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When Baseball Was Still Topps: Portraits of the Game in 1959, Card by Card
Card by card--all 572 of the '59 Topps set--this book contemplates the lives and times of mid-20th century baseball. That season was in the heart of a period of milestones in integration, franchise shifts to the West Coast, a potential rival league, the major leagues' expansion, and labor issues that included paying young prospects not to play.
The cards help tell the players' stories, too. The slugger who had a date with Marilyn Monroe (no, not Joe DiMaggio), and the minor leaguer better known than Marilyn. The nephew of a Black Sox player, and the target of a bribery attempt. The lefty catcher. The pitcher from Mayberry. The only player to pinch-hit for Ted Williams. Strikeout kings and wildmen. Religious stalwarts and hell raisers. The stripper's husband. The coolest socks in baseball. Ballplayers who were also basketball players--including the NBA's No. 1 pick one year. Satchel's Six Rules and Twig's Six Rules. Coot, Rip, Turk, Puddin' Head, Whammy, The Rope and Captain Midnight. Pick any card, and you'll find another engaging tale about baseball.
The cards help tell the players' stories, too. The slugger who had a date with Marilyn Monroe (no, not Joe DiMaggio), and the minor leaguer better known than Marilyn. The nephew of a Black Sox player, and the target of a bribery attempt. The lefty catcher. The pitcher from Mayberry. The only player to pinch-hit for Ted Williams. Strikeout kings and wildmen. Religious stalwarts and hell raisers. The stripper's husband. The coolest socks in baseball. Ballplayers who were also basketball players--including the NBA's No. 1 pick one year. Satchel's Six Rules and Twig's Six Rules. Coot, Rip, Turk, Puddin' Head, Whammy, The Rope and Captain Midnight. Pick any card, and you'll find another engaging tale about baseball.
244 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 15, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 14, 2024
Take all 572 cards in the 1959 Topps set, and then tell 572 stories with them. Sure, Willie Mays and Sandy Koufax are in there, but also a hundred, two hundred players whose careers have been lost to history. Those are the highlights of this book, which after a dreary winter of relocation stories and slow market stories and worse, has me jazzed for the new season.
October 30, 2024
Not as good as I was hoping for but still entertaining. I found it at the library. The book proceeded to go card by card through the 1959 topps baseball card set with a short description of each card/player. Some were more interesting than others. I expected more information about the actual card and 1959. There were a few photos.
I have a few cards from 1959.
I have a few cards from 1959.
March 3, 2025
this profiles each card in the set. occasional images, some profiles hardly deal with the cards. insightful.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews