How many of these Sport Grafica magazines are still around? At least one I picked up from eBay to feed my research into Grafica winter league photo sets. This 15-Dec issue sits about halfway through their 1972-73 season (set profile).
Richard Billings (career stats) satisfied my autograph request in less than two weeks with this handwritten letter.
Thanks for your letter. How did you get this magazine? More importantly, why would you want this magazine? I still have a couple of those magazines that I brought back from Maracaibo, Venezuela, but never really knew the translation. I appreciate you translating this for me, Rich Billings
Mr. Billings garnered this cover story thanks to his Yogi-like role as player-manager, taking over LasAguilas de Zulia after Larry Doby failed to find success.
Expand to enjoy Google's stab at translation
A leader of men and mustaches
This writer made key points about how catchers track pitchers as they tire and why managers need great assistant coaches. Reading between the lines, Billings might've leaned on his staff's expertise in ways Doby failed to do. Its closing note about Richard's ability to motivate players and inspire positivity explains how he became a Venezuelan fan favorite across multiple seasons in Maricaibo.
Richard's onfield interview from June 1972 mentions his Venezuelan club and gives you a feel for his personality. This 1974-75 winter league "sticker" (set profile) shows some Las Aguilas uniform and ballpark.
Thanks again to Mr. Billings! Always fun to add something so unusual to one's collection.
The deeper I look into 1970s baseball, the more its collectibles reflect an era of complex regional relationships for sports and its fans. Today's 1972-73 Venezuelan winter league set contains dozens of familiar names competing in a country far fewer Americans would visit today. Local magazine Sport Gráfico covered those leagues in detail, making them a natural fit for baseball collectibles.
This November 1972 issue celebrates Gonzalo Marquez's productive late-season hitting for the first of Oakland's three consecutive World Championships and shows off their classic gold-and-green look.
This set's #5 features Venezuelan native and future four-time MLB All-Star Manny Trillo.
Let's look at several nine-player sheets Gráfico printed that year, starting the 18 players from 24-Nov. Dwight Evans and Dick Pole fans, rejoice! (Also see Dewey's more colorful 1972 Topps knockoff card from that winter season.)
"Recorta por la linea de puntos" means "cut along the dotted line."
The 1972-73 set includes several umpires, distinct in their black-billed caps. #130 Armando Rodriguez officiated for two decades in Venezeula and several other pro leagues.
"Joven el deporte es vida" translates as "youth sports is life," a Gráfico motto
Note Grafico jumbled player numbers within each issue and 24-Nov ranges from #25 Pole to #138 Bumbry.
25 Dick Pole
32 Bobby Mitchell
41 Enrique Gonzalez
67 Dwight Evans
84 Faustino Zabala
94 Jim Holt
99 Luis Rodriguez
104 Juan Francia
109 Jose Lopez
113 Larry Bittner (Biittner)
116 Francisco Borges
120 Luis Rivas
121 Simon Barreto
123 Bruce Heinbechner
126 Iran Paz
130 Armando Rodriguez
133 Hector Artiles
138 Al Bumbry
Gráfico's final group of player photos hit newsstands on January 5, 1973.
Its photos include Dagoberto (Bert) Campaneris, who also starred for the aforementioned 1970s Oakland A's champions, and played all nine positions in one game on September 8, 1965 (box score).
This issue's last page tailed off somewhat, leaving a blank next to ex-Padres manager Preston Gomez. Its last number, #252, went to Venezuelan star and Big Red Machine stalwart, Dave Concepcion, kittycorner from Bill "Spaceman" Lee.
It appears Gráfico pulled a number altogether to leave that blank, so I think its checklist contains 251 players. At least they kept the ocular intensity of #233 Rafael Alvarez!
That leaves 17 total players for 5-Jan's sheets.
NNO Harold McRae
196 Richard Henniger
201 Barry Lersch
206 Ramon Webster
212 Harold Hunter
219 Charles Murray
221 Dagoberto Campaneris
223 Jose Carvajal
231 George Manz
232 Duriel Durand
233 Rafael Alvarez
242 Garry Raziano
243 Preston Gomez
248 Bill Lee
249 Emilio Rodriguez
251 Rafael Camejo
252 David Concepcion
Google's translation of this Spanish trading card catalog hints why we see that "unfinished" page.
