1980 Topps Padres team card — featuring two men who are part of my story in a unique way. My uncle, Jerry Coleman (by marriage on my dad’s side), and Rollie Fingers, who was married to my mom before my dad — making him my half-sister’s father.

For a brief time in 1980, Uncle Jerry stepped out of the broadcast booth to manage the Padres, and this card captures that moment. Even better — this one’s signed by him.

Baseball cards are usually about the game… but every now and then, one becomes something a lot more personal.

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.