Hank Aaron 2000 Topps Commemorative Set – Card #20 – 1973 Topps Design

Hank Aaron 2000 Topps Commemorative Set – Card #20 – 1973 Topps Design

I continue to work to add more cards from this set to my collection set since officially declaring that I wanted to build the full set as one of my 2013 collecting goals.

This is the 20th card in the set, a re-print of Aaron’s 1973 Topps baseball card:

It’s nice to see Aaron playing defense on a card for a change…

As for Aaron’s 1973 baseball season, he was showing signs of turning 40-years old as he only played in 120 games, but he was still performing pretty consistently.  Hank Aaron had a batting average of .301 in 1973 and had an on-base percentage of .402.  He connected for 40 home runs while driving in 96 and scoring 84 times.  Aaron struck out 51 times in 465 at-bats during the 1973 baseball season – and he walked 68 times.

Baseball Card Show Purchase #5 – Hank Aaron 2003 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites ‘New All-Time Home Run King’

Baseball Card Show Purchase #5 – Hank Aaron 2003 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites ‘New All-Time Home Run King’

There was no way that I was going to pass this one up!!!  It could easily be tagged as my favorite card that I bought from the show.

This card is from the 2003 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites set of cards – and it features a fantastic image and reminder of the legend that Hank Aaron built.

I paid $1.00 for the card and I wish that I was able to find more of them as I would have scooped them all up!

Have a look:

“All Hail, The King”!!!

Hank Aaron 2000 Topps Commemorative Set – Card #4 – 1957 Topps Design

Hank Aaron 2000 Topps Commemorative Set – Card #4 – 1957 Topps Design

This is the third card that I have obtained for this set since officially declaring that I wanted to build the full set as one of my 2013 collecting goals.

This is the 4th card in the set, a re-print of Aaron’s 1957 Topps baseball card:

Hank Aaron’s greatest individual season came in 1957.  He captured the league MVP Award in 1957 as well as his lone World Series championship.

Some of Aaron’s amazing numbers from that 1957 baseball season include: 198 hits, 27 doubles, 44 home runs, 118 runs scored, 132 RBI, 369 total bases and just 58 strikeouts in 675 plate appearances.

And he did all of this at the age of just 23 – WOW!!!

2012 Topps ‘Career Day’ Subset – Card #23 – Roberto Clemente, Pittsburgh Pirates

2012 Topps ‘Career Day’ Subset – Card #23 – Roberto Clemente, Pittsburgh Pirates

I am working on this set because I find it to be the most appealing of the subsets issued by Topps in 2012.

The cards feature bold colors, great images, and a unique horizontal design.

I especially like the ‘Career Day’ theme as it pays homage to some of the greatest individual performances of baseball’s elite players.

Card #23 – Roberto Clemente, Pittsburgh Pirates

The Career Day – May 15, 1967.  On this day, Clemente and the Pirates were Reds in a shoot-out.  The Reds ultimately won the contest, but Clemente tried to defeat them single-handedly.  He went 4-for-5 on the day with a double and three home runs.  Clemente drove in all seven runs for the Pirates, and this was his first of two 3-HR performances of his career. 

Progress – 23/25

Hank Aaron 2000 Topps Commemorative Set – Card #3 – 1956 Topps Design

Hank Aaron 2000 Topps Commemorative Set – Card #3 – 1956 Topps Design

This is the third card that I have obtained for this set since officially declaring that I wanted to build the full set as one of my 2013 collecting goals.

This is the 3rd card in the set, a re-print of Aaron’s 1956 Topps baseball card:

As for Aaron’s 1956 baseball season, it was his best so far as a young major leaguer.  At just 22 years of age, Aaron displayed all of the talents that would put him in the class of the best players in the game.  Aaron won his first batting title in 1956 with his .328 average and league leading 200 hits.  He also connected for 34 doubles and 26 home runs while driving in 92 and scoring 106 runs.  Aaron made the All-Star team for the second consecutive time in 1956 and placed in 3rd for the MVP Award.