"Series edited and produced by the magazine Sport Gráfico...inserted in the aforementioned magazine, with weekly 18 cut-out cards and 18 spaces numbered for the preparation of the album. The first came with magazine No. 387, dated 14th October, 1972, and the last one with No. 400 of 5th January, 1973. There were 14 in total for a set of 252 pieces and 13 for the preparation of the album. One was missing to complete it and that's why it remained at 234."
Date TBD for these sheets, who eBay scans are missing its dated Sport Grafico cover.
This issue contains two blank album pages, #145-162.
#159 Teodoro Obregón notes his "ocho hits seguidos" (eight consecutive hits), a nice feat for any pro player.
Photo sheets from 15-December include personal faves Diego Segui and Jose Cardenal. #29 Walt "No Neck" Williams features one of this set's better portraits.
#174 Camilo Pascual continued to pitch in Venezuelan leagues after his major league career ended in 1971.
Of 15-Dec's 18 players, five in bold fit into its centerfold album. Others go with ealier or later issues.
13 Toby Harrah
28 Walter Williams
82 Carlos Avila
97 Lew Krausse
125 Pablo Torrealba
134 Diego Segui
139 John Lowenstein
145 Arquilio Freites
148 Leopoldo Tovar
160 Elias Lugo
161 Evangelista Nuñez
162 Leonel Carrion
165 Pancho Lopez
167 Jose Cardenal
168 Charles Day
172 Nelson Caras
174 Camilo Pascual
177 Ed Sprague
I'll update this post as more complete photo and album sheets surface. If you enjoy vintage Venezuelan ball, check out Historias del beisbol en Venezuela at Facebook, where I found Enos Cabell's .380 batting average from that 1972-73 season and plenty more.
Value: I bought my 15-Dec issue on eBay for $50, which came with two complete sheets. While I know of online scans for #5 Trillo, the card itself proves elusive.
Fakes / reprints: Modern counterfeits exist for at least one other South American set, so purchase hard-to-find type cards like these from dealers you trust.
My literal biggest ever through-the-mail (TTM) autograph request came back this week, being a full-page panel plucked from Sports Illustrated for Kids.
Blue Jays third baseman Kelly Gruber signed his lower-left spot and returned it with this signed index card. He also thanked me on its flipside for contributing to the charity he supports via TTM requests.
Many know SI for Kids cards today thanks to their breadth of athletes and significant cards outside America's big four sports. Key cards for their 1990 series (#109-216) include Diego Maradona and Tony Hawk.
Many SI for Kids subscribers left their nine-card sheets intact, so you can find many of them in today's hobby. Another collector gave me two for free, including the page I sent to Kelly, who seems its most accessible TTM signer.
This autographed page will move along to a Canadian friend and longtime Jays fan soon and they can decide whether to pursue its other eight. My guess on those from easiest to hardest, with ages noted.
Shannon Higgins-Cirovski (nee Higgins, 56)
Bobby Bonilla (61)
Sinjin Smith (67)
Ronnie Lott (65)
Jimmy Connors (72)
Danny Sullivan (74)
Ana Quirot (61)
Jack Nicklaus (84)
Many TTM senders are willing to share their successes or failures, mailing address, waiting times, and other experiences at sites like SportsCollectors.net.
My high school friend Max, a youthful Steven Wright of our Seattle classroom, often said things like, "it's a nice night for an evening" and "'Do I want cherry in my Coke?' That's something a jerk would say."
"Thanks, jerk."
Max's evening aphorism came back to me on Thursday during a beautiful night at my neighborhood's annual Oldtime Baseball, which brings dozens of amateurs and former pros to a public ballfield in Cambridge, MA, for a nine-inning combo of game, fundraising, and community. Headliners included Lou Merloni and Jonathan Papelbon, who each dressed in their Red Sox finest, played an inning, and posed for photos.
This event kicked off 30 years ago during a baseball strike, with added inspiration from a large collection of classic uniforms of all leagues, eras, and teams. Their sale table of fitted hats includes a chunk of what fans saw on the field.
I like big hats and I cannot lie -- since anything smaller than 7 5/8 is right out.
You can get as close to game action as you like and we started along the third base line.
This guy in the Seattle Pilots uniform got guff from left field fans every time he took the field and it's for reasons beyond their one year of existence. (I'll explain why soon.)
