A Celebration of Topps: HOF Pitchers

[cjedmonton]

Originally Posted by paul

Sounds great. I guess you will have to shell out some real money for the 1953 Topps Satchel Paige. I'm not sure I understand what you mean when you say that Lee Smith breaks the streak. Doesn't he extend the streak to 1982?

Paige will be a cost outlier since he’s exclusive to 1953. But if I’m committed to this, he must be included. Will be thrilled with a PSA 1 one day, but I don’t see his prices softening anytime soon.

As for the rest, I have a relatively modest budget for each.

Since there will be no rookies, the earliest Smith could be included is 1983. At least two more pitchers would need to be elected to extend the run beyond 1980 (assuming no 1981 or 1982 RC).

Beyond that, the next eligible year/player right now is 1988 Maddux (2nd year).

Honestly though, I hope the run stays 1952*-1980 since that’s the widely accepted vintage Topps era and there’s something fascinating about how it all aligned so perfectly.

*I do have an emergency plan if Allie Reynolds is somehow inducted this year through the Early Baseball Committee…he has a 1951 Topps issue!

Otherwise, not interested in any post-1980 unless it extends chronologically.

On the other hand, if Kaat is inducted, it will make a nice round total of 30.

Either way, just think it’s really cool that so many consecutive years can be represented by a different HOF pitcher with no gaps, overlaps, or rookies.

Sorry, can you tell I’m ready to get started?

[cjedmonton]

The journey starts today! My first vintage mail day and I can instantly relate to what all the fuss is about.

Card 1 of my 29 card celebration of vintage Topps
Progress: 3.4% complete

1971 Jim Palmer #570
PSA 7
Palmer’s 6th of 19 base Topps cards

Why his ‘71? Vivid color, beautiful contrast. Classic pose of the eventual winningest pitcher of the decade and the emerging ace for that early 70’s juggernaut. Palmer just came off his 1st All-Star nod here, along with his first 20 win season and of course a World Championship. Also, this card features him in the middle of a historic season as one of only two 20 game winning quartets in major league history. For me, a helluva card to kick this project off.

Runner-up year for Palmer: 1977 - Classic Palmer delivery. Distinctly remember having his ‘77 card in my shoebox as a kid.

Runner-up player for 1971: Tom Seaver - Tom Terrific sizing up yet another victim. Go ahead, make his day.

*While not all years/players will have this much narrative, not all make me grin as much as this one. However, they will all be integral to my celebration of the entire vintage Topps era and the Hall of Fame pitchers who represent them.

Thanks for stopping by!

[ASF123]

Great looking card! I’m also working on a HOF project - trying to get all Topps and Bowman HOF base cards from 1953-85. Maybe I should have gone with a smaller project like yours so I could afford to do it with cards in such good condition.