1952 Topps #10, Al "Flip" Rosen, Black Back ⭐
I hope your Saturday is as colorful as this card and your smile is as big as Flip's!
Have a great day Mantel!
In 1953, Al "Flip" Rosen led the A.L. in home runs (43), RBIs (145), and total bases, and won the A.L. MVP that year.

Flip was also a 5 x A.L. All-Star (1952-1956).

1952 Topps #237, Jerry Coleman ⭐American Hero
I'm not a Yankees fan, per se, but I'm a huge fan of Jerry Coleman.
Jerry Coleman is a rare figure who excelled both on the field and in service beyond it.
He embodied integrity, humility, and perspective.
As a New York Yankees second baseman, he played on four World Series championship teams with the New York Yankees: 1949, 1950, 1951, and 1956.
He is even more respected for twice leaving baseball voluntarily to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces as a pilot in both World War II and the Korean War, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross, a sacrifice that forever framed how fans understood his character.
After his playing days, he became a beloved broadcaster & most famously the voice of the San Diego Padres.
He is admired still because he exhibited those characteristics to which all good men aspire:
1. Excellence without ego.
2, Patriotism without bravado.
3. Lifelong devotion to making the world a better place through honor, integrity and with perspective.

1952 Topps Baseball Cards ⭐ MLB Pioneers
The 1952 Topps baseball card set is my favorite, even though I was born a decade after it was released.
The 'Giant Sized" (Topps words) cards with bold photo imaging, team emblems, facsimile autographs and biographical player data on the back were game changing to the hobby.
This image is my collection of MLB Pioneer cards for all the players who played in the Negro League and made it to The Show.
Hank Thompson - Kansas City Monarchs
Luke Easter - Homestead Grays
Monte Irvin - Newark Eagles
Sam Jethroe - Cleveland Buckeyes
Minnie Minoso - NY Cubans
Larry Doby - Newark Eagles
Harry Simpson - Philadelphia Stars
Willie Mays - Birmingham Black Barons
Jackie Robinson - Kansas City Monarchs
Roy Campanella - Baltimore Elite Giants
Joe Black - Baltimore Elite Giants
George Crowe - NY Black Yankees
Sam Jones - Cleveland Buckeyes

1952 Topps Baseball #382, Sam Jones ⭐ RC
1952 Topps #321, Joe Black⭐ RC
As you may know, two of the cornerstones of my collection are the 1952 Topps Baseball card set and MLB Pioneer rookie cards. That is the rookie cards of those major leaguers who helped break down the racial barriers that existed in the MLB in the mid-20th century.
These are two of the most awesome portrait cards in my collection bar none.
The fact that they are both 1952 Topps high-numbers made them both challenging and satisfying to get.
Collect what you love.❤

1952 Topps #88, Bob Feller ⭐ American Hero
On December 9, 1941, 23-year-old Bob Feller became the the first major leaguer to enlist after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, enlisting in the U.S. Navy.
Feller recounts the events this way:
"It was Dec. 7, 1941. I was driving to my meeting with my Cleveland Indians bosses to hash out my 1942 contract, and out it came on the radio: the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor.

“The last thing on my mind right then was playing baseball. I immediately decided to enlist in the United States Navy. I didn’t have to — I was 23 and strong-bodied, you bet, but with my father terminally ill back in Van Meter, Iowa, I was exempt from military service."

“It didn’t matter to me — I wanted to join the fight against Hitler and the Japanese. We were losing that war and most young men of my generation wanted to help push them back. People today don’t understand, but that’s the way we felt in those days. We wanted to join the fighting."