Pitchers handled about one inning each and managers cycled through lots of players, with pinch-hitter announcements a regular part of the night, most of them sponsored by a local business. (I suspect raising sufficient money for their charity gets you an at-bat.)
Former Red Sox catcher Lou Merloni started the game, squatted for an inning, and gave way to younger knees like Mr. Flexible in this bullpen. We stuck around to see Papelbon, who entered in the eighth. Sure enough, his second batter was pinch-hitter and sportswriter Jared Carrabis, who started this beef about 12 hours before game time.
As predicted, here's Papelbon firing a pitch into Jared's ribs.
Jared tossed his bat, took a couple "angry" steps toward Jonathan, and they put on a brief show of invective. Papelbon's 6" height advantage made their exchange even funnier and we fans laughed it up. One of many highlights that night.
My S.O. Sunny loves to spend money on a good cause, so bid successfully on this signed celebratory 1967 photo of Jim Lonberg. Will see if can add Yaz in the future! (Carl turned 85 the same day of this game. Concidence???)
I snapped this closer photo of our aforementioned Seattle Pilots outfielder. He caught so much crap from fans because you're looking at Jeff Maier, infamous for his catch of Derek Jeter's playoff homer against Baltimore. (Maier himself played ball at Wesleyan and wore this Pilots uniform in honor of ESPN's Jim Caple, who passed away last October and sported it for Oldtime Baseball back in 2006.) He must inspire quite a range of fan reactions.
Already looking forward to our return to Gooch's Corner next year! And always bring your glove to the park!
Last week, a friend at Net54 helped me drive the golden stake into a long-running project: rebuild National Chicle's pair of 1936 #81-192 baseball print sheets. While we lack any surviving uncut material from this set, you can use its dodgy edge cutting like a jigsaw puzzle and put everything together by computer or hand. Watch the SABR Baseball Card blog for a future rundown of the whole effort.
This week, the friend (Doug) sent a five-pack of Batter-Up cards to celebrate our achievement! Right in the middle, one of my favorite #5s, Carl Hubbell.
1934 Batter-Up (#1-80) printed cards in several colors and this motivates me to go after all the Hubbell variations. Carl's been part of my Top Five Number Fives since way back and my set profile shows all six ways to find a player from that series. I call this one "black-and-white," so need its more colorful alternatives.
Last weekend, I drove to the Emerald Square Mall in Attleboro, Massachusetts, for an indoor mall show. This marked my first time at this mall since repping for Nintendo to promote a SNES Super Scope launch in 1992, well before moving to the state itself seven years later.
I stopped at a local card shop prior to the mall show itself and snapped a photo of this charming Ed Bailey model youth catching mitt, complete with hand-drawn bullseye. Some glove collector will feel lucky to take it home, I'm sure! (Ed also appears on one of my type collection's most esoteric #5s, 1957 Swift Meats.)
Emerald Square itself fell off a cliff around COVID and now sits about half-empty. Its shuttered Sears facade loomed behind a few dozen indoor tables, a true hodgepodge of dealers. Some brought their best stuff, priced and well-arranged, and others emptied out their closets for shoppers to work through by hand.
These days, a good show means I spent half on my own lists and half restocking my dupes box for mailing to friends. A great show sits closer to 75% on hits. This show fell somewhere between those two numbers. Sorry to say that I ran out of shopping time partway through a table stacked with quarter and dollar cards. How many more cheap 70s HOFers did I miss???
That black-and-white Mickey Cochrane sat on top of 27 cards from a 1974 TCMA retrospective of 1929-31 Athletics, one of the greatest squads led by Connie Mack. It lacked just one thing, a footlong team card my friend Mark Hoyle dropped off yesterday.
This card rules.
I swapped a 1971 Kellogg's panel version of Bob Gibson, found at the mall show, for Mark's TCMA team. These cereal box cutouts lack 3-D fronts, so look and feel more like regular cards.
Many 1970s hits from that show went into my dupes box. The most unusual, and one I'll hang onto, is what appears an authentic Dick Selma autograph on the back of his 1972 Topps card. Did its original owner request he sign this spot? It's a puzzler.
This haul proved worth the hour's drive each way and helped me reconsider what mall shows can be! How often does real redemption happen these days?
The National Sports Collectors Convention returned to Cleveland's I-X Center for 2024 and I spent five days there, 80% shopping, 10% hobnobbing, and 10% finding bathrooms without lines. Let's run through this year's experience and what to know should NSCC return here in future years.
