5 for $20 - Vintage Two-Sport Stars!

A couple of weeks ago I posted my haul from a 5-for-$20 bin at the last card show I made it to.  Well, there were enough cards in there that interested me, and I happened to have another $20 bill in my pocket, so I took the plunge a second time.  I think I like these 5 even better than the ones from my first go-round, but you be the judge...

For whatever reason, my vintage baseball collection is sorely lacking when it comes to 1954 Topps.  I'm not sure why, because I really like the look of these over-sized beauties.  Even though it's a little beat up, I thought $4 was a fair price for a solid player (your 1960 NL MVP!).

Did you know that Dick was a very, very good college basketball player at Duke?  Two-time All American and voted National Player of the Year in 1952.  He even played in 26 games with the NBA's Fort Wayne Pistons during the 1952-53 season.  For real.

Overall this condition is just great for me, beat up enough to be discounted but nothing to really deter from the overall enjoyment of the card.  As you can see, the cartoon references Groat's basketball career.

Next up, we switch to the NHL.  Working my way backwards through the Topps hockey sets I'm currently at '72-73.  That means that 1970-71 Topps will be on my horizon in the not-too-distant future, and this Bernie Parent seemed like a decent pick.

Not my favorite card back design of all-time, but I've certainly seen much worse.  Moving on...

What's this, a basketball card?!?!  No, I don't collect basketball, please don't send me any.  Every once in a while though, if you're somewhat random in your collecting habits like I am, you stumble across a card that you just have to have even if it doesn't really fit.  It does fit the theme of this post though, as Danny was definitely a two-sport star. 

The 1986-87 Fleer basketball set is one of the most iconic basketball sets I can think of (though I'm no expert).  Aside from that, it's kind of cool to have a Danny Ainge rookie card considering what he's gone on to do within the Celtics' organization.  Last but not least, it's in really, really, mint condition.  Sold!

Back to baseball for the last two cards.  First up, the League Presidents card from 1958 Topps.  It's funny, but if Topps put a card like this in its flagship set today I'd probably be aggravated.  Yet this one, I find amusing.  I guess I'm just guilty of blind favoritism towards vintage.

The fifth and final card is my very first 1948 Bowman!  It didn't matter to me who the player was or anything, especially since there are no Red Sox in the set, I just thought it was great to finally get one of these on the cheap.  As it turns out, I got Larry Jansen.  Larry was a two-time All Star, and would have won Rookie of the Year had it not been for some guy named Jackie Robinson.

I think if I walked into a drugstore today and asked for Blony Bubble Gum I might be escorted out.

So, that's my haul.  I've certainly spent $20 on much worse in this hobby.  Oh, and like I did last time, here's a bonus card from the same dealer's $2 bin:

We started the post with a multi-sport star, and now we'll end with one.  In my opinion, Gene Conley is one of the most fascinating lesser-known names in sports.  This guy pitched for the Milwaukee Braves and played forward for the Boston Celtics!  He won a World Series with the Braves in 1957, and three NBA Championships with Boston!

Before there was Deion Sanders, or Bo Jackson, there was Gene Conley.  Seems to me that he should get a little more respect than the $2 bin!