More From CSA

Here are a few more of my finds at the most recent Collector's Showcase of America show.

 

I picked up this 1960 Topps card of a fresh-faced Don Drysdale for a buck or two out of a bargain bin. There's some wear and tear, no question. But overall, that's a nice card of Big D.

This was the last card I needed to complete my '73 Topps Dodgers team set (HIGH FIVE). It always throws me for a loop to see Davey Lopes sans mustache. In his heyday during the '70s and '80s, no one in the game could surpass the Dodger team captain in terms of mustache supremacy. Those upper-lip whiskers were a force of nature. And let's not forget he was a heck of a ballplayer as well.

I snagged this Carl Erskine for a song. It's a little odd to see a card with a pink border. But it's still a nice piece of cardboard of a classic Dodger.

After meeting Mr. Howard and getting his autograph, I made a point adding a few more of his Dodger cards to my collection. This '62 Topps was my favorite (gotta love the faux wood grain border, which looks like the paneling in my grandma's basement.)

 

Meeting the Capital Punisher

My personal highlight from the July CSA show was meeting baseball great Frank Howard. Though he spent the bulk of his career with the Washington Senators, where he earned the apt nickname The Capital Punisher, Howard had a number of stellar years with the Dodgers—winning Rookie of the Year honors in 1960 and helping Los Angeles sweep the New York Yankees in the 1963 World Series. In the fourth and deciding game of that series, Howard collected the Dodgers' only two hits of the game, including a monstrous solo home run. That would be the only offense the Boys in Blue would need, as Sandy Koufax shut down the Bronx Bombers, yielding just one run on six hits.  

Frank couldn't have been more gracious, sharing stories about playing in the L.A. Coliseum and happily agreeing to any and all picture requests. For me, he signed both a giant 1964 Topps card as well as a baseball, on which he inscribed, "1963 W.S. Champs - L.A. Dodgers."  Two great autographs. 

I hope Frank comes to future CSA shows. I have plenty more Dodger items on which I'd love to have his signature.