Facility: The I-X Center! Danger, there be dragons!
NSCC last used this facility in 2018 when it still featured a ferris wheel and this piece of WWII aviation history. I stuck around after that show to get a photo, which shows the scale of this massive structure.
Facility owners later moved this plane to the parking lot, hoping to open a restaurant inside. It looked quiet during show week, so I bet their concept remains in a holding pattern.
Cleveland's adjacent Hopkins airport saddles the I-X Center with three issues, all hard to overcome for out-of-town visitors. First, every hotel sits miles to the north or east, so everyone drove and parked for 2024, with 95% exiting at the righthand circle and flowing into lots at the middle circle.
A minority of drivers, including my group, approached from the south and found that quicker left circle exit on day one, avoiding hour-plus delays each morning and evening. Convention organizers hoped to turn these choke points into parking revenue all week. By the end of day one, they fielded a litany of complaints that forced adjustments, in particular from VIP pass holders who discovered themselves trapped behind the hoi polloi when leaving. (General public lots sat further from show entrances and closer to parking lot exits.)
Everyone I heard express an opinion on I-X parking or logistics said they dreamed of returning to Chicago, or even Atlantic City, a sick burn given how few enjoy the latter.
My three recommendations for future Nationals in Cleveland.
Stay in suburban Berea instead of near the airport. Avoids 95% of driving and parking pain.
Arrive by 9AM, park near the exit, and walk to the entrance.
Get cheap Taco Tuesday dinner at the Hydrant just south of I-X. Why drive further?
Attendees: Dealers, VIPs, and you!
The convention runs Monday to Monday for dealers, with collectors welcome Wednesday through Sunday. Banners list their dizzying number of activities with multiple typefaces and their "it's cool to collect" slogan. When did coolness become our hobby brand? I vote we copy Jimmy John's "FREE SMELLS."
Large operations like Tri-Star must need their whole week to setup and breakdown. Building a dozen different autograph lines out of metal poles takes hours of time and manpower.
We hunted cards before the show itself at a local shop (1of1 Sports Cards), where I found some low grade 1952 Topps and spotted these two wall displays. Griffey's swatches make total sense. Jeter's large white square is less clear, since it...should...have...pinstripes? Eh, not my circus, not my monkeys.
Our crew started day one on the show floor looking for people we knew in the corporate area, while company employees there still felt energetic.
My OBC friend Larry (left) sold his T205 baseball complete set, itself a hobby achievement, through Robert Edwards Auctions last year and we found his contact there, Calvin Arnold.
I caught up with Sooz of A Cardboard Problem and CGC at their booth. Yankee and Mariner fans in the same photo! Who could predict!
Gary Vee's VeeFriends trading cards will reappear when I talk about the particulars of NSCC's "VIP package." For now, all looked quiet.
Prewar researcher, writer, and dealer Tim Newcomb sold from this case of black and white beauties. Funny story, I picked up something on day one that he later realized also sold that day on eBay, so he reimbursed me with lagniappe for the trouble of returning it. Easiest five bucks I ever made!
Dealer Mike Peich let me hold this Old Judge of $10,000 Kelly for a photo. Still hunting for its sibling card that shows King Kelly posed to catch a fly ball. The #5 type collection holy grail!
This box of signed index cards defines "misc" better than one could imagine.
Day one purchases felt light. At least I helped one friend who needed Sport Hobbyist cards with the Bob Feller at far right.
We restocked on snacks after the show at a CVS with unique approaches to pricing.
80 cents more during show week!
OK, back to the "VIP package," a $199 advance outlay that covered show admission and a grab bag of additional cards and promotions. I already mentioned how its dedicated parking proved worse than lots for the general public. How did everything else play out?
Many NSCC VIP attendees knew its pre-2024 open secret: you could resell card exclusives to make more than the $199 you paid upfront. Paying $100 for general admission left money on the table! Many of these pack-ins went right from VIP envelopes to eBay on day one.
This tradition more-or-less ended for 2024, as VIPs received this same list of stuff, starting with a VeeFriends + CGC promo card.
...five-card Chinese Pokémon pack...
...10-card Panini pack...
...6-card NSCC promo set...
...and VIP Upper Deck set.
