MHCC: Some Nice Vintage Stuff

Mile High Card Company is running their first premium auction of 2012 and it is filled with some very nice stuff. Here are a couple of items I thought would be fun to share. Tomorrow, I'll put up a couple of Dodger related collectibles from their auction.

You've all seen "Field of Dreams," right? Well, as you may know Archibald "Moonlight" Graham, the character who Costner helped get an at-bat against a ghostly pro, was a real player. At least, the book/movie character was based on him. Anyway, below are the good doctors real eyeglasses.

(Auction Link)

I had briefly written about Spaldings World Tour of 1888 that lead a bunch of Victorian Era ballplayers to Egypt in past. See it here. Well, apparently, there were subsequent tours of Africa (and the world) that lead to the below photograph being taken. It features members of the New York Giants and Chicago White Sox at the foot of the Sphinx in 1914.

(Auction Link)

Good Guy Kershaw Named Sportsman of the Year

Kershaw ain't faking it. He's got kindness seeping out of those pores. Underneath that bushy hairdo and menacing fastball is a heart of gold. In recognition, Clayton has been named the 2011 Sportsman of the Year by LA Sports Council. Here is a bit from a press release:

The Sportsman award is given to the local male athlete whose performance and character best exemplified the ideals of sportsmanship during the calendar year.

In just his fourth Major League season, Kershaw emerged as one of the game's most dominant pitchers. The 23-year-old All-Star led the Majors with a 2.28 ERA, tied for the National League lead with 21 wins and ranked first in the league with 248 strikeouts en route to winning league's top individual pitching award.

The Texas native was also the Dodgers' nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award in recognition of his charitable endeavors off the field. Kershaw and his wife, Ellen, just returned from their second trip to Zambia and this past season started the Kershaw's Challenge program to donate $100 for each of his league-leading 248 strikeouts to Arise Africa, an organization that helps to build orphanages in the African nation. The couple recently released a book, Arise, about their life and charity work together in Africa.

In his honor, I made this.Am I doing this right?

Hunt Auctions: Vintage Dodger Seat & Accessories

With the brand new year comes new auction house treasures to gawk over. I suspect, over the coming months, that this will be a banner year for the memorabilia hobby.

Personally, I don't expect that 2012 will be a big buying year for me, but I hope to pick up a couple of nice vintage items from time to time. Lately, I've been reevaluating what direction I want to go in my collection. Should I continue chasing after a handful of autograph cards, or should I save for something more unique. Right now I'm leaning towards the unique; especially considering the below item is available.

This is a vintage Ebbets Field wooden seat; complete with rust and fading Blue paint. Even without the backrest it would look might great in a display case. According to the auction description it is from the lower sections, along the third base side.

(Auction Link)

Seeing that I don't have much use for cufflinks today I suspect I'll be passing on these. Still, I could always use a nice tie clip. These are 1963 World Series Championship suit accessories perfect for the discriminating fan.

(Auction Link)

Blog Kiosk: 1/11/2012

• Tom Hoffarth at the DailyNews.com passes along a response from Vin Scully regarding his upcoming bobblehead.

  "Since I won't be here for the 100th anniversary, I agreed to do the 50th," Scully said. "Otherwise, I would be open to questions as to why I didn't do it. It's far easier this way."

• Dr. Frank Jobe speaks with the Long Beach Telegram to talk a bit about the procedure he developed called Tommy John surgery.
  
• eTopps will be no more. Check out this announcement on their website. I had been an early adopter of the program in 2001, and actively bought, sold and traded cards online. It was fun for awhile, but lost its luster when the marketplace aspects of it all became as illusory as a tulip market. At least I have some nice cards to show for it.
  
• Phillies prospect Trevor May does a Reddit AMA- answering questions for anyone who asks.
• Shorpy has a great pic of Baseball fans, circa 1911, cheering in the stands.
• Tebowing has gotten out of hand. At Monday nights game between the LA Kings and Washington Capitals, Kings defenseman Jack "MF" Johnson scored an exciting goal in the 2nd period that he celebrated by tebowing along the boards. It was unexpected, and caused hilarity in the stands where I sit.

Video Link:

It's Official. Vin Scully Gets a Bobblehead, but it Makes Me Worry

The Dodgers are going all out in this coming season promotion schedule. They will no doubt win a lot of fans back with their announcement today that Vin Scully is one of ten bobbleheads that will be released this season. Press release is here.

The Dodgers unveiled today the final three collectibles in the Dodger Stadium Greats Bobblehead Series which will be given away as part of the 2012 promotional schedule and now features the first-ever bobblehead of Hall of Fame Broadcaster Vin Scully. The complete set of ten includes Eric Karros’ first Dodger Stadium bobblehead on June 28 (vs. NYM), Kirk Gibson on July 31 (vs. ARI) and Hall of Famer Scully on August 30 (vs. ARI).

A photo has yet to be released, but an old mock-up can be seen at P-Squared. See it below. I think it's likely a new design will be used.

On a side note, this announcement does worry me a bit. Scully has always been shy about having a bobblehead made in his honor- preferring to stay away from the limelight. So, what could be the reason for the change of heart? Is this his 'last hurrah?' Could this be a signal that 2012 might be his last in the broadcast booth?

(Pic Link)

Date	Bobblehead
Sat, April 28	Don Drysdale with Maury Wills
Tues, May 15	Orel Hershiser
Tues, May 29	The Infield: Garvey, Lopes, Russell and Cey
Tues, June 12	Mike Scioscia
Thurs, June 28	Eric Karros
Satur, July 14	Tommy Lasorda with Walter Alston
Tues, July 31	Kirk Gibson
Tues, August 7	Sandy Koufax
Tues, August 21	Fernando Valenzuela
Thurs, August 30	Vin Scully

Larkin Joins Santo in the Hall

A hearty Blue Heaven congratulations to Barry Larkin on his election into the Baseball Hall of Fame. BBWAA press release is here. He joins Ron Santo in this years class of inductees.

The nice thing about Larkin's entry into the Hall is how easy it should be for card collectors to add him to their collection. His rookies cards, from 1987, are embarrassingly inexpensive; especially considering that he is now a Hall of Famer. On top of that, considering the level of overproduction from that era it is doubtful they will ever see an appreciable increase in value. I am pretty sure any collector from that time period has a nice healthy stack sitting somewhere. Check out samples of them below.
UPDATE: I'll make the prediction now. Jack Morris finally makes it in for 2013. At 66.7% voting for him in 2012 during his 13th year on the ballot he is likely to get another 20 votes to pass the 70% threshold by next year.