New to the Shoebox - 1974 Topps Harmon Killebrew

Here's the final single from my recent trip to the shop:

1974 Topps - #400 - Harmon Killebrew

I've always had a soft spot for 1974 Topps. If I ranked the Topps designs for the decade it would be in my top 4, ahead of 1971 and 1975 even. Aside from that, I am constantly amazed at how under-appreciated Killebrew seems to be in the collecting world. He just doesn't demand the kind of attention that the other Hall-of-Famers of his era seem to. I mean the guy is 11th on the all-time home run list, ahead of guys like Reggie Jackson, Mickey Mantle, Willie McCovey and Ted Williams, yet you can typically find his cards for just a fraction of the price of those other stars. Just look at these power stats:

On a completely unrelated note, if you're in the mood to check out a pack of hockey cards head on over to A Pack a Day, where I just busted a pack of 2007-08 In the Game Between the Pipes hockey. Thorzul is right, this site definitely needs some love and attention.

New to the Shoebox - 1966 Topps NL Pitching Leaders

Here's the second to last single I picked up last time at the shop, we're back to baseball now:

1966 Topps - #223 - NL Pitching Leaders

That is one nice League Leaders card! Thanks to the dollar box at this shop I've accumulated quite a few 1966 Topps cards. It's not my favorite set of the decade, but it's still better than buying packs of crap I won't care about in 2 months. This one obviously didn't come from the dollar box, but in the shape it's in I was happy to fork over an Abe for it.

More importantly, this fills a pretty large hole in my collection. While I have many vintage baseball cards, I had neither a Koufax nor a Drysdale prior to picking this one up.

I find it comical just how many players they list on the back of the leaders card. Sure, you needed 23 wins to get your mug shot on the front, but a mere 7 is enough for mention on the reverse side.

New to the Shoebox - 1970-71 Topps Jean Beliveau

Here's another random single picked up from the hobby shop a couple weeks back, on the same trip as the Carlton Fisk and Johnny Bench cards I've posted. There is some decent hockey representation at the shop, but overall baseball dominates, which is pretty typical in my area. That's why I was psyched when I stumbled across this card in the 1/2 off bin:

1970-71 Topps - #55 - Jean Beliveau

In absolute mint condition, perfectly centered, and with a price tag of less than 5 bucks, this was the one card I knew I was leaving the store with. Jean is a true gentleman who exemplifies everything that is great about the sport of hockey, and this is coming from a Whalers/Bruins fan! There's not much I can say about his career that Casey at Drop the Gloves hasn't already done a better job of, so I'll just say that I agree with everything in his post.

It's only fitting that someone who is such a true gentleman would be the most successful player/executive in hockey history. Of all his amazing career statistics, it's the number of Stanley Cup Championships he won that is most impressive. Ten as a player, and another seven as an executive. I think ten Stanley Cups as a player is one of those records that will likely never be broken, and seventeen total? Forget about it!

I'm a sucker for the 1970-71 design too, what a great looking set. I'm actually ashamed to admit this is only my third 70-71 Topps card, and also just my third Beliveau card (and the only one that's a true vintage card from his playing days). I'll be looking to rectify that in the near future.

Here's the back of the card. The cartoons vary from back to back. They are much more realistic looking than many Topps cartoons, but without being tailored to each individual player they lack the character that some of the others possess. That being said I think the backs still come together quite nicely.

If I'm not mistaken this is Beliveau's final Topps card, which is kind of cool. He hung up the skates after the 70-71 season. What's amazing to me is that in his nineteenth and final season, he still recorded better than a point per game (76 points in 70 games played).

I'll be enjoying this card for a long time to come!

New to the Shoebox - 1976 Topps Johnny Bench

Here's another recent addition to the collection:

1976 Topps - #300 - Johnny Bench

There's not much I can add here, the scan says it all. You could make an argument that it's the best Johnny Bench card Topps ever produced, at the very least the best of the 1970's run. The photo is a classic, and I've always been partial to the 1976 set (this is my 51st card).

I like the card for another reason though. I know I've said this a few times before, but one of the reasons I enjoy collecting is that my cards comprise a kind of pictoral and statistical history of the game, neatly packed away in monster boxes in my office closet. This card makes me think of Bench's 1976 season. After a sub-par season by his standards, Bench bounced back with an amazing post-season in '76. It culminated in a World Series where Johnny hit .533 with 2 HR and 6 RBI, capturing World Series MVP honors and leading his Big Red Machine to their second straight title.

The card's in great shape, off-centered top to bottom a bit but for $6 I was more than satisfied. I picked this one up on the same trip as the 1973 Topps Fisk from a couple of posts back. Two iconic 70's cards of Hall-of-Fame legends for about half the price of a blaster. At this rate I may never buy another card at Target again...

New to the Shoebox - 1973 Topps Carlton Fisk

I have a wedding coming up, less than four months away now, so naturally I've been much more frugal lately with card purchases. I am trying to make every dollar count, so as much fun as it is opening random packs, there's not much of that in my near future. I won't be ripping any blasters and putting the cards away in a monster box to collect dust for the next five years until I ultimately trade or give them away. Instead, I'm finding cheap ways to fill in my collection with cards that actually make it significantly better in my eyes. First up, a Red Sox card that I have wanted for some time now:

1973 Topps - #193 - Carlton Fisk

As a Red Sox fan, it's pretty inexcusable that I went without this card in my collection for so long. I know he played significantly more career games with the White Sox than the Red, but he's a legend in Boston. Forget everything else he did in a Red Sox uniform, he's a household name for Game 6 of the 1975 World Series alone.

I know it's not the greatest looking card Topps ever produced. Like many 1973 Topps, the photo is not exactly stellar. I've always liked the design nonetheless, and Carlton's odd facial expression at least gives it some life. The Topps All-Star Rookie cup is a nice plus. This is Fisk's first solo Topps card, as everyone knows he shared his '72 Topps rookie with Mike Garman and Cecil Cooper. Someday I hope to pick that one up as well. Let's look at the back:

Nothing ground-breaking here, I like the cartoon catcher but the cartoon overall isn't anything to write home about. We learn that Pudge was unanimously voted the 1972 AL Rookie of the Year, after leading the Red Sox in round trippers (and setting the club record for a catcher). I'm interested in the "In Military Service" caption that replaces Fisk's would-be stats for the 1967 season. Can someone out there fill me in on this? I found a couple of sites indicating he had a military obligation to fill but didn't dig into it any further.

This card is in absolute mint condition, four sharp corners, no dings or scratches, and good centering. It only set me back a five spot at the local hobby shop, which I happily forked over. I will certainly enjoy it much more than a rack pack from Target!