"Grail" cards : Or Ten Cards I Really, Really, Really Want in My Collection

 

 

I’m changing it up today.

            I was going to moan and complain about still not completing those Junk Wax sets that I bought all of those wax boxes of…but I don’t feel like moaning and complaining. Or being another person moaning and complaining. I work with the public. I’ve been listening to people moan and complain all week.

            Instead, I want to do something fun.

Well, fun for me.

And maybe fun for you too…if you do it on your own.

I like to listen to podcasts. One of my favorite Hobby related podcasts is John Newman’s Sports Card Nation. It’s actually two podcasts. There’s the flagship Sports Card Nation, which Newman does (usually with a guest interview) on Fridays, and then there’s Hobby Quick Hits, which John does on the Monday before. On the October 17^th edition of Hobby Quick Hits, John spent the episode going over the Top 10 cards he’d like to acquire.

Grail cards as some call them.

Although the Holy Grail was individual and singular, hence its name, people still like to refer to those highly sought cards in that manner. That’s fine with me…I’m not one to nitpick. But I liked John Newman’s idea of creating a list of those kinds of cards. It got me wondering what ten cards, money being no object or, condition being no object, I truly want more than any other cards. What are my “grail” cards. So, I decided to compile a list and share it here. In no particular order of desire.

 

1955 Topps Roberto Clemente.

```I hardly had a Clemente card to call my own as a kid, let alone the A-number-1 Clemente card of them all. As an adult collector, I’ve slowly, and by slowly I mean when I can afford it, been buying some Topps base Roberto Clemente cards. But, if money were no object, or if I could find it in a condition I could live with, I think more than any other card in the world, I would want the 1955 Topps Roberto Clemente rookie card. I know I never got to see The Great One play, but to me he defines the drive, the passion and the pride (albeit shaky these days) in wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform. Learning the legend of Roberto Clemente comes along with learning the history of your favorite baseball team, if you’re a Pirates fan.

            I can’t think of a better keepsake.

 

1971 Topps Joe Greene:

           

            If Roberto Clemente is synonymous with Pittsburgh Pirates history and lore, then I’m throwing Mean Joe Greene into the ring as defining what it means to be a Pittsburgh Steeler. He’s the first guy I think about when The Steel Curtain is mentioned. The first guy I think about when we talk about the 1970s Steelers Dynasty. And I say that as a Terry Bradshaw fan. I love that Coke commercial as a kid. I’ve managed to buy every Mean Joe card except is rookie. It’s there. It’s affordable. And there’s a number 75 sized hole in my PC.

 

1963 Topps Willie Stargell

 

            Yes, I’d get the Clemente rookie first or only if given the choice. But right after that it would be the Willie Stargell rookie card. Like Mean Joe, Pop’s rookie card is the only hole I have remaining in Willie Stargell base PC cards. Clemente was the legend we heard about, but Willie Stargell was the living legend who was still playing (sometimes) when I first became a Pirates fan. He’s my favorite Pittsburgh Pirate of All-time. This card would get a place of honor in my collection.

 

1965 Topps Mickey Mantle

 

            I don’t own a Mickey Mantle base card. I don’t think I ever will. And I know there are a lot of Mantle cards that would be someone’s everything. But if I had the, well, affordable, option in getting a Mickey Mantle card…I’d pick his 1965. I’m a massive fan of the 1965 Topps design and I just think the Mantle card is gorgeous. It’s a work of baseball card art. I know The Mick is nearing the end of his career. But he still looks youthful. Like he could chase Ruth again here. I love how Mickey is looking off into the distance, like he just murdered another ball.

 

1953 Topps Jackie Robinson

 

            Read what I wrote about Mickey Mantle and it’s essentially the same story that I have for Jackie Robinson. I don’t own a base Jackie card. I probably never will own a base Jackie card. But if I could I’d choose the 1953 Topps Jackie Robinson card. A while ago I asked collectors on Twitter their feelings on reprint cards. It wasn’t a positive reaction. But I was thinking about the 1953 Jackie card when I asked the question. I was thinking of getting a reprint because I love the card, the look of the card, it’s very essence of baseball card beauty so much, that even a replica would’ve sufficed just to hold it in my hand and look at it. But, alas, I came to realize that it’s gotta be the real deal…or nothing.

