1955 Bowman Autographs - Only a Few Still Possible

In late 2021, I had the late Frank Thomas (the Original One), sign my 1955 Bowman card of him. You can see that card and others from Mr. Thomas here. My favorite players to send to during my TTM binge of late 2021 were the old-timers, as well as the really old-timers. It's sad that many of the baseball heroes of the 1950s have passed away, but there was still time to make a connection with a few of them via their 1955 Bowman cards. So, just after the calendar turned to 2023, I set out to do just that. I believe this is a comprehensive list of players from the 1955 Bowman set who are both still alive and still signing their cards through the mail:

• Joe Amalfitano (age 89)
• Carl Erskine (age 96)
• Hobie Landrith (age 92)
• Bobby Shantz (age 97)
• Vern Law (age 92)

I actually had sent to both Amalfitano and Shantz back in 2021 due to their Cubs connections. In January, I sent to them again, as well as sending Hobie Landrith's card to him. They all came back signed beautifully. 

I just sent out Carl Erskine's card to him about a week ago, and still need to get Vern Law's in the mail. If I can get those back, I will have six signed cards in the set, which I think is pretty neat. I don't typically like buying autographed cards, so that will probably be all that I collect for this set. It's kind of crazy to get cards signed that came out 68 years ago. I appreciate these gentlemen graciously returning them to me. 

In Memoriam: The Original Frank Thomas (1929-2023)

I follow probably a dozen or more baseball-related groups on Facebook, and one of them is dedicated to announcements of athletes from various sports who have died. I always feel a certain level of sadness when I see these posts, particularly when I knew of the athlete and perhaps cheered for him during his career. In the past year and a half, I have written to some old baseball players, many who once played for the Cubs. One of the most memorable series of correspondence was with Frank Thomas, "The Original One", who played for several teams in the 1950s and through the mid-1960s. 

Thomas passed away Monday morning in Pittsburgh. While I'm sure there are still plenty of old baseball fans who remember Thomas's career, probably thousands more communicated with him through the mail. He was a prodigious autograph signer, replying to anyone who wrote to him. While I'm certain he signed many, many cards for free, it was widely known that he requested $5 per autograph. This was a more than reasonable fee, especially considering he donated the proceeds to various causes, once of which I recall was dedicated to the care of sick children. 

As far as I can gather, Thomas provided personalized notes to everyone who took the time to write to him. I received full page letters on two occasions, an unexpected but much appreciated response that created a connection that didn't match any of the responses I received from other former players, though many of those responses were quite generous in their own right. 

I initially sent Thomas his 1960 Topps card, which he graciously signed:

Thomas seemed so genuine and sincere in his communication that I felt compelled to send an additional $20 or so for an autographed 8x10 photo of his time with the Cubs. In that same mailing, I sent another $5 along with his 1955 Bowman card.

As a testament to his generosity, Thomas each time sent an extra signed card back with the card I sent him. 

He also sent his business card each time. I kind of regret that I never called him, though I don't know what I would have said. I'm sure, though, that he would have gladly answered the call and given of his time to a random fan halfway across the country. Seems like that was just the kind of guy he was. A man of faith with a large family that left a legacy of generosity. Rest in peace, Mr. Thomas.

Time to Finish Some Projects

I figured it must be time for another spring update, to let you know I'm still around. I've been reading the blogs a little more than I usually do during the winter months in an attempt to stay connected. As usual, my fall/winter included some reading, but my favorite wasn't one of several baseball books I read. It was actually a book about the assassination of President James Garfield called Destiny of the Republic. Of the baseball books I read, my favorite was probably a book about Roger Clemens called The Rocket that Fell to Earth. I also read biographies of Buck Weaver, Satchel Paige, Dave Dravecky, Bill Lee, Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe, and Dick Williams. 

I've been doing some trading and have to mention the great haul I got from Nick's 10th anniversary giveaway over at the Dime Boxes blog. Though those cards are now safely filed away, Nick's generosity must be mentioned (thanks Nick)! 

A recent trade with Bo from Baseball Cards Come to Life was sparked by my interest in a single card:

I actually was interested in this card more for Harmon Killebrew than for Mantle, though it was neat to get my first vintage card featuring The Mick. 

I put together a bigger group of cards for Bo, and he sent a bunch in return. I sometimes think I need to narrow my focus to fewer collection goals, but the cards that follow show that I haven't done that yet. Still have a lot of card juggling to do with my collection.

These are some cards for my ongoing TTM project. I started sending my first TTM (through the mail) autograph requests last summer/fall, focusing on players that played locally as well as Cubs players. I've had pretty good success and would like to eventually share some of the cards I've gotten signed. 

A few from my 15+ year player project. This mini collection consists of cards that have 15 or more years of stats on the back. I'm at 597 of these cards now, which is kind of crazy since this is like my 10th collection priority (or maybe lower). 

Kerry Wood cards seem to find their way to me lately, and that's just fine!

Can't ever get enough of those waxy rookies, especially of one of my all-time favorite players. Plus a few new ones for the collection (now over 400 different). 

A few candidates for my second Frankenset, which is in progress. I've been working on posting the images from my first Frankenset, and am close to halfway there. This is a sincere attempt to finish a project for good! 

Bo sent two unexpected items that were arguably the highlight of the trade. 

Bill Zuber played for the Fargo-Moorhead Twins in 1934 when they were a minor league affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. He later made the majors, and opened a restaurant in Homestead, Iowa. The restaurant is now a hotel, but still displays some of Zuber's baseball memorabilia. Guessing one of these matchbooks might be there. 

The second matchbook is of the Powers Hotel here in Fargo. The building is still standing and now houses apartments. Very cool.

There were more cards in the trade package from Bo that I didn't show, which tells you it was a great trade. Thanks Bo!

Hope everyone is well. I've been updating my TCDB profile to hopefully spark some trading, so check it out if you get a chance. Help me finish some projects so I can add some sanity and order to my collection!

More Frankenset and Lots of Mail

Four more Frankenset pages are posted. Do you agree with my favorite from each page?

Page 6: Cards 46-54 - Favorite: Pat Kelly error

Page 7: Cards 55-63 - Favorite: Rickey Henderson brushback

Page 8: Cards 64-72 - Favorite: Fun at the Ballpark

Page 9: Cards 73-81 - Favorite: Roger McDowell with the umpires

I've been working on getting signed baseball cards and index cards for players who played in Fargo. I've gotten some cards, and the index cards, on eBay and through trades on SportCollectors.net. Others I've gotten through some requests through the mail. For these, I always ask if they have any memories of their time playing in Fargo. I've gotten a few that have responded to the question, which has been fun. Someday I might get some of that posted here, but as you can see above, I have a few more pages of my Frankenset to post first. But here's a sampling:

I found an old Fargo-Moorhead Twins program image online and printed it on cardstock. I've sent and received five replies from former players: Womack, Hal Stowe, Bill Dailey, Bud Zipfel, and Jim Perry. All of these guys made the majors. I've sent out five more to players who never made the majors, but since they are all in their mid-80s, I'm not sure if I'll get any replies. I'm already working on sending to players who played in Grand Forks (about an hour north of Fargo). We'll see how that goes.