Goodbye White Whale

Last night I sold my white whale, my 1933 Goudey Lou Gehrig #92. As a collector this was a big blow, I had wanted that card since I returned to collecting in 1992 and finally picked one up in late 2006 or early 2007 after saving up. But what I got for it will really help with my medical bills and someday I hope to find another copy, even if it is a lower grade I will be happy to just have it in my collection alongside my Griffey cards. This is the final picture I took before packing it up for shipping, my wallet card was there to see it off.

My Contest Entry For Frankie's "Very Simple Contest"

Frankie from My Life In The Sports Card Hobby is running a “Favorite Cards” contest where he asks that his readers post the three favorite cards that are in their collection. What I initially thought was a simple question I realized I was mistaken. This is like Wallet Card all over, which cards do I go with?

Do I go with vintage cards? Maybe a Griffey card, but which one? How about something from one of my other personal collections? How about a favorite pull? This took more time than I figured it would take but in the end I got it down to four cards with two being tied for the #2 spot.

#1

1933 Goudey Lou Gehrig #92

 

#2
Second place is a tie between two cards that my wife pulled from the same box in 2001
2001 SP Legendary Cuts
Babe Ruth bat
Joe DiMaggo cut signature

 

#3
2000 Ovation Griffey game used shoe- Japanese version

Vintage Card Of The Month: 1933 Goudey Lou Gehrig

The last day of the month and I came across two realizations today, one… I had not posted a Vintage Card of the Month post and two… I have never posted my 1933 Lou Gehrig Goudey as the Vintage Card of the Month (serious oversight by me).

 

For years baseball cards had been included in tobacco products and candy products but besides the 1909-11 T206 set no other pre-war set stands the test of time like the 1933 (and 1934) Goudey cards.

 

In 1933, in the middle of the Great Depression, the Goudey Gum Company decided to include a baseball card with each stick of gum, becoming the first company to include cards with gum, in hopes of getting kids to buy their gum with the few coins they were able to collect. The set was heavy on stars with a number of players having multiple cards including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. The set became known as the 1933 Goudey Baseball Cards set, designated as R319 in catalogs.

 

Lou Gehrig is one of my idols, he was honest and sincere. He actually cared about family, fans and his teammates. He is probably known more today for his consecutive games streak but he was much more than that.

 

In 1920, when he was 17 years old, his high school team traveled to Chicago to play a game in Wrigley Field, he knocked a grand slam out of the park (literally). After high school he earned a football scholarship to Columbia University but he only played football his freshman year, in his sophomore year he played First Base and Pitcher for Columbia and in a game in 1923 game he struck out 17 batters. Pro teams were knocking down his door to sign him; he ended up signing with the hometown Yankees (so he could give his parents the signing bonus because they couldn’t afford their bills) and 2 months after signing his contract he was in the big leagues. In 1925 he went in to a game to replace a struggling Wally Pipp at First Base, the first game of his 2,130 consecutive games streak.

 

Over 17 years he played through injuries, including getting hit in the head three times, because he did not want to let his teammates down. In May 1939, after struggling in recent games, he approached Joe McCarthy, the Yankees manager, and said he was benching himself for the good of the team. He retired a month later, a week before the 1939 All-Star Game. He died two years later, 16 years to the day after he replaced Pipp at First Base.

 

He played for the Yankees from 1923 through 1939, just some of his records of note:

2 AL MVP Awards

8 World Series Championships (counting 1939)
1934 AL Batting Title and Triple Crown winner
.340 career batting average ranks him as 17^th overall
.447 On-Base percentage ranks him 5^th overall
1,995 hits ranks him 5^th overall
493 home runs ranks him 26^th overall
Elected to the MLB Hall of Fame 6 months after his retirement in a special election
Jersey #4 retired by the Yankees

 

This card is not the oldest card in my collection but it is my favorite card by far. I picked this card up in 2006 from 707 Sportscards, their web site is ugly as sin but their prices are pretty decent for vintage singles.