Vintage baseball card display #1

During a pit stop at the McDonald's by the Salt River Fields in Arizona, I was wandering around and found a couple of baseball card related displays - no apparent theme, just a bunch of cards someone decided to matte and frame.

I assume many of the cards are original - but I can't really say for all them and there might be a few reprints.

2012 Topps Tribute pack break

I hit the casino card shop I go to and while most of the time I'm the guy looking to make 'dinky' purchases out of the quarter box - I was looking to make see if the shop still had a certain baseball card product [2011 Playoff Contenders] and when the shop apparently didn't, I impulsively picked up a pack of 2012 Topps Tribute.

I could get all philosophical about me picking up this $50 pack - but it is what it is and in a 20 second pack rip, this is what I got.

#55 Derek Jeter
#72 C.C. Sabathia
#51 Joe Mauer
#17 Duke Snider - parallel serial #'d 009/199; front is scratched up a little so I'll send this for a replacement.

#RR-AK Al Kaline - Retired Remants relic card serial #'d 50/50; I like the fact Kaline is a Hall of Fame legend, though I feel like the card is a glorified version of the one per blaster patch cards out of 2012 Topps.

Featured autograph - Duke Snider

Duke Snider's passing on Sunday may mean more to old-school baseball fans and in particular, those who grew up with the Brooklyn Dodgers - however he was a Hall of Fame legend who seemed to enjoy a reputation for being a gracious signer in-person or through the mail.

With regards to autographs, this story captures just about everything I know and perhaps want to say about Snider and signing autographs - perhaps good and bad.

As far as I was concerned, I never met him in-person and Snider used to refused or 'RTS' mail sent to his listed address - when I started to write him in the early 2000s.

In my experience, I remember having to mark the envelope, 'donation enclosed' to get any sort of positive response - things got better however and for a period of time the successes from Snider in the middle of the 2000s came flooding in.

Most seem to enclose any small fee sent to him, though other times I've read he signed TTM with no donation enclosed - one of the cards I was able to get signed TTM is shown in appreciation of the several times I was able to get something back from him during the past 10 years.

May Mr. Snider rest in peace.