1954 Bowman

#198 Virgil Trucks

I got this card signed through the mail earlier this week. A few weeks ago, I got an '86 Fleer sticker signed by Virgil (as well as an extra card). I decided that I wanted to get a real card signed by him, so I picked up this beauty off of ebay. I spent $6 on this card, including shipping and handling. When I first got it, I had second thoughts about getting it signed. It's in really good condition for a 54 year old card. The photo seems to be faded (I don't have any other '54 Bowman to compare it to), the bottom left corner is a little dinged, and there is a slight scratch on the front. Besides those little flaws, it's a great card. But, I broke down and sent it to him anyway. This is now my oldest card that I have signed, beating out the Carl Erskine autographed card by one year.

Here are a few things that I like about this card, which might be hard to see on this scan. First off, I'm pretty sure that the photo was taken at Yankee Stadium. It's hard to see, but I think that is some of the old facade poking out over the upper deck. Also, I love that White Sox jersey. For one, it uses a zipper rather than buttons. Plus, look how curved Chicago is on the jersey. That looks really stange to me. There are four letters on his right side and three on his left. I wish I could see the whole jersey.


A few other things to note.
First, thanks Ben for helping me straighten out my want list link.
Second, don't waste your time trying to get Goose Gossage's signature through the mail. He now charges $25 a card.
Third, I got another package in the mail today (I'm felling pretty popular this week). This one was from Greg of Night Owl Cards. It's a Jaquin Arias that he won in a contest at Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius. This card started out in Kansas, went to New York for a few weeks, and is now back in Kansas.