1951 Topps Red Back

There are some cards that you just need to have in your collection. For me, the 1951 Topps, is a must have.
It is the first national baseball card set issued by the Topps Chewing Gum Co. of Brooklyn, New York and is overshadowed by the 1952 Topps set, which is regarded by most collectors as the first 'true' Topps baseball set.
I like the underdog sets such as these and 1950's Bowmans.
It was issued in two series, 'A' series known as Red Backs and 'B' series known as Blue Backs. The cards were designed to be used a baseball card game and came as two joined (but perforated) cards per penny pack, unfortunately they were packaged with a stick of caramel candy which often melted or was squashed to the cards. The Blue Backs are scarcer than the Red Backs and are considered more valuable.
Bowman and Topps were at logger heads when this set was first issued. Bowman claimed exclusive rights to players images and sued Topps and promptly lost. This paved the way for the now historic Topps 1952 set.
Although I have cards of the same design, which were an insert in the 2003 Topps set, I haven't been fortunate enough to obtain a real '51 Topps until now.
Just the one #2 Sid Gordon. Maybe I could find some unopened packs or a box to bust and bolster this fledgling collection.
Here's an Unopened box of 1951 Topps and another.
Oh well. It looks as if I will just stick with the one card then and hope for another affordable single or two to raise their heads on e-bay.

1961 Fleer Baseball Greats

The 1961 Fleer Baseball Greats is an unappreciated set of cards. I love them for their simple design and their underdog status. I would like to think that I will be at a stage in my collecting habits, when I have completed some of my other baseball pursuits, attempt to collect a unique set such as '61 Fleer. Considering the set includes such names as Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Cy Young and Honus Wagner, presumably because Topps had the current players under contract, it is possible.
The complete set is 154 cards and are numbered in 'alphabetical ' order. The set was issued in 2 series; cards #1 to #88 in the first series and #89 to #154 in the second. The first series packs contained team and pennant stickers showing past World Series winners. The Fleer Sticker Project shows both these superb stickers in their glory.
I already have 9 of the '61 Fleer set and this card #52 John Kling is a great addition.

1955 Red Man Tobacco Card

Chewing Tobacco conjures images of the Wild West, spittoons and Back to the Future. I believed that 'smokeless tobacco' was a thing of the past. How wrong I was. In seeking some information on the Red Man brand I discovered that chewing (and spitting!) is still widely practiced.
Baseball cards had not been included in Tobacco products since 1920, until 1952 when Red Man issued a set of cards, attractive big cards measuring 9cm (3.5 in) by 9cm with a 1cm (0.5in) stub at the bottom. The stub could be removed from the card and 50 stubs exchanged for a Big League Baseball cap in the team of your choosing.
Red Man chose to keep all the baseball information on the front of the card and use the back to advertise their product. For four years, 1952 to 1955, Red Man included baseball cards in their chewing tobacco. If you want to drool a little bit at a amazing collection of the entire 4 year run take a look at this blog.
The 1955 set included 25 players from the American League and 25 from the National League.
I was able to purchase this card #20 Pete Runnels Washington Senators with the stub. Unfortunately the cap offer expired on June 15th 1956.
Red Man tobacco products are still available( in only the top quality stores naturally ) but baseball cards have been replaced by fishing lures.

1966 and 1967 Topps with a dash of '56

Following on from the 1955 Bowman, the same seller had a small stack of cards from 1966 and 1967 Topps cards for sale. I actively search out 1964 Topps and have a few '66 and '67, so this was a lucky find. What came as a surprise was the added bonus of the 1956 Topps #280 Jim Gilliam. I had noticed on the auction picture, a solitary '56 Topps but it was partially hidden so I concluded that it was either in poor condition or so badly aligned that it was a waste of the sellers time to list it separately.

When it comes to vintage, I apologies to those offended by referring to 1956 as vintage, they appear rarely so I am not concerned by condition. One day maybe, but today I am happy to add to my collection. The card arrived and is in good condition, a little high on the card but still great. So the bonus was the '66 and '67 Topps.