Dog Days Delights — Droolworthy Cards for August 17, 2018

Ah … August.

The dog days of summer.

The start of school.

The end of summer.

It’s bull, if you ask me. I mean, boys and girls — of all ages — should be free to watch baseball all season long, unfettered by the constraints of school and work, teachers and bosses.

But since we all have to live, and learn, we’ll just have to take our solace where we can get it.

Like in the warm arms of a cardboard embrace … or the soft glow of an eBay listing.

So let’s combine the two and check out this week’s droolworthy lots — five baseball card listings for sale right now that will make you downright giddy and maybe green with envy.

August or not.

(Note that this post contains affiliate links, which means if you click over to eBay and buy something, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.)

1954 Topps Ted Williams (#1) – PSA 5

Topps spent the first three years of their existence fighting the wolves of the baseball card world without Ted Williams in their corner.

So, when they finally inked the Splendid Splinter to a contract in 1954, they tried to make up for lost time by giving him two cards — #1 and #250 — bookends!

Those bookends also helped create one of the hobby’s toughies in the form of the 1954 Bowman Williams, which Topps’ competitor had to pull from circulation.

This eBay lot, though, offers up that Topps #1 cards, a PSA 5 specimen with a Buy-It-Now (BIN) of $6999.

That’s a big number, but this card is also the tough gray back variety, and the PSA Population Report shows just 16 have been graded. This is the only 5, and there has been only one 6.

They just don’t come much better.

Here is the eBay listing (affiliate link).

1963 Topps Pete Rose Rookie Card (#537) – BVG 9

Think Pete Rose doesn’t carry much weight in the hobby these days?

Listings like this one — and they aren’t all that rare, though this one is exceptional — might change your mind.

Here we have the legendary 1963 Topps Pete Rose rookie card, graded at BVG 9.

According to the seller, only five Rose rookies have achieved that grade, and none have rated higher.

You’d expect nothing less for a BIN of $11,999, right?

Here is the eBay listing (affiliate link).

1959 Bazooka Mickey Mantle (SGC 55 / 4.5 VG/EX+)

One of the cards I always considered untouchable, and almost mythical, as a kid was the 1959 Hank Aaron Bazooka card.

I first laid eyes on this beauty in an old, stripped-down price guide that was probably some Beckett knock-off but that provided a few black-and-white pictures.

And something about that Henry Aaron card just clicked with me …

The wistful follow-through …

The long card dimensions …

The colors I imagined I could see …

The thought of pulling a great card from a whole box of bubble gum.

It was great.

I never did get that card, but this eBay listing brings back most of those old feelings.

You can’t go wrong with Mickey Mantle, after all. And, even though the condition of this one is not great and it’s not graded by PSA, the PSA Pop Report shows that the grading giant has handled just a few of these over the years.

The Mick + scarcity = big bucks ($7499, in this case).

I’d still rather have the Hank, though.

Here is the eBay listing (affiliate link).

1957 Topps Baseball Uncut Sheet

Man, when it comes to baseball cards, t’s tough to beat the sheer beauty of 1957 Topps.

Yes, that sounds cheesy, but these things are just stunning, even more than 60 years after their issue.

I mean if the Jim Gilliam card or the Frank Robinson rookie don’t stir something deep in your diamond soul, something’s just not right.

Anyway, this lot ratchets things up a notch with a 55-card uncut sheet of these beauties, including Mickey Mantle, Warren Spahn, Ted Kluszewski, Bob Lemon, and Red Schoendienst.

Not surprisingly, this thing is a little beat up, but $2750 doesn’t seem all that out of line for those big names and all that beauty and all that uncuttedness.

Here is the eBay listing (affiliate link).