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Just started collecting vintage Yankees from 1957-58 so far. Picked up this Bob Grim 1957 Topps card as one of my first from that era. I truly enjoy reading the player facts on the back of the cards as well. Always learning something new. Let the collecting fun begin! 🤓

My vintage card of the week: The 1957 Topps Brooks Robinson rookie card. Brooks was my first strong link to baseball history and vintage baseball cards when I was a junk wax kid. I was only two years old when he retired, but my father always spoke fondly of him and was able to secure some personalized autographs for me through a work friend when I was 11 years old. Those autographs sparked my fascination with the human vacuum cleaner and the dominant Orioles teams of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. He’s been a favorite ever since.

Brooks’ stats speak for themselves:16 gold gloves. 2 World Series championships with a WS MVP. 18 all-star appearances with an AS MVP. And, of course, the MVP award in 1964 that cemented his legacy as more than just a defensive wizard. But beyond the numbers and the records, Brooks was the heart of Baltimore and a hall-of-fame human being. A true class act. When I came back to the hobby as an adult, my first collecting goal was to put together the full run of Brooks’ Topps cards. I still get more joy out of upgrading that run over the years than I get from most other collecting goals.

Picked up this 1957 Topps Larry Doby at a show today. I always associated him with the Cleveland Indians since that is who he played for when he became the first Black player in the American League. But I found out recently that he also coached and managed the Chicago White Sox. He was the second Black manager in the AL/NL (Frank Robinson was the first). A true baseball pioneer!!

Here’s some fun little wiki facts about Mr. Thompson. In Baseball references stats they have him as Tim Thompson. I guess 56 was his best season.

“In 1956, Thompson was the Athletics' most-used starting catcher, starting in 63 games; he set personal bests that year in games played (92), hits(73), runs batted in (27) and batting average (.272). The following year, playing behind regular backstop Hal Smith, Thompson hit seven home runs in 81 games, but his average declined to .204. He then was included in a 12-player trade with the Tigers that November. Thompson appeared in four games with the Tigers, with one hit in six at bats, before he was acquired by the independently-operated Toronto Maple Leafs of the Triple-A International League.”