Tuesday, February 10, 2015

T206 : Rise of the machines

Well, those cards from Ebay/Comc got here in a couple of weeks instead of the 4 to 6 weeks it usually takes. Nice surprise !

This time, there's a little bit of everything.


My first bit of everything is my very first...

let's make a pause for dramatic effect..

my very first T206 !

That's usually when I start dancing like Baloo and King Louie.

 I did a little research, and turns out Grimshaw never played for Toronto (he got signed but didn't play), but it's still a Toronto card. I had absolutely no idea that there was a Toronto team in the early century (there's no mention of it in my Baseball Encyclopedia, but I guess I'll trust Tobacco companies more than ESPN). I got it for $15, which seems like a good deal considering its condition (creases and dinged corners, but nothing ripped, including a clean back)

EDIT : Grimshaw DID play for Toronto, in the minor leagues. I need to study better.




Some 1939 Play Ball cards, that have a nice, clean, vintage look to them. Some real action shots ! Got those for about $3 each.


The facsimile auto gets in the way, but man what a great photo.


I also love all those 73 horizontal shots.



 I had never heard of Marquee before (I understand they only did it for one year, in 2011), but I do like its simple design. I think the whole parallel thing is ridiculous though, especially at $50 a pack of 5 cards. I have no idea why I got the Honus Wagner card. Maybe to send it to Matt one day. Or maybe to go with my T206.



Those cards are absolutely gorgeous. There's nothing I don't like about UD Masterpieces.


This was one of my favorite inserts back in the 90s. I had traded for the Piazza one at the time, and it's always been one of my favorite cards in my collection (and numbered out of 5000, which wasn't much back then). The cards are actually printed on real wood, which gives them that extra special feel. Leaf had great inserts ideas.


The only reason I got that awfully cut Brett Lawrie auto is because it was sold by the same dealer as the Frank Thomas and Starks. I usually like Playoff memorabilia, but that sticker is terrible. And the Barfield sticker works quite fine there.


Finally, an on-card John Starks auto, that actually cost less (a little under $5) than the sticker auto I got a few weeks ago.

ps : yes, when I put a T in front of something, it always reminds me of Terminator movies. I can't help it. Though the third one just may be one of the worst movies ever made.

14 comments:

  1. That is a sweet T206. One of my long term goals is to get all the "Minneapolis" T206 players. I think the Toronto team was called the Maple Leafs in the 1910's. They were in a minor league called the Eastern League, which may or may not be related to any leagues that are around today...

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    1. I was too curious to not look it up - here are Moose Grimshaw's minor league stats:
      http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=grimsh001myr

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    2. Ooooh, I had only looked at the Major league tab ! Thanks for looking it up, now I know where that Toronto jersey is from !

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  2. Topps Marquee was a big time bust. It seems they are always trying to recreate the high end magic of Triple Threads, but always fall short.

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    1. I looked on ebay to see what's available, and 'm really not impresse with the lineup

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  3. 206 and Play Ball steals! What a thief! I look for these on COMC regularly and haven't found them priced that low, ever! Yes, I envy you Kevin. ENVY!

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    1. always good deals like those to be found on Ebay ! Comc is great for the less expensive cards, I suppose.
      One sin down, 6 to go !

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  4. Replies
    1. thanks Mark. Let me know if you need that Red Sox Play Ball !

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  5. Awesome T206.

    There were a lot of minor league/independent baseball teams in Toronto (and various other parts of Canada) for a while but when it comes to data from over a century ago some things get lost in time.

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  6. Toronto had that minor league team for a long, long time. A lot of big-name players came through here (Nap Lajoie, Carl Hubbell, Willie Keeler, Ralph Kiner, Charlie Gehringer, etc.), either on the way up or the way down.

    They even donated their name to the local hockey team when the ball club was riding high and the hockey team was in the dumps.

    After the 1967 season they relocated to Pawtucket and Toronto was without baseball for the first time since the 1880s.

    They had a couple really nice ballparks - one out on Hanlan's Point (only accessible by ferry and site of Babe Ruth's first pro home run) and then Maple Leaf Stadium down on the lakeshore. It was torn down after 1968 or so.

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    Replies
    1. Sparky Anderson also played here for years and had his first managing job in Toronto. Grimshaw won a battling title for the Leafs in 1909.

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    2. thanks a lot for sharing this amazing piece of info ! I really need to look deeper into the history of Canadian baseball

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    3. There's a good book that came out when Toronto was awarded the expansion team - "Baseball's Back in Town" by Louis Cauz (1977 or so). It's long-since out of print, but I found a copy on abebooks. It tracks Toronto baseball from the 1880s onwards. It's pretty much the key reference book on the subject.

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