What's your most treasured baseball card of a Sox player?

DeweyWins

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Jan 24, 2012
56
Huntsville, AL
For me, it's my 1976 Topps Dennis Eckersley rookie card, which I picked up at a garage sale for $2 sometime in the summer of '89.

The story:
I became a Red Sox fan in '86 at the age of 11 (I remember being fascinated that there was a guy named "Oil Can"), and I later also became fascinated by the back-to-back-to-back ROY seasons of Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, and Walt Weiss for Oakland. Seeing the transition to relief ace of Dennis Eckersley after years as a starter was as interesting to me as learning that not only was Babe Ruth a Red Sox, he was a Red Sox pitcher. Eck was cool as a cucumber and was a former Red Sox player. After Kirk Gibson's epic home run in Game 1 of the '88 World Series, I remembered laughing at the time at how random baseball can seemingly be. I wasn't quite worldly enough to have understood the meaning of "soul crushing agony", but I had a glimpse. Learning Dennis Eckersley was a member of the '78 Sox tied the misery together - '78 Sox to '86 Sox, '78 Eckersley to '88 Eckersley, and all of it to '75, '67, '46, and forward to '03 and through Game 3 in 2004. That Gibson homer only made me more interested in Eckersley as a player, hence that '76 Topps rookie card remains my most treasured card.

I have deep New England roots even though I've not yet managed to visit New England. I find it wildly appropriate that my baseball fandom united with my geographic ancestry.

Do I have cards that are worth more these day? Sure. But I felt like I stole this Eckersley card for $2, even way back then.
 

Bergs

funky and cold
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Jul 22, 2005
21,613
1960 Topps #148 is my most treasured.



The one I worked hardest for at the time was the 1981 Drakes Big Hitters Yaz. I must have eaten 500 fucking Drakes cakes to get enough wrappers to send for the whole set. Never did get a Yaz in a package.

 
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NJ_Sox_Fan

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Jan 2, 2006
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Hard to choose. I collect cards still now as a 42 year old, and have loads of Pedro, Ortiz and Nomar cards I love.

My favorite Sox card though would probably have to be the 1956 Topps Ted Williams.
 

Attachments

Ale Xander

Hamilton
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Oct 31, 2013
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I stopped collecting a long time ago, and collected in the mass-produced years, so unfortunately best I can do is

 

DeweyWins

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Jan 24, 2012
56
Huntsville, AL
Sweet, sweet contributions. I don't think I have a single Yaz card, and definitely not a mutton chop Yaz I have the '85 Clemens, as I too tended to collect during that mass-production period.

I started collecting in '87, and collected for a number of years into the mid-late '90s before I stopped. I have the full Topps regular sets from '85 to about '95. The '88 Donruss set I got to 1 card short of completing via individual packs! Still missing the one card. Gregg Jefferies - Rated Rookie, if I recall. I mis-remembered. His "Rated Rookie" card was from the '89 set, and, of course, my frustration at missing the '88 version meant I found about 12 of the '89 version from packs.

There were some weird, esoteric sets created. As with all things, no matter how rare, if there's no demand, it doesn't matter how large the supply is. I'm reminded, at times, of the Great Atari Dump that occurred when the home console video game bubble burst back in the early '80s. I'd never get rid of my collection that way. My son might, but I'll haunt him, for sure, if he does.
 
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snowmanny

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Dec 8, 2005
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Not particularly valuable, but I've always been partial to those cards that had the batting and pitching leaders on them. You got three or four players for the price of one! Like you'd have a single card with Aaron, McCovey and Mays on it. That being said, this card with my very first favorite player is my choice:

 

heunderhandstofirst

New Member
Aug 9, 2010
9


Here are the Yaz cards I collected as a kid with a few later ones added in. This is in our bedroom (on my side although my wife gave decorator approval). Of all the photos, #8 only smiles in the 1965, so I guess that's my favorite.
 

TheYaz67

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May 21, 2004
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Oh man, I have over half of Yaz's Topps cards and that has been my dream, to collect the rest and put together something like that - am unfortunately missing the two most expensive ones....
 

Bergs

funky and cold
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Jul 22, 2005
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I love the 65 Topps Yaz, as well as the 64 Topps Giant.
 

Monbonthbump

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Nov 6, 2005
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Lincoln,NE
1954 card of Walter "Hoot" Evers,my first "favorite" Red Sox player. Not sure who made these cards (this one is #18) but it looks more like a painting than a photo. I collected and traded for years during the 50's and never was able to get one of Ted Williams. Thanks for the thread since it caused me to look at them again. Lots of favorite players I had forgotten (Ike Delock,Grady Hatton, Sammy White,etc). Ran across one of Johnny Lipon wearing a Red Sox cap but with an Orioles logo in the corner. On the back it reads, John Lipon, third base Chicago White Sox. Wonder if it is worth anything? Probably appropriate to mention a favorite book for any who have not read it "Cardboard Gods" by Josh Wilker. Great writer, Red Sox fan, and blogger.
 

nayrbrey

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Jul 20, 2005
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Somewhere buried at my parents house I have a 1976 Tiant that was on the back of a Hostess cupcake box. I remember looking at the bottoms of several boxes trying to find a Red Sox player. Also the messed up scissor work of 6 year old me adds to its charm.
Here’s a link to one on eBay.
 

