1953 Topps Project - Grady Hatton - 25% Benchmark!

Today let's look at the 70th card I've been able to acquire from the legendary 1953 Topps baseball set, card #45 on the checklist, Grady Hatton of the Cincinnati Reds...

I confess that I don't know too much about Grady as a player, though he did enjoy a 12 year career at the Major League level.  He played for six teams in total, including my beloved Red Sox.  When his playing days were through, he stayed involved with the game at a coaching/executive level, and is probably best known as being the manager for the upstart Astros in the mid-'60s.

As far as the card itself goes, Grady's flashing a nice smile and there's quite a bit more going on in the background than you typically see with these paintings, including what looks like a large water tank beyond the outfield wall.

This card's a big one for me, because I've officially crossed (without having to round up) the 25% threshold as far as my set goes!  Sure, I've still got names like Mantle, Robinson and Mays to track down, but hitting the 1/4 mark feels pretty darn rewarding regardless of which cards got me there.

Set Progress:  70 of 274 (26%)