Friday, October 16, 2009

A Vintage Beauty

As you very well may know by now, 1959 Topps is perhaps my favorite set ever, and Frank Robinson is my favorite Oriole ever. It's only natural that I would chase this card, and finally, after watching it sell time after time for more than I was willing to pay, one managed to fall through the eBay cracks, and into my collection for less than $10.

1959 Topps #435 Frank Robinson
I should have scanned the back was well, but forgot about it. The little cartoon on the back says that Frank attends college during the off-season. A quick web reveals that he attended Xavier university, and graduated in 1956. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Reds that same year, and it appears as though he did not play baseball while attending Xavier. Perhaps he was taking graduate classes in '59?

This card is pretty damn close to perfection in my eyes. Excellent design, and a solid photograph, even if it was staged. Looking at the background makes me curious as to where this was taken. Spring training? I'm pretty sure that's a home uniform Frank is sporting, so we do know that it was a home game. It's also really cool to see sp many fans in the background. I can't think of too many other cards from this era that so prominently feature fans in the stands. The other interesting about this card is that Robinson is listed as a first basemen/outfielder. I had no idea he had ever spent any time at first base. Now I do, and knowing is half the battle.

6 comments:

  1. That card is the tits! I love it and I'm jealous...another card i used to have and then got divorced...less than 10 bucks? sweet deal!

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  2. I'm four cards from my '59 Braves team set. The last two are gonna be rough. You know who they are.

    Nice grab!

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  3. Well, I know for sure that Aaron is one of them. Is the other Mathews, or Spahn?

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  4. Nice card! If only I'd had a little more money and a lot more wisdom,at 8 years old,I could have a lot of cards from that set.

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  5. Great Card of a great player. There really aren't that many 50 year old cards of members of the 550+ HR Club - Robinson, Aaron, Killebrew, Mays and if you can find one (and can spend a small fortune) Babe Ruth.

    Thats it.

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