Pretty sweet, huh? I've got a small handful of Brooks Robinson autographs at this point in my collecting timeline, but this is my first Ted Kubiak, and certainly my first card featuring autographs of both players. Maybe the only card featuring autos of these two guys, actually?
While I said (and meant!) in my year-end posts that I've cooled off on autographs to an extent, I ran across this card back in November while browsing eBay and was immediately intrigued. With just minutes to go it was very reasonably priced, and in the end I brought it home for right around the cost of a retail blaster (was $21 and change). I always loved the playoff and World Series subset cards in vintage Topps releases, and I agree with the majority of collectors who feel that 1975 Topps is one of the best sets of its decade (though personally I'd rank '72 higher, I think).
Similar to the 1971-72 Topps hockey autograph that recently made my year end countdown, I love that someone went through the trouble to have both subjects sign this. While Ted Kubiak may not be the person you picture when you think of the 1970s "Swingin' A's, this is a fantastic photograph and both autographs are so large and bold. In fact, I'd have to say this is my new favorite Brooks Robinson auto, and may make one or two of my others expendable actually.
The back gives you a high-level summary of the four games in the 1974 ALCS, but if you're a fan of vintage baseball cards you've seen these countless times by now.
The front is what makes this a truly one-of-a-kind collectible.
So there you have it, not much more that I can say about my latest autograph pick-up. Do you have any autographs in your collection that are not pack-issued and are authenticated by a third party, similar to this one? If so, I'd love to hear about a personal favorite in the comments.
Thanks as always for stopping by! Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and I'll be back this week with more sports card content. Until then, stay safe!
.jpg)
3 comments:
This is interesting because for the longest time I thought that was Dick Green vaulting over Brooks Robinson.
When I ran the '75 Topps blog, people pointed out it was actually Ted Kubiak and that meant that the photo shown did not occur during the '74 ALCS but during the regular season.
A. Awesome autograph!
B. I have a bunch of third party authenticated signed cards. I'm into getting autographed rookie cards and when it comes to the ones from the 90's and earlier... you have to rely on third party authentication.
C. Favorite? Maybe my Gwynn signed Fleer rookie card or my Henderson minor league card. If we're talking about combo cards... then I'd go with my Pete Rose/Rod Carew batting leaders card.
Man, wish i had this double auto! My dad played little league ball with ted in NJ, and we got to see him play in the 70s when we moved to Cali and Ted was in the middle of getting those three consecutive rings with the A's. He got me Reggie's auto and a game-used bat.
Post a Comment