I suspect NSCC's change in ownership influenced how they designed 2024 attendee promos. This approach fell flat with VIP buyers I asked, who enjoy ripping sealed exclusives more than receiving known quantities. This year's special NSCC packs appeared at corporate and media events instead of inside VIP bags. Contents of my rippable Chinese Pokémon pack include a silver foil Gengar. Which is...good? Who's to say.
If that sounds like sour grapes, also know that 2024 improved the actual VIP show experience. Larry made it clear how we obtained this all-you-can-pasta dinner.
VIPs gained access to I-X's lower floor, which offered better WiFi, carpeting, tables, less noise, and bathrooms without lines. Anytime I needed to make a phone or video call, it happened there. Wonder if this can repeat for 2025, given Chicago's non-Euclidian floor layout?
Many others bought this VIP access package, including some with niche fame. If you follow Paul Lesko, you know why his jersey says HOBBY LAWYER, which he tried to fill with friendly signatures.
Patient VIP attendees could get a Dwight Gooden, Benito Santiago, or Ellis Burks autograph on Wednesday evening. I am impatient and settled for this photo with Doc's guest placard on Thursday morning.
In short, the value of VIP tickets flipped on its head from reselling giveaways to overall show experience for 2024. I hope at least some of these good times return next year in Chicago.
OK, back to the vintage cards!
I brought unopened packs of 1978 Donruss "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" to Cleveland for friends who enjoy oddballs, as it contains the first trading cards for Aerosmith, who play villains in that film, and Steve Martin, who's Maxwell Edison of "silver hammer" fame. (George Burns, The Bee Gees, Peter Frampton, and Donald Pleasance also appear within its 66-card checklist.)
Andrew Aronstein, son of TCMA founder Mike Aronstein, brought a pair of scarce stars from its archives, Luis Tiant as Portland Beaver pitcher and Sandy Koufax as Albuquerque Dukes coach, each from 1981 minor league sets. I bought the latter for $20.
Topps preceded their 1952 baseball set with 1951 Ringside boxing, a beautiful set packed with big names and HOFers. I grabbed a low-grade fistful for $2-3 each.
Well, look at the back of this $20 T206! Amazing to locate a piece of Buck's collection decades after he passed.
Where prewar collecting spirits bless you with Bucks, they can also curse you with counterfeits. I snapped this odd Johnny Evers & Germany Schaefer card photo at a dealer's table and asked around for more info. A friend felt intrigued and later paid $100 for it.
That $100 proved ill-fated, as other friends recognized this as one of many modern fantasy pieces first printed more than a decade ago by a disreputable dealer. His "Players Chew Cut Tobacco" stamp can dupe prewar collectors, even those with real hobby knowledge. Watch out for them!
Brian Marcy of Scottsdale Cards offered the first Boston Garter I'd ever seen outside an auction house, since they sell for thousands in any grade.
Garter backs offer its checklist, card number, and tell sellers to hang them in shop windows as marketing. This 1914 set catalogs as H813-2 and I wrote about it back in 2013.
Brian sold me several prewar O-Pee-Chee (baseball + hockey) cards and knows how to bomb your photo.
My 1937 O-Pee-Chee baseball buys include HOF pitcher Wes Ferrell and another "Buck," Bobo Newsom.
O-Pee-Chee put bilingual backs on these 1930s baseball and hockey cards, honoring their French-speaking fans. I suspect they partnered on its die-cut design with National Chicle, given their similarity to 1934-36 Batter-Up baseball.
A surge of mid-1930s baseball success in Detroit earned them many Canadian fans and could explain why OPC added this set of 100% American League players, who you'd see play in Tigers games.
One of my favorite dealers specializes in autographs and this ball opened a debate. When Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis sign a baseball, are they Thelma & Louise? Or Bull Durham and A League of Their Own? You be the judge. (Bull Thelma! A Louise of Her Own!)
I complained to friends about failing to find any #5 type hits on Wednesday and Thursday, so they told me to "go buy one on eBay." Blame them for this 1976 Hawaii Islanders card from my watchlist.
My haul grew to almost 100 cards by the end of day two, with 1970s Kellogg's playing a large role.
Do you like hunting for "cheapest vintage Mantle" on show floors? I found this DIY card for $2 and declared myself a winner.
The original maker trimmed Mickey's mug off this 1961 Post Cereal card.
The esoteric end of my collection includes "less successful Seahawk QBs" and you know that means Dan McGwire.
