Vintage Frankenset Page 7

Back in the desolate days of 2020, I got the idea for a frankenset to give purpose to many of the random old cards that didn't really have a solid "home" in my collection. Plus, filling slots is a good excuse for me to check out neat old card designs I might otherwise miss. The priority of the project eventually slid to the backburner, but I still occasionally fill empty slots and try to keep my streak alive of featuring one completed page on the blog each year.

My Vintage Frankenset has 3 rules for entry:
- Cards must have been released prior to 1981.
- Must fit in a standard top-loader.
- No flagship Topps baseball allowed. (I have a different project for that.)

We're up to page 7, covering card #s 55 through 63.

The page I featured last year was heavy on hockey, and this year again lacks in sport diversity, with two-thirds of the page being baseball cards. It doesn't bother me that much, but in a perfect world, each page would consist of a robust mix. But the page before only had one baseball card, and the next page only has one baseball card, so I'll let it slide that this page has a bunch.

Now let's take a closer look at each card.

1971-72 Topps #55 Pete Maravich

Despite all the baseball, basketball steals the show thanks to this jewel of the frankenset. It's Pistol Pete Maravich's second Topps card, and the first standard-sized card, with his rookie being a pesky tall-boy. Snatching up this and a cache of other nice basketball cards out-of-place from a sub-dollar discount bin might rank as the peak highlight from my days attending the monthly card show back in the twenty-teens.

Legend.

1963 Post #56 Don Mossi

From one legend to another. When it comes to baseball commons, Don always sticks out from the herd.

This is the second Post card in the binder, following Roger Maris back on page 1. Unlike that one, there's no aftermarket artwork on the back of Mossi, just a blank canvas.

 

1951 Bowman #57 Alex Kellner

Another staple from my card show-faring days was gobbling up any old Bowman I'd come across in the ~dollar bins. 1951 Bowman is a beautiful set, though the idea of completing it is a nonstarter for most of us thanks to the rookie cards of Mantle and Mays bringing about financial complications.

The paper loss makes it tricky to follow the narrative, but it mentions Alex Kellner won 20 games in 1949, only to then lose 20 games in 1950. And his 14 loses in 1951 again lead the league, but he stuck around throughout 50s, calling it quits after his elbow crapped out in '59.

1960 Fleer #58 Charlie Gehringer

A couple Cooperstown residents in a row now, starting with Charlie Gehringer.

These vintage old-timer cards are sometimes hard to wrap my head around. Gehringer's 1949 HOF election was only 11 years prior. He lived until '93, so he likely autographed many copies of this card in his later years.

1971 Fleer Laughlin World Series #59 - 1961: Yankees vs. Reds

Cartoon version of Whitey Ford gets the prime center pocket. I'm jealous of you guys who have all or most of these great Laughlin cards. I'll reluctantly settle for having a smattering of them in my vintage frankenset.

I can't always remember World Series winners off the top of my head, but 1961 is easy to recall as a Yankee victory, capping off the 61 in '61 season for Roger Maris. This card back has some extra personality thanks to a focus-grabbing circle (printing flaw) between the first and second line.

1939 Play Ball #60 Schoolboy Rowe

This beauty was a surprise from Mark Hoyle, a great friend to the blog during the early years. It's a bummer he doesn't frequent the blogs much anymore. That reminds me I should probably try getting another "Where Are They Now?" post in the works soon.

Schoolboy Rowe was a 3-time All Star and a World Series champ with the '35 Tigers.

1979-80 O-Pee-Chee #61 Danny Gare

This is one of the most iconic designs in all of hockey cardom, largely in part to the Wayne Gretzky rookie in the set. I don't have The Great One, but I've got This One and a couple more later in the frankenset.

Searching YouTube, I couldn't find any 70s bank commercials featuring Danny Gare, but here's an Easter Seals commercial from '84:

(watch till the end)

1971 Topps #62 Altie Taylor

Altie Taylor brings some serious bad-assery to the page on its lone football card.

"A demon with the football"? Yep, bad-ass. Taylor was Detroit's career rushing yardage leader for a while before his mark was bested by Dexter Bussey, Billy Sims, and then decisively by Barry Sanders.

1940 Play Ball #63 Pete Coscarart

It's crazy that I've only got two Play Ball cards in my entire collection, and they're coincidentally both on page 7 of my vintage frankenset. Unlike the earlier Schoolboy that fell in my lap (Thanks again, Mark, wherever you are), this Pete Coscarart is a card that I specifically targeted and acquired years back. 

Coscarart was the first guy from SDSU to play in the majors. I don't collect guys who went to my college nearly as strongly as I collect guys who went to my high school, but I still wanted to get a playing-days card of the O.G.

And that wraps up page 7.

Another look at the cards together.

Page 8 is already completed, so 2027's post is all-systems-go. But then things get dicey after that. We're talkin' swiss cheese, buddy-boy. So I'll have to get active filling empty slots once 2028 rolls around, God willing, of course. Like, I know I'll never finish the frankenset (330+ cards?), but I guess the goal going forward is to at least keep up with a page every year I'm still around and blogging. So here's to many more completed pages!