Kerry over at Cards on Cards is one of the good guys around the hobby, despite him being a Cardinals fan. Recently, he dropped some unexpected mail on me loaded with good stuff.
One of my favorite sets of the 80s is 1986 Topps, mainly because of the design. The Tony Perez card in the middle is a card I didn't think I needed until I actually got it. Now that I have it, I don't need it anymore. It's a nice sunset card and I like the image of Perez high-fiving Eric Davis. It's sort of symbolic of the old celebrating with the new as Davis would be an anchor of the Reds outfield until he was traded to the Dodgers following the 1991 season.
These three guys are poised to be part of the future for a Reds team that was pretty bad this past season. Peraza came over as part of the Todd Frazier deal last offseason and after getting some seasoning at Triple A early in the year, made his mark by being able to play a handful of different positions. Garrett should be with the team either in 2017 or 2018 at the latest and Stephenson is probably the top catching prospect the Reds have.
Reds cards weren't the only thing included in the package though as there was a plethora of St. Louis Browns cards. The Browns were one of the worst teams in the American League, consistently finishing at the bottom of the standings and making one World Series appearance in their history. After the 1953 season, the Browns were sold and moved to Baltimore to become the Orioles. Since then, the Orioles have pretty much distanced themselves from their past at the Browns. Even though the Browns were pretty miserable for most of their existence, they still had some pretty notable players, including Hall of Famer George Sisler, who isn't exactly a household name, except to historians of the game, and Rick Ferrell who started his career with the Browns in 1929.
Not only are these Browns cards, but they are Conlon cards as well which makes them doubly appreciated. Of this batch, I think the only one of these people I've ever heard of before is Jimmy Austin.
These cards are curious. They are definitely Conlon photos but I've never seen this particular set before. According to the Trading Card Database, these are part of the Conlon World Wide Sport series. I like the fact they are full bleed photos but there is no name on the front of the card, plus it seems like there is a brown hue over them when compared to the black bordered Conlon set.
Reds and Browns ... I'd say this was quite the colorful package.
AS a child, I was always fascinated by the defunct teams like the Browns and Senators. My uncle once convinced me that the Browns played baseball to violently and were transferred into the NFL and forced to move to Cleveland... I was a gullible little kid.
ReplyDeleteHa! And it appears that they might be better off back in baseball!
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