This card goes so hard on the many life blessings Dan enjoyed, you might forget the Seahawks drafted him in 1991's first round with Brett Favre still on the board. Well, I do not forget!
My growing stack of Kellogg's hits included what I believed my last 1972 All-Time Great, #6 Ruth. Who else, right?
Our hobby connections led to a dinner for prewar collectors, sponsored by the aforementioned Robert Edwards Auctions and some Net54baseball.com members. My OBC crew (Taylor, Doug, Larry) caught up with our buddy, the prewar expert Anson Whaley (@prewarcards). We've chatted many times and this evening went just as well.
In that prewar vein, Larry passed me this handful of trimmed Play Ball cards that feature new player names in block lettering above their original. They also show evidence of being erased and rewritten multiple times.
Some pencil names come from the fringes of pro ball. Mike Barbolla, from Carl Hubbell's card, spent 1938-41 in C- and D-league ball, what we now consider the low minors. One intriguing possibility: did their original collector meet these borderline guys while in the service, given baseball's prominence on military bases, and commit them to cardboard?
These cards also show stat-keeping on their backs, erased enough to lose paper in the process. A puzzle I hope to solve someday!
My pile of purchases grew by the end of Thursday and Kellogg's in particular towered over its friends.
By Friday morning, my tiring knees and ankles slowed things down. I spent the first two hours seated at dollar boxes, feeling the mixed emotions of Happy Feller here. This next run of pictures shows fun cards from those boxes.
That last photo shows everything I spent real money on. Pleased as punch to fish out all those 1950s, 1960s high numbers, and cool oddballs. How often does a 1953 Topps Yankee bubble up for a buck?
Friday night! Old timey baseball at a field stuffed with history!
The stars aligned for a perfect mid-70s evening of 19th century baseball at Cleveland's own League Park, co-sponsored by The Shoeless Podcast and Love of the Game Auctions. An entrance marker includes highlights seen there during its MLB days.
This YouTube video caught an in-between moment for League Park's history. Its modern restoration went so well that friends told me they thought pro ball should be back here on a regular basis.
League Park's significance to baseball deserves far more than one plaque, so I'm fortunate an onsite museum inside its old ticket office expands on that history. "The Jet," for example, starred for Cleveland's Buckeyes and won a Negro League World Series prior to his debut as a Boston Brave in 1950.
Every player who appeared at League Park, from Babe Ruth to Satchel Paige, walked these tunnel steps onto its original field.
Our doubleheader left time between games one and two for fans to visit the onsite Baseball Heritage Museum. Dozens of artifacts from League Park teams, games, and players fill its floor and walls.
Andrew Aronstein took its mound for the nightcap and this shot from his warmup tosses also shows League Park's excellent modern field conditions. Playing ball at League Park makes its own argument for returning a future National to Cleveland.
By the end of Friday, my card haul filled out to include 1957 Topps, 1960 Leaf, and HOF postcards.
We spent a night at our friend Sam's nearby and his basement includes best-ever displays like these framed Kellogg's sets, complete with bowls and boxes.
Late in the show, I added this batch of $5 Japanese cards, each numbered 5 for various reasons. Many of their surviving sets helped kids play card-flipping or rock-paper-scissors style games with rules now obscure to American collectors.
Happy to report all my cards fit into carry on bags for their return flight. How many similar bags must the TSA see roll through their scanners after NSCC shows?
I know from experience a thumb bandage prevents cuticle damage when pulling hundreds of cards from holders. You might wonder, where does one buy a 1972 Kellogg's Clemente for $2? In fact, an OBC friend passed this along for free, so zero dollars is more accurate!
I enjoy the vast variety of variations in some sets, including 1960s Post Cereal. Small shifts of blue ink on these 1963 #5 Killer cards change his whole expression from "what's that overhead" to "locked in."
60 seconds in lukewarm tap water removed much of their stuck-on paper and helped me enjoy more of their backs, even when earlier attempts to pull them out of scrapbooks yanked off patches of paper. (Cards along the top row used chemical glue and soaking fails to break down something that serious.)
I found five more Vern Law cards to send out for autographs. He remains one of our few living connections to the 1952 Topps set.
I'll leave you with this one-act play.
Card shop boss: "Hey pal, did you prep all those cards for grading?"
Intern: "Sure did boss, labeled everything in Sharpie, you can't miss 'em."