            Maybe one day Jackie.

 

1971 Terry Bradshaw

 

            Like Mean Joe, Terry Bradshaw, to me, defines the Steeler of the 1970s. Yeah, the road to 4 Super Bowls was shaky for Terry. But he did it. He’s a quarterback legend in Pittsburgh. That long 2-decade bridge between him and the Big Ben years, full of a bunch of QBs that…the less said, the better. I’m a Bradshaw collector. Like with Mean Joe Greene, I have all of Terry Bradshaw’s Topps base cards. But it always comes down to the rookie. This card is definitely high on my list of cards I NEED in my collection.

1957 Topps Bill Mazeroski

 

            If there’s a final Pittsburgh Pirate whom I’d include in my holy trinity of post-WWII Pirates, it would be none other than Bill Mazeroski. He’s another one that I never got a chance to play. But like Willie Stagell, Maz was, and still is, a living legend to Pittsburgh Pirates baseball. That 1960 Game Seven, Game winning Home Run is nearly as famous as The Shot Heard Round the World…and Maz didn’t know what the pitch coming to him was going to be so…I can picture him rounding third now. Of course I can! It’s been engrained in all of the memories of Pirates fans of any age.  In college I was lucky enough to take classes in Forbes Quad, a building that was built over the site of Forbes Field. On the floor in the building, encased in glass, was home plate from Forbes Field. And outside the building stood the part of the wall Maz hit the home run over.

1954 Topps Henry Aaron.

 

            I’ve often said, and I still do say, at times, that I’ve never lived in a world where Henry Aaron wasn’t the Home Run king. He his number 715 the night before I was born. So, yeah, I never go to see Henry play. But I’ve been an admirer my whole baseball-loving life. I’m a collector, when I can, of Henry’s cards. I’ve read a couple of bios. Just honestly think he’s a class act all of the way. Whenever Topps issues cards, I’ll grab the Aaron cards out of the set. Like Clemente, he’s one of maybe three players, whom I collect their post-playing years card. If Clemente’s rookie is the true “grail” card…Aaron’s rookie wouldn’t be far behind.

1965 Topps Joe Namath

 

            In some ways, I’m still trying to figure out what kind of a football card collector I’m going to become. So far, it’s mostly been Steelers. But that 2022 Score box I bought is looking more and more like me dividing the cards up into player PCs. And that got me thinking about some of the older players. One of the things that’s always been interesting to me is how many top quarterbacks hailed from my own backyard of Western Pennsylvania. There’s Johnny Unitas. There’s Joe Montana. There’s Jim Kelly. There’s Dan Marino. Then there’s Broadway Joe Namath. I’ve been thinking that I’d like to create a PC of Western PA quarterbacks, and I’ve always been intrigued by the celebrity of Namath. I was growing up as the NFL was exploding into the leviathan it is now. Guys like Namath were those legend that you heard about. The card is also pretty damned sweet too.

1981 Topps Joe Montana

 

            If you’re going to have one Joe in the Western PA collection, you’ve gotta have the other Joe. The Steelers were a dynasty I heard about. The 49ers, in the 1980s, were the dynasty I was watching. And Joe Montana was THE GUY. Of all of the cards on this list, the Montana rookie is the only one to get the distinction of being a card I actually owned when I was a kid. Yeah, moron me, right? But I had the card briefly. In a trade and then I soon traded it away. Joe was maybe 5 years into his career. Who know? I sure didn’t at the time. Of course, I can’t remember what I traded it for…aint’t that the way it always is. But I’d like to get the card back in my collection at some point.

 

        Well…I hope you folks found my list interesting. Or amusing. It’s fun to think about what cards you would or wouldn’t get, if money didn’t matter. Or that you’d honestly spend the money on. It was an interesting thought piece. And if you get the chance, take a listen to John Newman podcast on the topic. Here's a LINK

 

Thanks for reading! Happy Collecting!

 

NEXT FRIDAY: 2022 Update…hmmmm