Vintage Bowman from the Card Show

After my last post of the dime boxes at the card show, it's time to show off the big buys. I mostly bought vintage, because that's mostly what interests me these days. But I'll start off with a modern card that I just couldn't pass up.

I already had one of these, which I bought out of the dime box at my LCS the season Halladay won the Cy Young. Go figure. A few years pass, and now I'm paying $1.50, but that's still one hell of a deal. I couldn't resist a double of a key rookie for a bargain.

I pulled this out of the dollar box, just because I didn't have a '53 Topps card. And it's in pretty nice shape. I was hoping maybe I could turn this into a '53 Tiger in trade eventually, but it's a great card all the same. I'm not a huge fan of the obsession Topps had with headshots in this set, but I'm starting to appreciate it more. According to Baseball Reference.com's Bullpen page, Fritz Dorish here was one of MLB's first true relief pitchers, and the last American league pitcher to steal home. I love the Bullpen page.

So my best finds from this card show came from one dealer, who had some decent quarter boxes, but then I noticed some cards he had out on display, a set that always draws my attention. I dropped my stack of quarter '70s vintage, and went over to gawk--note, it takes a lot to make me quit looking at quarter boxes.

He had a bunch of '52 Bowmans, one of my all-time favorite sets, marked cheap. No bargain Tigers, of course. Not at a Michigan show. Still, I found some great cards:

A bad scan of a sweet card. A very nice looking Carl Furillo. A Dodgers lifer and fan-favorite from one of my favorite sets. I have to admit, I picked this up thinking this also might net me some nice vintage in trade some day. But I'd have no problem hanging onto this card.

I also nabbed Red Schoendienst. Again, it doesn't necessarily fit into my collection, but it's a hall of famer from a favorite set.

And finally, Charlie Silvera, not as big a name as the others, but he fits into my collection of vintage catchers wearing their gear. Charlie was the backup catcher for Yogi. I love this background. Charlie looks like he's playing at some little field built in the woods, which is, I guess, what you do when Yogi's the starting catcher. No fences in this background, just some blurry trees. Perfect example of what makes this set unique.

The dealer told me these were his doubles from his set. He had many other great names, and now I'm wishing I would've picked up a few more, but I'm happy with what I got. Always nice to find vintage Bowman at a show. When they're priced fairly, these tend to go fast, and I'm just glad I actually found a few nice vintage cards.