with toe-replclaement surgery, he'd still be pitching today

2025 Leaf Spectacular Game Used Satchel Paige ⭐️ Black True #1/1
2025 Leaf Spectacular Game Used Dizzy Dean ⭐ Black True #1/1
I've been saving a post about this little piece of my collection for a bit.
You cannot obtain every card, all collectors know this, but I went hard for these 2 cards because they represent an enormous historical combination.
Before MLB integrated in 1947, the very best baseball players in the land only faced each other in direct competition through barnstorming exhibitions.
Dizzy Dean and Satchel Paige were legendary barnstorming rivals in the 1930s and 40s, headlining interracial games that showcased Paige’s Negro League talent against MLB stars. Their matchups, often held in small towns and major stadiums, drew massive crowds, with Dean calling Paige the best pitcher he ever saw after losing to him in exhibition play.
In 1934, at peak of Dean’s career, Paige beat Dean 4 out of 6 games.
These two 1/1 cards, together, form a meaningful historical pairing of pre-integration baseball artifacts.
Collect What You Love.❤

2025 Leaf Spectacular Game Used True Black #1/1 ⭐ Dizzy Dean
Dizzy Dean was the last N.L. pitcher to win 30 games in a single season, with a 30-7 record in 1934, while leading the "Gashouse Gang" St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series championship.
Today a pitchers W-L record is not as valued, but in 1934 a "W" often meant the pitcher threw a complete game or nearly a complete game.
Arguably the most dominant pitcher of his era, he led the N.L. in strikeouts for four consecutive seasons (1932–1935).

1936 R311, National Chicle Glossy, St Louis Cardinals Team ⭐ Gashouse Gang
Today's mail was an all-timer! I can't stop smiling.
Check off the old bucket list, one 1934-35 St. Louis Cardinals Gashouse Gang and the accompanying Hall of Famers.
1935 St. Louis Cardinals, famously nicknamed the “Gashouse Gang,” were defined by their gritty, hard-nosed style of play.
Led by future Hall of Fame second baseman & player-manager, Frankie Frisch, the Gashouse Gang included personalities like Dizzy Dean, Leo Durocher, Joe Medwick, and Rip Collins.

2024 Leaf in the Game Used Jersey Relics ⭐Dizzy Dean & Don Drysdale, #3/5
Pitching kings of their eras.👑
Modern relic cards of the Legends of the Game are some of the cards I love.❤