Hank Aaron 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen – So Nice!!!!

Hank Aaron 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen – So Nice!!!

As soon as cards from the 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen set started appearing on Ebay, I began a furious search to seek out the cards of the players I collect with the hopes of seeing their new card in the GQ set.

First, I checked out the obvious guys – Dawson, Jenkins, and Palmer (my guys).

From there, my searches ranged from players that retired before I was born to players who just started their major league careers in 2013.

The first guy I sought out was Hank Aaron.

And the card is sharp.

And I was lucky enough to pull the card of Mr. Aaron from one of the two blasters that I picked up when they started hitting the shelves a few weeks back!!!

Have a look:

I am so happy with this card of Hank Aaron.  The work is beautiful – and I am such a sucker for those old, historic Braves uniforms.

Thank you Gypsy Queen!!!

1954 HEADLINE: Henry Aaron Hits First Big League Homer!!

1954 HEADLINE: Henry Aaron Hits First Big League Homer!!

On this day in 1954, Henry ‘Hank’ Aaron crushed the first home run of his major league career.

On the road, and playing against the St. Louis Cardinals, Hank Aaron and the Milwaukee Braves battled the Cards in a 4-hour marathon. In total, the game consisted of 25 hits and 12 runs.

And for Aaron, this game was where his historic start as one of the game’s greatest power hitters took off. In the top of the 6th inning, Aaron belted a solo homer off of Cardinals’ pitcher Vic Raschi. On the day, Aaron went 3-for-7, while collecting 2 RBI, scoring 2 runs, and connecting for his first home run as a major league player.

And as they say, the rest was history…

Happy Anniversary, Mr. Aaron!!!

Hank Aaron 2000 Topps Commemorative Set – Card #16 – 1969 Topps Design

Hank Aaron 2000 Topps Commemorative Set – Card #16 – 1969 Topps Design

This is the third card that I have obtained for this set since officially declaring that I wanted to build the full set as one of my 2013 collecting goals.

This is the 16th card in the set, a re-print of Aaron’s 1969 Topps baseball card:

As for Aaron’s 1969 baseball season, at 35-years of age, Hank Aaron was still king!!  In 147 games played, Aaron hit .300 and had an on-base percentage of .396.  He led the National League with 332 total bases and connected for 44 home runs while driving in 97 runs and scoring 100 times.

Hank Aaron 2000 Topps Commemorative Set – Card #19 – 1972 Topps Design

Hank Aaron 2000 Topps Commemorative Set – Card #19 – 1972 Topps Design

This is the third card that I have obtained for this set since officially declaring that I wanted to build the full set as one of my 2013 collecting goals.

This is the 19th card in the set, a re-print of Aaron’s 1972 Topps baseball card:

The 1972 baseball season was the one where Aaron’s stats started to drop at a pretty quick rate from what he had been producing annually.

In 1972, Aaron his .265 which was his lowest batting average since beginning his major league career in 1954.  Still, he did produce power connecting for 34 home runs while driving in 77 and scoring 75 times.

Baseball Card Show Purchase #11 – Roberto Clemente & Willie Mays 2012 Topps Archives ‘Deckle Edge’ Cards

Baseball Card Show Purchase #11 – Roberto Clemente & Willie Mays 2012 Topps Archives ‘Deckle Edge’ Cards

The same seller that was offering cards from the ‘Cloth Stickers’ set at his table was also selling some ‘Deckle Edge’ singles as well.  His cards were very well-organized, and each subset could be found on a page in his album.

As you saw earlier, I scored the Ryan Braun ‘Cloth Sticker’ from him for that set.  And I also picked up two cards for my ‘Deckle Edge’ set too – Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays.

The pair set me back $2.00.  Check them out:

Pretty nice, huh?? 

My set is coming together very nicely and I have to admit that it looks great!!!

And now, I need to grab just one more card from this set and it is complete!!!  Wish me luck.