

Anyone who knows me as a collector... understands why this card brightens my day.  Doesn't lenticular Kellogg's cards from the 70's and 80's brighten everybody's day?  Even if it doesn't... this card is the epitome of a little ray of sunshine.

1981 Topps Coke New York Mets Pack

The last thing I want to share from the care package is a forty year old unopened pack.  I started collecting baseball cards back in 1981, but never had access to these Coca-Cola team cards that I'm assuming were distributed with 12 packs of Coke.

I'm also assuming these were regional issues since they were only eleven MLB teams chosen to be a part of this promotion... and none of them were located on the west coast of the United States.

1981 Topps Coke New York Mets #3

If you're wondering if I've ripped open this pack, I haven't.  As much as I enjoy collecting regional food issues, I figured this collectible would be a better fit for my unopened pack collection.

Kong doesn't seem amused with my decision to keep him locked up, but it's easier to find a single copy of this card than it is to replace this pack.

By the way... a quick look on COMC revealed that Kingman was part of the Chicago Cubs team set in the regular 1981 Topps release.  However Topps added him to their 1981 Topps Traded set as a New York Met (different photograph though).

So there you have it.  Some baseball cards that provided a little ray of sunshine to my collection.  Ironically... none of these guys are smiling... so I took the time to scan one more card James sent my way that sort of features a smile:

1981 Fleer Here's Bo! #48

I've always been more into brunettes... but I've gotta admit Bo Derek looks good on this card.  Hopefully this card and this post brightens your day a little.  If not...

What kind of things help brighten up your day?

Thanks James for the generous care package.  I hope you decide to eventually publish those posts you've written.  The blogosphere can always use another card blog to follow.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!