Saturday, February 21, 2009

Goodwin: Dodger Related Rarities

Goodwin & Co. recent auction features some very significant Dodger related Baseball cards. The first gem is the below Mint graded 1948-49 Leaf rookie card of Jackie Robinson. You just don't see cards looking "pack-fresh" like this. It sold for a well deserved $23,183.93.

Branch Rickey is one of the great pioneers of this great game. Below is a 1914 Cracker Jack card of Rickey that sold for $2,590.88. Cracker Jack cards have grown in popularity due to its scarcity and fragility. The cards are paper thin and are easily damaged. Also, mint examples feature a deep bright red background that makes the player look like he's jumping out of the card. This set is one of my favorites, and if I ever have enough dough it would be my first purchase.

The 1968 3-D Set is one of the rarest test issues made by Topps. They date two years before the very popular Kellogg's sets of the 70's and feature just 12 players. The only Dodgers available were Willie Davis and Ron Fairly. The backgrounds are purposely blurred with a sharp photograph of a players portrait. The Willie Davis and Ron Fairly cards each sold for $426.53 a piece.

Vintage Baseball Passion

I love Baseball. It's the greatest game around. It's nice to see that back in Chicago 1922 that passion was also shared. Here is a Attendance Notice postcard found on eBay from Schurz High School inquiring about a truancy. Flora missed a week of school. Unfortunately, she got whacked pretty bad, but she seems to not care. She can't wait to get back on the bike after falling off.
"(I) was absent because Verna Arton, by accident, hit me in the mouth with a (base)ball bat. Cut my lip open and knocked 1 (one) tooth out and (the) rest were knocked crooked."
Then she follows with this.
"What a feeling of rejoice(ing) to get back to play(ing) (base)ball."
Rejoice! Yes, getting back to playing ball is a reason to celebrate.