December Pick ups

[jchcollins]

Back when I was about 15, this guy was at the peak of his fame - in his 40's, still throwing in the 90's, and of course still spinning no-hitters with the Texas Rangers. I think it's fair to say that besides Mickey Mantle, Nolan Ryan had become about the most popular figure in the hobby as well by the early 1990's. Back then this card went for around $200, even in mid-grade shape. I remember seeing it for the first time on the old ESPN show with Johnny Bench, "The Great American Baseball Quiz"...and instantly wanting it. Was thrilled to pickup this copy for less than 20 bucks. My how times have changed! Bonus - What I thought was a small nick in the lower lefthand corner was actually just a fleck off of the black insert in the SGC case (easily removed by cracking the card out of the SGC case...) and not a problem at all. Very nice card for the money, and especially in comparison to what I have paid for one in the past. A solid VG-EX, just honest mild corner wear, a couple of surface dents that are not noticeable, and some light / faded printing on the back. When looking for this card again online, I was surprised at how damn many of them (virtually 90% that I looked at) are diamond cut, even if slightly. This one is not. Also merits being said that this is one of the very few cards with an airbrushed hat that I actually think is cool. Topps got it close to right for once, though you can clearly still see Nolan's pinstriped Mets home jersey that doesn't match the cap. Interesting to me also, that by the time Nolan got out to Anaheim in 1972, the Angels had done away with the "small a halo" logo, and replaced it with the more recognizable "large A halo" logo. Although if you search hard enough, I do believe that pictures exist of Nolan wearing the old cap in what must have been spring training in 1972.