Touring (backwards) through the sets of the '50s

[cardsagain74]

Wasn't planning on doing these on back to back days (or skipping ahead again), but there's a reason that happened today.

1953

This set is just as beat up as my '57. And since all the huge cards are 1s this time, it would rank last overall in condition. It's also the one that I got the worst deal on, because I got too impatient. Some of the sets from this run were bought complete, since when you're working on so many things at once, it seemed too time-consuming and expensive to build so much from almost scratch.

Why so impatient this time then? One reason was how I love the colors and design. But it's mainly because this was the year that my dad was 9 years old and at the height of his love of the game and the Yankees. I even mentioned in another thread about how my grandmother found his creased '53 Topps Whitey Ford and a (likely) '53 Topps Mantle about 30 years ago at their old house.

I say "likely" Mick because she inexplicably gave me the Ford (which is tucked away elsewhere in my childhood belongings) and my far-away cousin the Mantle, which was never seen again. Heresy.

Anyway....dad and I never collected anything together, so this isn't the typical vision of father and son looking over a table learning about baseball cards. But he did share the same passion for sports that I did, and we always bonded over that.

Almost two years ago, my dad passed away from cancer. And today would've been my parents' 54th wedding anniversary.

So instead of card-related "other highlights", I've included a photo of when he coached my minor league baseball team in 1984. He's the man on the left of the pic, standing just behind me toward the middle.

Oh, and I was also 9 when this pic was taken. Go figure

274/274

Avg grade: 1.96

Top 10 cards w/ grade:

82 Mickey Mantle: 1
244 Willie Mays: 1
1 Jackie Robinson: 1
220 Satchel Paige: 1
263 Johnny Podres: 1.5
104 Yogi Berra: 1
258 Jim Gilliam: 1
280 Milt Bolling: 2
27 Roy Campanella: 1.5
147 Warren Spahn: 3

Other highlights:

Unquestionably '80s baseball photo