Bryce Harpukkah: Day One, Tigers Vintage

I scored a Bryce Harper International card a while back in a retail pack of 2011 Bowman, and I was thrilled. Not because I give a crap about Bryce Harper, but because I missed out on Stras-Fever. I put the card right up on the ol' Bay of e and sold it for $35. Now, that's not much of a haul for most of you bloggers, but that's a big budget for me. I gave myself the joyous task of spending that $35 as soon as possible, and I thought I'd post what kind of jolly tidings old St. Harper could bring me.

Oops. Strike that. This is Harpukkah. Napkin Doon owns the rights to the Brycemas holiday, and I credit him with the inspiration for this post and the string that will follow. Thanks for the idea, Nap. We still have a trade to get going soon.

So, there's eight days of Hannukah, and thusly eight days of Bryce Harpukkah. That's about what it took me to spend my sales. Well, let's say I spent my Harpukkah cash in eight days. That just makes this whole thing tidier.

I think we'll start off the first day of Hannukah with some vintage:

1954 Bowman Fred Hatfield. I snagged this one off eBay for less than the price of a stamp. Sometimes I feel kind of guilty when I win these auctions, when the seller actually loses money. Well, OK, I don't feel that guilty. This card has a crease right through the middle and some serious damage in the top left corner, but you get what you pay for. How's that Harper trade looking so far? Kind of dreary? Fear not. We have many cards to come.

And what's so wrong with this one? It's vintage Bowman; it's a Tigers card. All seems right with the world so far. And Fred "Scrap Iron" Hatfield led the league in being hit by a pitch in four seasons. I guess that's why he became scrap.

Here's something a bit more Bryce-worthy:

1950 Bowman: Walter "Hoot" Evers. This is just a fantastic looking card. It has everything I love about these vintage Bowman cards and more. While many of the pictures are posed portraits, this artwork looks inspired by a semi-action shot, Hoot taking practice swings on deck. Hoot cards only go up to 1954, so there aren't a ton of them, and I'm glad to own this one. It's a little roughed up, but in pretty great shape overall for a little over $2 shipped.

That does it for day one. Much more to come with Harpukkah in October.