The Folder of Fun, as I like to call it, has been in the works for about three years. That's about the time I stopped buying retail and hobby packs and began tracking down cards which fit a certain general description: FUN. Here's a link to the first post in this series if you'd like to go back and catch up. Here's the second page of the "Tells a Story" section. Good stuff all the way around!
2015 Topps - Whatever Works insert, #WW-3 - Wade Boggs
Wade Boggs used to dine on chicken before every meal. Fun fact: Boggs' Twitter handle is @ChickenMan3010.
2011 Tri-Star Obak, #95 - Fred Merkle
You may have heard about the story of "Merkle's Boner." The boneheaded blunder benefited the Cubs and helped them secure the NL Pennant over the Giants in 1908.
This card celebrates Rickey's swiping of career bag #939 and moving past Lou Brock to become to the all-time stolen base leader.
1990 Score, #550 - Dave Dravecky
I remember watching the replays of Dravecky breaking his arm pitching on ESPN. Ghastly stuff.
2017 Topps Stadium Club, #241 - Elvis Andrus
I'm going to miss the exploits between Andrus and Adrian Beltre. If you go to YouTube there are plenty of video compilations documenting the fun between these two players, but this one probably sums it up the best.
1992 Topps, #40 - Cal Ripken, Jr.
Ripken posing next to Gehrig's plaque. That's a spectacular card.
2010 Topps - Tales of the Game insert, #TOG-23 - Manny Ramirez
Honestly, I could probably add this whole insert set to the Folder of Fun, but this is the only one I own and I'm okay with that. Manny sure was a different character.
2010 Tri-Star Obak, #53 - Moe Berg
If you don't know about Moe Berg he is one of the more interesting and overlooked players in baseball's history. There was a book written about him, The Catcher Was a Spy: The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg. I was given a copy back in 2012 for my birthday. It's a good read, especially if you history and baseball.
1991 Conlon Collection, #184 - Moe Berg
Here's the backs of the two Berg cards:
If you're not into reading, there was also a movie put out in 2018, The Catcher Was a Spy.
There's one more "Tells a Story" page on deck. Stay tuned!
That Ripken was an instant classic from the outset and I particularly liked that it came from his most dominant season. Rickey's speech that came immediately after that SB is also a classic.
Dravecky's injuries and battles with cancer were truly brutal to learn about when I was young, as they made little sense given that athletes seemed superhuman at that point.
I loved the Andrus/Beltre friendship and did not know that it was commemorated by SC, so I will need to track down that card at some point (same with the Baez/Bryant BL card from this year). Now if we could only get a card of the time that Beltre moved the on deck circle. ;)
excellent page. I read the Berg story. He was an odd fellow; quite the eccentric. The Beltre/Andrus card is in my collection too. Fun video clip. I could watch more of these antics. I'm quickly losing interest in modern baseball. MLB continues to change the game. Watering down the playoffs is going too far.
When I was in Boston, Oh did I love going to games and seeing Manny play. What a swing. It's a shame that his antics kind of got the best of him. And that Dravecky game... makes me so uncomfortable just thinking about it.
That Ripken was an instant classic from the outset and I particularly liked that it came from his most dominant season. Rickey's speech that came immediately after that SB is also a classic.
ReplyDeleteDravecky's injuries and battles with cancer were truly brutal to learn about when I was young, as they made little sense given that athletes seemed superhuman at that point.
I loved the Andrus/Beltre friendship and did not know that it was commemorated by SC, so I will need to track down that card at some point (same with the Baez/Bryant BL card from this year). Now if we could only get a card of the time that Beltre moved the on deck circle. ;)
excellent page. I read the Berg story. He was an odd fellow; quite the eccentric. The Beltre/Andrus card is in my collection too. Fun video clip. I could watch more of these antics. I'm quickly losing interest in modern baseball. MLB continues to change the game. Watering down the playoffs is going too far.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in Boston, Oh did I love going to games and seeing Manny play. What a swing. It's a shame that his antics kind of got the best of him. And that Dravecky game... makes me so uncomfortable just thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteAs a Ripken collector, the card you featured of him is one of my favorites in my collection.
ReplyDeleteSomehow haven't read that Berg book yet. I'll have to change that soon.
ReplyDeleteThe bond Beltre and Andrus had was unique. I started watching those videos a few years ago and have been a huge Beltre fan ever since.
ReplyDelete