Leather

given himself a skunk spot
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Jul 18, 2005
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Somewhere buried at my parents house I have a 1976 Tiant that was on the back of a Hostess cupcake box. I remember looking at the bottoms of several boxes trying to find a Red Sox player. Also the messed up scissor work of 6 year old me adds to its charm.
Here’s a link to one on eBay.
I remember those type of cards (and the Drake's cards). After I started collecting, in 1988 or so, I always kicked myself for not keeping them, thinking that they'd inevitably become insanely valuable in the not-too-distant-future. So I'm always a little relieved to see I was wrong.
 

Mugsy's Jock

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Ted Williams '57 Topps. My grandfather bought it for me at a card show when I was about twelve, for the price of a full summer of mowing the lawn.
1957 was a beautiful set, which I chased aggressive as a 13 year old at card shows in the mid-70s, just before the price boom really hit. I got a Ted, not too discouraged that there a big old pen mark on the back because the front looked great. My other ‘57 favorites were a Bob Clemente, Duke Snider, a rookie Brooks Robinson, and my crown jewel — a rookie Koufax I remember agonizing over spending eight dollars for as I’d never go over five for a card.

When I checked the card’s value in Beckett that night, it was $60. Now it’s probably back down to eight.
 

teddywingman

Looks like Zach Galifianakis
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Jul 31, 2009
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1957 was a beautiful set, which I chased aggressive as a 13 year old at card shows in the mid-70s, just before the price boom really hit. I got a Ted, not too discouraged that there a big old pen mark on the back because the front looked great. My other ‘57 favorites were a Bob Clemente, Duke Snider, a rookie Brooks Robinson, and my crown jewel — a rookie Koufax I remember agonizing over spending eight dollars for as I’d never go over five for a card.

When I checked the card’s value in Beckett that night, it was $60. Now it’s probably back down to eight.
I doubt that. PSA 7s and up are fetching thousands.

Edit: But his rookie is in the '55 set, which truly is a work of art.
 

Al Zarilla

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Dec 8, 2005
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1954 card of Walter "Hoot" Evers,my first "favorite" Red Sox player. Not sure who made these cards (this one is #18) but it looks more like a painting than a photo. I collected and traded for years during the 50's and never was able to get one of Ted Williams. Thanks for the thread since it caused me to look at them again. Lots of favorite players I had forgotten (Ike Delock,Grady Hatton, Sammy White,etc). Ran across one of Johnny Lipon wearing a Red Sox cap but with an Orioles logo in the corner. On the back it reads, John Lipon, third base Chicago White Sox. Wonder if it is worth anything? Probably appropriate to mention a favorite book for any who have not read it "Cardboard Gods" by Josh Wilker. Great writer, Red Sox fan, and blogger.
I have that Lipon card too. It’s worth the same as the other commons numbered 1 through 50 in the 1954 Topps set ($12 for EX, $18 for EX/MT, etc.). That’s from the PSA SMR price guide, which has become the Bible for baseball and other sports cards. Error cards can be worth a lot more if the card company discovers the error and corrects it before a lot of the cards in error are made. If they don’t ever correct it, there’s no scarcity of the error card and it doesn’t become valuable. I suppose if it were to happen with a Williams or a Mantle, etc., it might be different, but I don’t know of any superstar error cards thar did or didn’t get corrected.
 
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Earthbound64

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Well darn, the first 2 replies of this thread took my two picks.

I got both way after their time (I was born in 1982), but they both have some tales associated with them anyway.

The Yaz rookie I bought around 1995 from a Baseball card shop that was down the street from me. It was $100, I saved up all summer for it, and I remember walking down to the card shop carrying $100 feeling like I needed an armored truck for that much money.

The 1956 Williams I bought in 2005 off of eBay. I remember taking it and showing it to my grandfather the last time I saw the both of my grandparents before my grandmother passed away on Memorial Day 2005 (and my grandfather passed away in October of that year).

Had to sell them both a couple of years ago to pay bills (so I guess in that sense they "were" my most treasured cards), and it really hurt. One of these days I'll get them again.
 

santadevil

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Aug 1, 2006
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It won't knock my other Pedro off, but I grabbed this from COMC today.
Implulse buy, but the seller had it on sale, so I quickly made an account and snatched it up.
It's my first Topps Dynasty card that I've purchased. I really wanted to buy a box (of one whole card) back when they first came out, but just never did it



There was a Pedroia card there too that I wanted, but didn't pull the trigger on.
This COMC account may get me in trouble with the wife
 

charlieoscar

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Sep 28, 2014
1,339
1954 card of Walter "Hoot" Evers,my first "favorite" Red Sox player.logger.
He played in the first Red Sox game I went to in 1952 and I have a couple of his cards along with a number of other Red Sox players from the '50s.

How about a 1958 Topps Haywood Sullivan card with his minor league stats? This one might actually be worth something because I didn't cross out Red Sox and write in a new team's name or retired on it.
 

Detts

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Jul 20, 2005
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Yaz rookie. Wife bought a bunch of old school late 1800s pictures at a yard sale and handed me the sports cards. Some good stuff in there, but hiding near the back was the Yaz in a hard plastic top load protector.

Edit: This was 2001.
 

Plympton91

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Oct 19, 2008
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I saved up my paper route money and bought a Yaz rookie card when I was 13.

It’s still around here somewhere.

I also have 6 Phil Plantier rookie cards. That investment didn’t work out so well.