A Trio of Dollar Box Dodgers

If you read just the last week's worth of posts here, you'd get the impression that I collect hockey cards only. I guess it's just difficult to get enthused about baseball when it's 12 degrees outside and the NHL and NFL seasons are in full swing. The fact that the Bruins have been on one of the most impressive runs I've ever witnessed as a hockey fan hasn't helped. I do still enjoy baseball cards though, I swear. Today we'll take a break from hockey...here are three Los Angeles Dodgers cards from the dollar box at the local hobby shop:

1972 Topps - #11 - Bobby Valentine

I've got a ton of Topps base from 1974 and later, but most of the sets prior to that are represented scarcely at best in my collection. So, any time I see a card from '72 in great shape it's difficult to pass it up. The cards in today's post have been kicking around for quite some time, in fact when I picked this up Bobby hadn't yet been named the new skipper of the Red Sox. For that matter, the Red Sox hadn't really even begun their monumental collapse of 2011.

1961 Topps - #130 - Norm Larker

I'm not really too sure why I chose this one. I'm not a big fan of 1961 Topps, and this isn't the world's most exciting looking card. I think my decision to drop $1 on this was based solely on the fact that the card is in great condition for a '61.

Norm played just a handful of season's in his MLB career, partly because he was already 27 by the time his rookie season came. He was a member of the 1959 Dodgers championship team, and as the cartoon on the back of his card indicates enjoyed a very successful season the following year. He would bat .323 in 1960 (second only to Dick Groat's .325) and was selected as an All-Star for the only time in his career.

1960 Topps - #105 - Larry Sherry

Speaking of the 1959 championship team, Larry, as everyone knows, was the '59 World Series MVP. I believe this is his rookie card, and it's in great shape given that it came from the dollar box.

The cartoon on the back references the '59 World Series performance, 12 2/3 innings, 0.71 ERA.

So there you go, some proof that I still collect baseball cards after all!