In the history of professional baseball no pitcher has won more games than Denton True Young, an Ohio native who for two decades dominated the major leagues. Called 'Cy' - first for 'Cyrus' due to his rural upbringing and later for 'Cyclone' to describe his pitching style - he is best known today as being the namesake of the annual award issued to each league's best pitcher. The striking portrait presented of this T206 Cy Young against a vivid green background is as
Could it be the crew cut that catches your eye? Maybe the high-top football shoes that attracts you? Perhaps it is the “two-in one” photos? Regardless the cause or reason, the 1957 Topps football card of “The Golden Arm” Johnny Unitas brings hordes of collectors to the hunt for this rookie gem. Johnny U’s first appearance on a football card is one of the most popular football cards in the hobby. High grades of the
A few years ago, a chatter named “Sparty”, in the Baseball Almanac Forum, stated that if baseball cards had a Mount Rushmore, all four of the Ty Cobb T206 tobacco cards would occupy the monument. The T206s have previously been called the king of the card collecting mountain, and are avidly desired, wanted, and craved by collectors worldwide. Honus Wagner, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Cy Young and the Georgia Peach, among so many other icons
Jackie Robinson broke the color line in major league baseball in 1947, and his rookie card, issued by the Leaf Gum Company one year later, broke the color line in post-war baseball card sets. The skip-numbered set featured the Brooklyn Dodgers sparkplug to six World Series during his career, along with a host of past and future Hall of Fame Players. This Leaf Jackie Robinson rookie card, #79 in the 98 card set, displays near-perfect side-to-side and top-to-bottom centering. It continues to
What would have happened if there was no teachers strike in Brooklyn in the early 1950’s, and Sandy Koufax had been able to play baseball at Lafayette High School? What if he played baseball, and not basketball, at the University of Cincinnati? What would have happened if his mother, Mrs. Braun, hadn’t remarried and he hadn't taken the adopted last name of Koufax? What if the Reds, Pirates, Braves or New York baseball Giants had signed him in 1954, and not his hometown Brooklyn Dodgers? The answer to all of those questions is simple: we would never have seen “The